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Contest: The most impossible person to buy Christmas presents for?


Heather in Neverland
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My 15 yo ds.

 

He doesn't play any sports.

 

He plays piano but already has one.

 

He loves computer games and already has a super nice "gamer's" computer with all the bells and whistles.

 

He doesn't listen to music.

 

He only watches TV and movies when I make him for family time.

 

He already has an iPad and hardly uses it.

 

He doesn't want or need a cell phone or an iPod.

 

He doesn't really like to read.

 

He doesn't care about clothes and would probably wear the same outfit every day if I let him. Plus he wears a school uniform 5 days a week so he doesn't really need clothes.

 

He doesn't camp.

 

 

 

ahhh!!!!

 

I am getting him a new microphone for his computer because he makes those youtube videos of himself playing video games that all the kids seem to be watching these days. Go figure.

 

I will probably get him some credit for his Steam account.

 

I honestly can't think of anything to get him. He is a total introvert and is happy in front of his computer playing games or chatting with friends. Between that and his studies, he doesn't do much else. He is a simple kind of kid.

 

 

 

So how about you? Who in your family is impossible to buy for at Christmas???

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My mother, who will never ever give anyone any idea of what she wants. She will just say, "Oh you know me. I'm easy. I like everything." Birthday, Mother's Day, Christmas. Every year. She likes the thought of people spending hours on end shopping for the (unattainable) perfect gift that shows that we went to the ends of the earth for her. (FYI, did you know it is impossible to accomplish this feat via online shopping? HIGHLY offensive. :rolleyes:) To make this more frustrating, she buys whatever she wants whenever she decides she wants it. Blech.

 

Can you tell I am right there in the middle of it right now?

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Dh:

 

No hobbies other than playing Civilization.

Works in IT...I couldn't possibly know what he wants/needs for technology because he takes care of that

Buys his own clothes (he doesn't like what I think looks good on him, what he chooses to wear is not flattering)

Doesn't read much

Amazon wish list has 7 items on it, 4 of which are out of our budget*

Never mentions things he would like to have or is interested in

 

* Last time I bought something on his wish list, he NEVER used it. 

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Me!

 

Me!

 

Pick ME!!!

 

OK, here's what you should do.

 

Everyone should go out and buy presents for me and send them to my house. Then I'll open them all up and see if I like any of them, and if I do, the special gift giver will get a prize chosen from the stuff I didn't like. (I promise not to pick anything hideous.)

 

Oh, and because I'm the Official Most Impossible Person to Buy Christmas Presents For, I will probably hate what you get me, so you should probably not use a credit card to buy the gifts you send, and you should also be sure to include the sales receipt, so I will be able to return the stuff I don't like for cash.

 

Does that sound good to everyone?

 

;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)

 

 

(I'm thinking that maybe I shouldn't wait by the mailbox....)

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I'll pick DS12. He has enough e-gadgets. He reads but I've taken advantage of the book sales at Bethlehem Books and he now has a virtual stack of books he hasn't yet read. He's at boarding school so the school provides games, puzzles, etc to play with. He plays sports but there's only so many soccer balls you can get. Maybe I'll just get him lots of chocolate.

DS7 on the other hand is supereasy -- I think I could go into ToysRUs blindfolded, grab any random 5 items of the shelf, and he would think it the greatest Christmas ever. 

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DS1...

He does not play with toys

He doesn't have any strong interests or hobbies

He does not know what he wants...if I ask him he grabs something random from the store shelf and never touches it again

He specifically asked me NOT to buy him any Lego.

His Christmas list has three items...Ipad, dog(real) cat(real) ...none of which I can get him.

He does want the new Skylander Wii game but it doesnt seem a fair gift as the other two kids want it also so they would all share it.

He doesn't read although he can.

He likes outdoors toys but has all he needs. The basketball hoop I got him last year never got used even once.

 

So far I got him some Skylander tshirts, a wallet he asked for and geomags. Every year I can never think of a gift for this kid. He never touches most of what I get him unless his brother and sister pull it out....then he will play alongside them.

 

 

DH is impossible too. He buys what he wants/ when he wants. Only asks for gifts I can't afford and doesn't like practical gifts. He also usually doesnt use what I get him...even if he asked for it. This year Im getting him a new quilt cover. He desperately needs it and I no longer care about whether it is "fun".

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My 15 yo ds.

 

He doesn't play any sports.

 

He plays piano but already has one.

 

He loves computer games and already has a super nice "gamer's" computer with all the bells and whistles.

 

He doesn't listen to music.

 

He only watches TV and movies when I make him for family time.

 

He already has an iPad and hardly uses it.

 

He doesn't want or need a cell phone or an iPod.

 

He doesn't really like to read.

 

He doesn't care about clothes and would probably wear the same outfit every day if I let him. Plus he wears a school uniform 5 days a week so he doesn't really need clothes.

 

He doesn't camp.

 

 

 

ahhh!!!!

 

I am getting him a new microphone for his computer because he makes those youtube videos of himself playing video games that all the kids seem to be watching these days. Go figure.

 

I will probably get him some credit for his Steam account.

 

I honestly can't think of anything to get him. He is a total introvert and is happy in front of his computer playing games or chatting with friends. Between that and his studies, he doesn't do much else. He is a simple kind of kid.

 

 

 

So how about you? Who in your family is impossible to buy for at Christmas???

This doesn't answer your question, but I thought of it when I read your post:  My brother in law got an atari last year. It is not the old plug into a tv kind. It is this console with the joy stick that you plug into your computer and it simulates a free standing unit. It is really cool for a gamer. It has pac man and all of the games we played on atari when I was a kid. Super fun and different.

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i'm worried about all these teen and adult males with no hobbies (or only one).  should i be worried? 

 

what about chosing an activity and committing to do it with them? eg. a chess set and tuesday night chess challenges.

 

one year as a teen, my dad bought us all a pingpong table.  and then made sure we played as a family after dinner most nights. 

we were initially sceptical, but he persisted, and in the end it was a riot. 

 

then there was the year of the billiards table.... same deal, except it didn't fit in the house, so there was stage one deconstruction, where they cut out the dividers in the basement windows and lowered the table in thru the windows.  then came stage two, where an addition was put on the front of the house because the table took up the entire basement.  (it was not a large house ;). 

 

memories....

ann

 

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BIL who often diets, meaning he doesn't want food, knows all the new books and music, meaning you can't buy that for him, and works so many hours a week he doesn't have time for much fun or light stuff.  I have NO clue what to get him this year, lol.  

 

could you get him something for his car?  sneak over and put a wreath on the front and/or a santa chair cover on the driver's seat?  or a  poinsetta for his office or ????

 

or a healthy foodie thing like smoked salmon or harryanddavid pears? 

 

good luck!

ann

 

 

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My dad.

No hobbies, interests, or collections.

Doesn't watch tv except for the news. No musical favorites. Not techy. Doesn't go out to eat, so no GC to a restaurant.

Wears clothes from the 80's, still has years worth of gifted clothing in his closet with tags.

 

I've bought him a 'beer from around the world' kit, and he still has some of them! Food things are ok, but I've done that gift a few times before. I never know what to get him!!! This year I ordered canvases of the kids pictures for all grandparents, so I'm done.

 

 

And also, dd2/3.

I have three girls. The little girls get hand me downs. To be fair, so does dd1, from friends or thrift stores. When they need clothes I look for sales or go to thrift stores. We have a ton of books, toys, clothes, games, ect. It just seems like anything I buy will be just 'to buy' and not because it's genuinely something they want. When asked what she wanted, dd2 (who is 5) said-a puppy (um. No.) an iPad (again. No.) a phone (sigh. No) 12 arms (what the...?). She literally has NO ideas for me. I've taken her to target and let her roam the aisles and she can not pick a thing. I suppose it's a better problem to have than a child who wants anything and everything they see, but still! They are the only grandchildren on dh's side and the only girls (my sister has one son) on my side. I have a ton of people asking what to buy. No, no one will listen when I say they won't play with toys, they don't need clothes, an experience would be GREAT! Only my mom and dad will honor that request, but then they still want to give them something to open, so they end up spending more money, which (since they are divorced and living on one income) I don't want them to do. My mom regularly sends her extra money for the girls gymnastics and riding classes, which is the BEST gift. They enjoy their classes more than anything, so it really is a perfect gift. But the in laws like the WOW factor of toy gifts.

Anyway. I really need ideas for these three!!!

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My 90 year old grandmother. Other than the digital frame we got her one year, it's been a life-long impossibility. As long as I've known her she's had everything she ever wanted and anything else is politely accepted and never seen again

 

After years of green scarves, I started getting her grocery store gift cards for the store she uses every week. No joke, at least I know she uses them. 

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My 90 year old grandmother. Other than the digital frame we got her one year, it's been a life-long impossibility. As long as I've known her she's had everything she ever wanted and anything else is politely accepted and never seen again

 

After years of green scarves, I started getting her grocery store gift cards for the store she uses every week. No joke, at least I know she uses them. 

 

I used to get my grandmother stamps, a nice box of mixed cards, and her "fancy" Oil of Olay face cream for Christmas. And grocery GCs too! :)

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My 8 year old.  I have absolutely no clue what to get him.

 

When my ds was 8, he wanted everything. If I recall correctly, he was heavily into action figures at the time, so I'd get him things like gigantic Batcaves, and then kick myself later because they took up half the house.

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Yeah he isn't into action figures. Any toy I ever bought him that involved figures or even Lego type stuff he isn't interested in it. It just got shoved into the closet and hardly looked at. He never got into the Playmobil stuff.

 

He likes video games and computer games. I am thinking of a gamefly subscription as one gift. He'd go for that.

That's a good idea. It would be better to spend the money on that, than on something that he wouldn't use.

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Not in my family, but - my #1 boss.  He has enough money to buy anything he wants, so the trick is to find something he didn't know he wanted.

 

It gets more difficult every year.

 

For the last 3 years I have made charitable donations and given him some kind of acknowledgement card.  It seems to be easiest for all of us - he doesn't have to pretend he likes whatever doodad I bought, I don't have to spend $ on something I know will never be used, and the recipients of whatever charity I chose get a little something more than they would have otherwise.

 

I wouldn't do that for a kid, of course, but for adults?  If you can't think of anything you'd like to have, then you probably have too much already.  ;)

 

 

 

 

 

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There are always hard to buy for people in our family.  I begin to wonder why we keep buying when there is already such excess in our lives (and I do love to buy presents). A couple of things that have been hits:

 

Tickets to special events that the receiver would like--a performance by a comedian, a Broadway show that comes to town, sports event, etc.

Special consumable treats--always can use more nice Scotch, expensive chocolate or other favorite treat

Photo books to commemorate special life events or family gatherings.

Doing something together--my kids have done these with friends and family and loved it.  Things like going kayaking or being driven to a favorite spot a ways a way to do something, really anything that the recipient would love to do with you.  Make a memory.

I've also put coupons in my kids stockings, though they could work for anyone:  Get out of Math free card, stay up late one night (when they were smaller), choose a movie to watch, an ice cream date with the parent of your choose, a video game marathon with a friend (up until a few years ago, we limited their time on the computer and rarely allowed them to get on a 'screen' when they had friends over), request a dessert for dinner, etc.

 

Maybe there is something non-tangible that he would enjoy?

 

 

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My DH is really hard to buy for. 

 

He doesn't play music. 

Has an ipod, but we can't afford anything bigger.  Doesn't use apps, mostly listens to podcasts.

He is into guns, but those are out of our budget. 

Wears a work uniform, and would be disappointed if I bought him day off clothes.  Doesn't dress up except occasionally. 

Has every tool imaginable. 

Not really into music or movies. 

Will eat candy of certain kinds, but not like I could get him something special. 

 

And his bday is right before Christmas, so it is doubly hard. 

 

This year, I paid for his conceal carry class, so that will cover his bday except for something small, and part of Christmas too since it was expensive...

 

 

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I think we all are (nuclear family--- we don't buy for anyone else, so it's just us). We buy what we want/need when we want/need it. We are fortunate to have such a 'problem', but it makes buying for Christmas difficult.

 

Heather, were you wanting ideas for your ds?

If you have any I'd love them because I am truly stumped!

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HA! I was reading this thread and got the most awesome idea ever....

 

Both dc (grown) load my Amazon cart, then I pick what I'm getting them (usually all of it, they are frugal, it is usually music CDs, maybe a movie or two, maybe a few books). I can never figure what to buy dh, it is a real pain, he gets the most difficult prize. Maybe I will get him in on the action of loading my Amazon cart....

 

The worst is...... usually the day before Christmas, it is announced that nothing is bought for me because I didn't tell them what to buy. Really? This is very bad for a gal that likes surprises and works very hard to get everyone at least one surprise. Last year I went shopping for myself and told them it was my present. Because I hate shopping the day before Christmas with desperate people too anxious to put anything I look at into the cart.

 

I'm thinking back to when ds was 15...... he was into books and music, so that won't be any help for you. He was/still is  into plants. One year for his birthday we got him a crepe myrtle, really!  I do get a few surprises for dc, usually I watch and see what they do. Their favorite food, favorite places to hang out (movies, coffee, food). And I spy their closets and drawers to see what is worn out. I check to see if they might need a new blanket. Or coat. That translates to gift cards to their favorite spots, socks, their favorite candy, and other odd things I think they would like.

 

Another idea I just got: a grown up, nice Bible, then work together to put the family tree information in it.

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