Gift Suggestions

Just send me an ask describing the person you need to get a gift for, but are stumped, and your budget and I'll try to give you a few ideas on what to get them.

[harrietvane]

National Theatre At Home

26 March 2020: It’s happening, kids: National Theatre: At Home is coming

Released weekly on YouTube here

Every Thursday, the NT will be releasing a play from their NTLive archive to watch for free, for everyone, for 7 days.

First up is:

One Man, Two Guvnors (2nd April)

Jane Eyre (9th April)

Treasure Island (16th April)

Twelfth Night (23rd April)

Further productions to be announced.

[ayeforscotland]

The advent calendar is sorted.

[giftsuggestions]

wow this is amazing thanks so much for doing this, basically both my parents abhor clutter and things so every year for their birthdays it's always hard to know what to get them. my dad's is coming up, he loves outdoorsy stuff, the book the Martian, and formula one racing. do you have any ideas?

Plan a hike/fishing trip etc to perfection, just the two of you and nature (and/or maybe your mum, I don’t know your family dynamics), make sure to pack one of his favorite lunches and drinks. It’s not a thing, but an excursion and hopefully you’ll create a few good memories.

Buying a nifty gadget for the occasion that he has use for might also be a good idea.

See if there are any racing pits in your area that offer day tours, lessons and laps around the track in super cool cars. It might run you a little on the high end of expensive though. Cart racing is also a cheaper, but still fun option.

I don’t know if he’s a movie guy, but Gravity and Moon(a very underrated film) both deal with humans trying to survive in space.

[giftsuggestions]

Best Friend: its going to be her 17th birthday, shes Egyptian, loves soccer she likes "Friends" and wants to travel, likes the ocean, aspires to be a marine biologist or environmental major, likes Aladdin and disney stuff

there is an entire ocean of cute marine life inspired items you can swim in (heh), including but not limited to:

a whole(pretty necklace) bunch(cute earrings) of jewellery(badass bracelet). you can get just about anything dolphin themed, and if you want to try for something else you just need to know her aesthetic and you're good, just look around.

pretty starfish fairylights  

various t-shirts (with killer ocean dwellers or actual puns about  being a marine biologist)

it requires knowledge of the six friends and a bit of headcanoning on your part, but choose something relatively inexpensive (candles, smutty paperback novels, musical artists, nail polish, ice-cream flavors, anything that gives you a wide enough range) and pick one for each of the characters, presenting her with a bouquet of let's say, candles that each represent a different character, with a reason as to why. hopefully this won't result in any arguments.

as small but tasty side gift: if you grew up together, find a few of the sweets you enjoyed as children(for me candy bracelets are always the cutest nostalgic throwback)/ if you didn't and you happen to live in an entirely different country grab a few treats that are particular or exclusive to your country

and this is super complicated, but if you live close by and know the rest of her friends, throw together a surprise disney-themed birthday party. treat the whole thing as a modern au for the dress code so nobody finds it too hard to find a costume(there are dozens of fanarts people can use for inspiration), everyone can pitch in for side-dishes and refreshments and you can have an outfit ready for her to change into (based on her fave character, eg if it's jasmin, something blue and flowy would be nice)

[giftsuggestions]

Sister, 17th birthday present ideas. Loves musicals, and is an actress and singer, wants to go to drama school but in college at the minute. She loves make up and hair things. Around £30 budget

do the big sibling thing and take her to the cinema(check for any screenings of old classic musicals) or to a play/musical if you live close enough to each other and a good theatre to allow that(pitch perfect 2 is sadly coming out in may otherwise it would have been a great choice)

you know those special edition themed sets mac has? well, squeeze your brain and test your musical theatre knowledge by figuring out colors that would fit her fave musical and do a homemade version:

singing in the rain: yellow nail polish, lavender or soft bluish eyeshadow and a nice pink lipstick or tinted lipbalm

les mis: red the color of your lips, black the color of dis eyeliner (and don't forget blush for that lovely ladylike glow of consumption)

you get the picture(wicked will probably be the most fun to work with)

sheet music of her fave play

the cutest makeup bag you can find

[giftsuggestions]

boyfriend, giant friggin' chemistry nerd who likes complicated board games and platformy video games. budget is ~$30

well he's probably seen Breaking Bad, but if he hasn't, it's about a giant friggin chemistry nerd on the road to becoming evil (~13$ for s1)

idk how you meant complicated but i'm going to take it as meaning it has many moving pieces/things to consider: so Alhambra is very nifty and you have to prioritize your moves (one of the few games i've played where nobody tells anyone to hurry up and place their damn tile, because they know they're probably going to be taking their sweet time too) as well as sabotage your opponents(32$)

you can find him an old retro (or bunch of retro) games he doesn't have if he's into that thing. don't be afraid to go for the shitty ones especially if they have a two-player mode

if he has a drinks cabinet he may enjoy a set of laboratory shot glasses(20$)

Battleblock Theater is a very fun and funny platformer which you can play solo or co-op, which is really just code for killing your teammate over and over again, just to see them look exasperated(15$)

there is a ton of geeky merch from t-shirts to figurines depending on what games he likes, shop around for something cool

[giftsuggestions]

Wow, holy cow, I didn't know about this, thank you so much for directing me over here (I was that anon from about an hour ago). I hope you don't mind me asking so early, but shipping is a problem when you live in the arse end of nowhere. I am completely stumped about what to get the bf for Valentines. He's 23, loves Mass Effect/AC/Pokemon, plays guitar, loves to sing, loves his car, kinda vain, super sweetheart. My budget is like, 50 pounds but I wanna get him a bunch of little stuff.

an assassin's creed symbol necklace, though idk how comfortable he is with jewelry. you can easily switch a cheaper one to a charm for his car or a key chain(3-12$)

get him a model of the normandy if you think he'll enjoy assembling it. try not get freaked out when he you catch him talking to it. (15-30$ stretching your little stuff plan)

geeky decals for his car or his computer(5-10$)

get a pack of pokemon stickers and figure out items you can buy him and/or he'll be okay with you sticking them to (eg a tiny starter on a guitar pick, a water pokemon on his soap dispenser, a fire pokemon on the hot-sauce bottle etc) and spread them around the apartment for him to find out (1-15$ depending on what stickers or items you get)

if you're good at back rubs/massages, get him a nice-smelling oil with the added promise of it being applied by your lovely hands(5-10$)

make him a playlist of songs relevant to your relationship (the otp is you two, i hope it's not as angsty as most playlist i've heard)

and you can totally shop around for some of these at local stores if you're worried about them not arriving on time

[giftsuggestions]

My friend is turning 20, she loves the TV show Bones, and is taking archaeology and anthropology. Shes super organised and cooks a lot as well.

an adorable cookie cutter or mold, like these very cute anatomy gingerbread man cookie cutter (5-10$)

idk if it's a thing where you live, but get her yearly passes to her favorite museums in your area, or organize a trip for the two of you to one slightly further away.

look around and maybe try and find a necklace like one of those gorgeous ones Brennan wears

[giftsuggestions]

I'm hoping you can help me find a gift for my best friend overseas, he likes bow ties and doctor who, but I feel like I've exhausted that as a gift option. He's a pediatrician, a drummer (way into music) and into joss Wheaton, batman, tmnt and other geekery. He works really hard so I would like to maybe get him something for r&r but I'm stumped! And living in another country it's hard to get him experiences etc as I don't want to boom something he won't like! Thanks so much. Xx

Get him a double present of cookies and a novelty geeky cookie jar(since you've exhausted the doctor who gifts maybe get him an r2-d2 or batman one, instead of a tardis one). (15-60$)

maybe add a packet of good drinking chocolate to the above for maximum warmth and comfort

the trend du jour seems to be bath bombs and there is nothing against men using them especially if they help with aches and pains(5-30$)

make him a playlist of songs with great guitar solos

unless he's in the southern hemisphere he'll probably appreciate something warm (like a jane hat!). (10-20$)

[captainofalltheships]

Mom, loving, strong woman. She rarely buys things for herself, so I want something really nice, I want her to feel pampered. I don't think a day at the spa is really her thing, so I'm looking for other ideas.

Get her a really nice and comfy set of pajamas or a nightie depending on what she prefers and try to find the world’s most comfortable robe and slippers

get her a rich moisturizing face cream and a body cream (see if you can find a gift set) 

depending on how the household chores are done in your home and if you’re eating with family during the holidays do all the washing and tidying up. all of it.

bake a cake for her (i’ll say it again, best cake recipe ever) if you live with her arrange some sort of covert op to get the cake baked(because it takes forever in the oven, the recipe lies about that… or our oven just sucks) and everything tidied up without her noticing (the easiest thing in this case is to just bake it at a friend’s house), put that thing in a box and guard it like a dragon from all wayward forks that haven’t been given express permission to touch it

[captainofalltheships]

a really good guy friend, in his twenties, who enjoys george orwell and kurt vonnegut... but has read all of their novels

i have to be honest this one stumped me

i asked the family and they all agreed that Upside Down by Edward Galeano was a good choice

you could also look into getting him posters based off the novels, like this poster on redbubble, which is a propaganda poster from 1984

[captainofalltheships]

heya! i have to do a secret santa for one of my suite mates; she likes purple things, she describes herself as girly, likes soft & fuzzy things, she's always eating or asking us for food, and she likes jewelry ;p can u help me

a pair of fluffy purple socks, these look similar to a pair my brother got me last christmas that are fab(10$)

cute hair accessories that can also work as bracelets

a cute plushy from any fandom she’s currently in

chocolate or otherwise food related scented candles (which is really just a present for the whole suite) or body cremes: hershey’s s’more candle (9$) and sephora has some very affordable body creams (like creme brulee) that smell amazing

[captainofalltheships]

Help!! gift for boyfriend (26) who is in school for radiation therapy, likes sports and exercise and GoT (show) but doesn't like to read or write (i know, i know!) would like something crafty that we can do together instead of watching TV or something to help him study? thank you thank you thank you!!!

this year i give everybody the gift of habit rpg, since starting it last december i’ve been able to read more than 35 books, write and exercise and none of those would have happened without the motivation offered by a silly game where you level up based on doing those things (or anything you choose) and you can team up with other people (currently killing a dragon)

miniature gaming could potentially be a good idea, you paint figurines and then battle it out on a terrain you’ve also created… Teri Litorco has some amazing tutorials to get you started, just pick a starter pack of a genre you think you’d both enjoy (this star wars set is awesome and you can get started without actually painting/crafting anything though it’s more fun if you do)

get him a cool water bottle to take to the gym, or wherever he exercises

[captainofalltheships]

Girl is super awesome, loves farming cooking drawing poetry and French

If her French is good enough, go for the Little Prince in the original French(or just the English version :P), it has beautiful language and drawings(7$)

A beautiful, fancy sketch book (such as this one for 6,5$)

Get a series of cute ceramic plant pots for herbs or a large basil plant, which smells awesome and can be used fresh in soooo many dishes

Get her Reaper Man, it’s the beautiful story of Death farming for a little old lady, and it is not only one of my favorite Discworld novels, but also this hardback has one of the most beautiful covers I’ve ever seen, it’s like an embossed lithograph (10$)

[captainofalltheships]

Boyfriend, 22, med student, likes thriller and WW2 books, plays the guitar. Any book ideas? Or any gift ideas, really :)

and All is Quiet on the Western Front is one of the greatest war books ever written. It’s a soldier’s story from the hellish WW1 trenches(6$)

if he hasn’t seen Band of Brothers go and get it for him right now, I rarely enjoy war films/series, but this was amazing(17$)

go to a music shop for weird, nice guitar picks if he uses them and get him a few

most medicine students i know have a great sense of humor around icky stuff, and since he likes thrillers, i think he’ll definitely enjoy these brain and heart molds (4,5 and 8$ respectively) I think you can also find smaller ice molds along the same ilk

[captainofalltheships]

Girlfriend, plays volleyball and lacrosse, 17, likes rise against and 21 pilots Any ideas? Thanks :)

if she travels to and from games, you could make her a nice playlist and explain why you chose every song

funky laces for her sports shoes 

my memories of volleyball are full of injuries and while hopefully your gf doesn’t have any of those, support sleeves are always welcome, and if you can find one in her fave color she will definitely appreciate them, just ask at any sports store, they’re the ones that look like weird socks for your elbows with a hole cut out

a nice hairband depending on her usual style and hair ties would be a great idea and a fluffy towel is always useful after a day of being tired and sweaty

band merch is always nice if always slightly overpriced (~30$)

[captainofalltheships]

If you are still doing the gift thing: he loves Pokemon and space. Also just got a new car.

get him a pokeball keychain for his new car keys (~10$)

this awesome snorlax in space poster on redbubble (~15$)

if you haven’t been to interstellar yet, get two tickets and go together, smuggle in candy and lots of water (the movie is very long)

and for a bit of sciency literature, go for A Short History of Nearly Everything