Cool Gifts

psrcello

I got a really creative and practical Christmas gift from my spouse yesterday. In my spare time, I do lots of needlework (crocheting, counted cross stitch, and recently, quilting). I'm always complaining about not having enough light, despite the high-intensity gooseneck craft lamp that I bought last summer. At age 52, my eyesight for close work leaves something to be desired.

He bought me a headlight - an elastic band with two extremely bright, focused lights and even an LED night vision lamp. I can wear the thing anywhere I happen to be - sewing machine, recliner chair, car, etc. - since it runs on AAA batteries. It lights up the work surface right where I need it. What a great idea - and he came up with it all by himself!

What's the coolest, most imaginative gift you've ever received from a spouse or SO?

Margaret Morford

What a great husband! He's a keeper!

Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]

ray a

Well Psrcello, being a musician you may appreciate this. I have a CD with some of the most beautiful pieces of music by Ralph Vaughn Williams played by the bass trombonist from the Boston Symphony Orchestra. I had emailed and asked him where I could buy the sheet music and he gave me information leading me in the right direction. So, my wife tracked down the music and bought exactly what I wanted. And since she is not a muscian, that was not easy. She's a keeper, too.

HRQ

My husband gave me two tickets to see a stage performance of Grease at the Orpheum Theater on 1/1. My mom's in town 'til 1/2, so we are going together while he, my dad and my grandmother watch the kids! He couldn't have picked a better gift.

marc

I don't know if this qualifies as the coolest gift, but for my wife, the gift "almost" does not matter, but the elegance of the wrapping does.

This year I went to a Christmas Store and spent a bunch of $ for the right wrapping paper, matching lacy bows and ribbons and several little ornaments to place strategically on the package.

This only works if the box is large enough to gracefully handle all of this stuff. Everyone opened all their gifts over about an hour, except for this one. She still has it sitting on a small table next to the tree because she wants to enjoy it some more. Several years ago she kept one gift until the end of March and opened it along with other birthday gifts.

I do have to warn her if there is some aspect of the gift that is time sensitive, but other than that, she likes the anticipation and has the will power to wait until the 'spirit moves her' (as her Grandmother Rose use to say).

Don D

Each year my wife gives me a really odd item. She always wraps it in the funny papers. Last year it was a 47 Plymouth hood ornament and yesterday it was a 1950 Pontiac hood ornament. These things are absolutely collectible and can be expensive. I have six of them now, one mounted out back on a pipe near a bottle tree. She has also given me; an antique oil can with a two-foot, squirt-spout, a double burner antique torch welder, a really old carpenter's rasp that's two feet long, a 1956, red, metal ice chest with Coca Cola inscribed on its side and something not a one of you would recognize: Its almost four feet tall, a black thin metal pipe, 5 inches in diameter with an odd little sort of pull thing that opens a flue in the middle of it. It's a thing people used to bring up well water years ago. You lower this four foot tube on a rope into the well, haul it up with the rope, and twist the flue thing and it dumps the water in a bucket for your bath.

FHR

My SO and I always had a hard and fast rule NOT to give eachother anything. We broke it one year by agreement and drove ourselves crazy trying to get the perfect gift which turned out to be satisfying at best.
We've gone back to the old rule with a twist. We treat US as a couple to something. This year we stayed at a really fancy hotel. Then we bought ourselves a badly needed queen size bed. Ohhh, the luxury!
Cristina

Nrdgrrl

The coolest gifts have always come from my parents (mom actually!)

These past two Christmases have been really fun because they have their first grandchild, my daughter Anna. They don't belive in plastic toys so it's all metal or wood. Beautiful stuff!!!

Anna's big present from Nana and Opa this year is a 1938 replica Roadster pedal car. It's fire engine red and just beautiful!

deniseE

My in-laws do the coolest thing...it's a hold over from the days when they were first married and had NO $$$$...

they wrap up either silly dollar store type things or practical dollar store type things in the comics section and write a "reason" on a piece of paper.

For example, my MIL eats tootsie rolls during car trips, so this year she got two foot-long toosie rolls "For our next trip to Delaware"

it's cute and funny....and not at all about the $$$ or how much it sparkles!

ritaanz

We have a koi pond in the back yard. I always talked about how great it would be to have a budda sitting on the flagstone next to the pond.

Christmas morning, after all the gifts were opened, I went outside and there he was, smiling at me with a big red bow taped to his belly. (Can I say belly?)

Don D

I didn't know what a koi was until I looked it up to learn it is a Japanese carp bred for its size. Then I noticed you have a Buddha beside the koi's home, and I can only assume you checked to be sure the Japanese inhabitants of your pond are in alignment with the God you chose for them. If not, you can expect problems down by the pond. Perhaps a bottle tree would calm the insurrection that may be coming.

Whatever

It is very hard to get a bottle on a bonsai tree.

ritaanz

That's a capital idea! Bring your shovel, I'll supply the Jack Daniel/Wild Turkey/Miller/etc. Have the perfect spot for the tree too. However, I do not expect any problems. It has been a week and alls well. But I'll take you up on the bottle tree offer anyway. Com'on down. Remember there's a spot for your cycle in the driveway.

rad

The coolest gift I got was not from my (ex)SO but from his mother - it is a Swiss Army Card - the size of a credit card, just a little thicker, and it holds scissors, a pick/leather poker thing, tweezers, screw driver and nail file. Of course they are all tiny so good fine motor skills are a must but its great to keep in my work bag and I've used it many many times. I just have to remember to take it out when traveling; I'd hate to have it confiscated at the airport.

Parabeagle

That's neat, rad. Much less bulky than my Swiss Army Knife. I'll have to look for one of those. I use my knife all the time.

And BTW, don't be too sure about it being confiscated at the airport. Three months ago I forgot about the pen-knife I keep attached to my keychain and it made it through airport security when I emptied my pockets into the little tray. However, I figured I couldn't be lucky twice and mailed it home from my destination. x;-)

PS - I think the leather pokey-thing is called an awl, but I'm not sure.

Leslie

My SO always carries a knife - this one happened to be a Benchmade I'd given him two Christmases ago. We'd already checked our bags for the flight to Miami for our cruise. He starts to empty his pockets to get through the security check and there's the knife. He's putting it in his boot - that's not going to work. Then tries to put it in his shaving kit. I tell him he'll be under arrest and on the news and I'll be on a cruise for seven days. Thank goodness, someone else in our group had forgotten something important so a relative came to the airport to bring it to her. My SO gave him the knife. So when we went through the security check they confiscated his tiny moustache scissors - but left his nail file. Huh.

rad

I crochet so I bought plastic crochet hooks just for the next occasion I have to fly. I prefer the metal but figure they may be percieved as a weapon of some sort and then I'd be left on the plane (a complete nervous wreck) with nothing to do.

blw

About six years ago, my husband gave me a certificate for a hot air balloon ride! We went in February - it was wonderful!

This year we did the gift together thing and bought ourselves tickets to see Kenny G. We had a great evening.

Parabeagle

>This year we did the gift together thing and
>bought ourselves tickets to see Kenny G. We had
>a great evening.

... and you managed to stay awake??? x;-)

Just kidding. Didn't mean to offend any saxophile-Americans with that comment. x:-)

blw

No offense. Some people just don't appreciate nice music! He actually has a great sense of humor and was very funny in his dialogue as well. He walks the aisles of the theatre and stopped and played about 2 feet from us for a couple of minutes.

marc

Same thing happened to my wife and I when we got comped to one of his concerts in a (then) newly refurbished theatre in old-downtown St. Louis. We just stopped by to see the theatre and the manager gave us great seats on the aisle about 15 rows from the front. He stopped and played to my wife for several minutes and just made her day (and subsequently made my night - but I am probably not allowed to say that so just forget I mentioned it). I swear he can breathe through his ears, and that reminds me of a joke, but I also cannot tell it here.

Leslie

Ah Marc - all the innuendo you want, just no straight forward talk. x;-)

Carolsmith

I had seen one of those head lights at Lowe's and bought one for my father who is 85 years old and has lost stength in his hands. My daughter and husband and grandchildren laughed about it. When he opened his present, he thought it was the greatest thing because now he could use both hands when trying to fix something and still be able to see properly. So - I guess you aren't the only one that appreciated such a unique gift. Actually, I thought a cool gift for myself would be a automatic car starter but apparently I must of been a bad girl because Santa didn't get me one. Have a great day!

irenesmsaclaims

Rad, they probably would think you were going to knit an afgan.

HRQ

>Rad, they probably would think you were going to
>knit an afgan.


I didn't "get" it until I moved on to a few other posts and it hit me. x;-)

rad

You just gave me the laugh I so desperately needed today...thanks.

System

>Rad, they probably would think you were going to
>knit an afgan.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhh, now I get it. 8-} That's hilarious.

James Sokolowski
HRhero.com