Jenny in Florida Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 As anyone who has read any of my frantic "Please help me with Christmas!" threads knows, my husband is a tough person for whom to find gifts. He has a rather narrow set of interests, high expectations for gifts and no hesitation to buy himself anything he wants that we can more or less afford. This year, we have decided as a family to de-emphasize presents (Yay!) and focus more on enjoying holiday activities. I'm thrilled beyond thrilled. However, I still need to come up with a few small, token gifts to put in a stocking and under the tree for him. He's been working his way through the Sherlock Holmes canon, reading the stories and novels in order of publication. He's reading them on his iPhone/iPad by downloading them from Project Guttenberg. And we already have a couple of collections on the shelves. So, buying him hard copies of the books isn't a good bet. But it occurred to me this morning that the whole Holmes thing might be fertile ground for inspiration. I make the kids personalized ornaments every year, and I make one for my husband, too, when I can come up with an idea. We do stockings for each other, usually with a theme for the contents. And I need a couple of things to wrap for under the tree. We're on a more stringent than usual budget this year. So, I need to focus on things I can make or obtain inexpensively. Can anyone help me brainstorm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funmamacita Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Do you knit? (I read your posts so compulsively that I can't believe I don't know something about you! :)) There are some really fun Sherlock Holmes style hat patterns on Ravelry that are free or cheap. Are books too boring? There's a book called The Science of Sherlock Holmes -- it's more about period forensics than Holmes, but it uses the Conan Doyle stories to frame the information. You could probably get a used copy for not-too-much. If your family likes board games, there's a Sherlock Holmes board game where you move around the board collecting clues to solve mysteries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celticmom Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Could you turn a small fake magnifing glass into a christmas tree ornament. I would go with fake to minimize fire hazard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth S Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 (edited) Probably too pricey, but we love the Jeremy Brett PBS Sherlock Holmes series back in the 1990s, now on DVD. Obviously there are MANY new Sherlock Holmes versions now out on DVD. We do purchase used-but-in-nice-condition items (esp. like DVDs) for family gifts. They know that the budget wouldn't stretch for NEW ones. Kids' magnifying glass would make a great ornament. :bigear: As we have several Holmes Fans here as well. (Loving Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock, too!) My SH fan enjoyed this book: Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to SH: http://www.amazon.com/Bedside-Armchair-Companion-Sherlock-Companions/dp/0826411169/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348251211&sr=8-1&keywords=bedside+book+sherlock+holmes Which I happen to be selling a used hardback of it on Amazon Marketplaces at the moment! Edited September 21, 2012 by Beth S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jelbe5 Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 My dd is a fan and asked for a deerstalker hat. There are inexpensive ones on Amazon butcO am not sure how good they are. I had a tweed one from the downtown Chicago Marshall Field's store my dad bought me years ago. I wore it so much it fell apart! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.