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I hate those things. I was happy when I got Amazon gift certificates though.
But shouldn't your question be "What should I buy for someone else that costs $25 or less?" Or this some sort of bizarre ritual where you request a gift in front of your colleagues and then you find out if anyone likes you when the gift exchange day comes?
Fine foods, sex toys and bath products: all great things wanted if you didn't have to play for them.
i'm trying to rationalize buying bath bombs and scented bubblies.
If it were me, I'd probably ask for a microplane grater. I keep meaning to pick one up and always blow it off because I can't really justify buying another grater.
There are lots of nice wines available in that price range. (I personally like Vino Noceto quite well, but there are tons of others.) Or maybe an assortment of cheeses or nuts & fruits or something. (On preview, I see that eth has that covered.)
Can you tell it's almost dinnertime?
Also: music, books (I think you can still get a new paperback for less than $25), or plants.
My ex-roommate had a mandoline, I never really used it. I'm not a huge one for kitchen gadgets; I tend to like knives and that's about it. :-)
Thank you all for the suggestions so far. And I did not mean to imply that one cannot get something nice for less than $25. It's more that that's a price range I'm usually totally comfortable buying for myself, so I'm a little stuck in terms of thinking of gift-y things, rather than utilitarian things.
Ask for homemade baked goods. I'd much rather have a batch of someone's favorite cookies than another $25 piece of brick-a-brack or a cash replacement like a gift certificate.
I like socks. Black cotton socks. With patterns is okay. I also like knit caps, if they're homemade-y looking. I also like Peets Yin Hao Jasmine tea, which goes for $16 a tin. And fancy bubble baths, which I'm usually too cheap to buy for myself. Also, don't most people need a squid whisk from Flax Art? ≡ Click to see image ≡
And I did not mean to imply that one cannot get something nice for less than $25. It's more that that's a price range I'm usually totally comfortable buying for myself, so I'm a little stuck in terms of thinking of gift-y things, rather than utilitarian things.
Yes, of course. I didn't mean to imply that you felt that nice things couldn't be had for under 25 bucks. :)
A number of my co-workers are asking for socks. Sock-buying seems very firmly implanted in my mind as my mother's job, however, so I would find that overly intimate. Yes, I know that's odd.
That squid whisk is awesome.
What I *really* want is textbooks. I feel uninspiring asking for an Amazon gift certificate, though, and I don't yet know what books I'll need for next semester. Sigh.
We do get to list three things, so I'll mine this list for at least a few of those. Thanks!
Nth-ing charitable donations, booze, tea, books, really nice socks (outdoor brands I like: Patagonia, Dahlgren, Rohner, Smartwool) and tools, especially kitchen tools and very much especially the squid whisk.
Adding board games, small pieces of original local art, live plants and gift certificates for local independent businesses.
photo by splunge
photo by TheophileEscargot
photo by Kronos_to_Earth
photo by ethylene
