Christmas Gift Ideas: Share & Get Ideas!

[turbo]

OK, Borek. Time to get serious because Christmas is bearing down on us. Stuff a stocking with lots of little thoughtful gifts.

I LOVE the alpaca socks that my wife bought me. I can't wear wool because of the itchiness, but alpaca is heaven. Marzena would probably love a few pairs for cold-weather wear. They are very soft and warm.

Nice highly-absorbent towels that divers use in competition. They absorb a LOT of water for their weight and you can wring them out on the spot. Great gift for a cyclist. Get caught in a down-pour, dry off, wring out towel, and continue.

Packets of seeds for interesting flowers or for herbs that you use a lot, but never seem to plant.

Decent-sized monocular for bicycle-touring. I love my Orion 8x32 Eagle-Eye, and gave one to my father for his birthday years ago. When you can give a gift like that (including one of my bird-guides) that turns an 80+ year-old into a bird-watcher, that's a really nice present. The 8X32 gives very generous eye-relief and gathers enough light to be very useful in dusky conditions, but at far less than half the weight and bulk of comparable binoculars.

Do you have a GPS with a graphic display to consult as you roam the country-side? That might be a handy gift, and prices are coming down.

More later, after you comment.

 

[Borg]

My wife wants a winning lottery ticket.

 

[turbo]

My wife wants a winning lottery ticket.

Send money, and I will buy you one tomorrow.

 

[Borek]

I LOVE the alpaca socks that my wife bought me.

Nice highly-absorbent towels that divers use in competition.

Sounds interesting, I will have to check whether/where/how these are available here. I think I have seen such towels in a Decathlon shop not far from here.

Packets of seeds for interesting flowers or for herbs that you use a lot, but never seem to plant.

That could be a good idea - but also a cheap one. It happens that guy that distributes my programs is also a wholesaler of prepacked seeds/substrate/pots (something like http://www.allegro.pl/item843082835_ziola_kuchenne_home_garden_6_ziol_doniczka.html) and Marzena knows it

Decent-sized monocular for bicycle-touring.

That would be one of these gifts for myself

Do you have a GPS with a graphic display to consult as you roam the country-side?

We have one (Garmin GPSmap 60 CSx), mounted on my bike. She rarely rides alone in new places.

 

[Marzena]

I suggest waiting for Marzena to reply to this thread.

I am here, I want a tiny tiny macro lens

 

[turbo]

I am here, I want a tiny tiny macro lens

Tiny, like the Canon 50mm macro? That would be a nice compromise for cycling - the 100 mm is primo, but that entails mass.

 

[Kronos5253]

My wife has a folder with a whole bunch of family recipes in it that her grandma gave her. They're typed up on one of the old printers that has the tear pieces on both sides, so a lot of it is faint, and it's just one long continuous sheet. Well I was going to type them all up and print them out and kinda make a book out of them.. I just haven't figured out how to MAKE a book yet lol Or where I'm going to find the time to type it up without her knowing...

 

[DaveC426913]

My wife has a folder with a whole bunch of family recipes in it that her grandma gave her. They're typed up on one of the old printers that has the tear pieces on both sides, so a lot of it is faint, and it's just one long continuous sheet. Well I was going to type them all up and print them out and kinda make a book out of them.. I just haven't figured out how to MAKE a book yet lol Or where I'm going to find the time to type it up without her knowing...

I have had books made professionally online. It's awesomely affordable.

For example: I once took a friend's full-length novel manuscript, provided the cover art and had it made into a paperback and delivered to him for Christmas.

It is in every way indistinguishable from a paperback bought from a bookstore.

It cost me less than $100.

 

[Sorry!]

I have had books made professionally online. It's awesomely affordable.

For example: I once took a friend's full-length novel manuscript, provided the cover art and had it made into a paperback and delivered to him for Christmas.

It is in every way indistinguishable from a paperback bought from a bookstore.

It cost me less than $100.

I was thinking about doing this actually for my girlfriend. I have a lot of sketches a few of her and some of just random other things was thinking about getting them bounded and all that stuff but I'm not sure how to go about it... like do they take a digital copy of whatever you send to them? Do you have a link to whatever company you used by any chance?

 

[DaveC426913]

I was thinking about doing this actually for my girlfriend. I have a lot of sketches a few of her and some of just random other things was thinking about getting them bounded and all that stuff but I'm not sure how to go about it... like do they take a digital copy of whatever you send to them? Do you have a link to whatever company you used by any chance?

Yep. They'll bind anything.

I set up a free account at CafePress http://www.cafepress.com/

I sent them a PDF of my manuscript, and the cover art, and a few weeks later, a copy of the book showed up at my door.