<p>I always seem to find myself in this situation come about 7 days before Christmas…what do I get my married 50-something yr old siblings and their better halfs?? I get desperate and they all get a mailorder hams, or baskets of fruit, a selection of hot sauces or coffee. Does anyone have great ideas out there for those people you do not know very well who insist on keeping up with present exchanging?? We have tried giving the gift of donations to our fav causes - Kiva gift certificates (which is my fall-back plan - but they don’t quite understand the premise) and Habitat animals… Something wrapped in a box for around $50 - right now I am about to order Mr. Beer DIY kits. </p>
<p>I feel your pain. One thing I did that seemed to be better received than many other things I have done was $50 gift cards to Ticketmaster. You can do them online or go to a local Ticketmaster outlet (Publix grocery stores in our area, for example). </p>
<p>Sticking with “consumables” does seem to be the best option, IMO. I’ll be reading this thread with interest, also looking for other ideas for next year :)</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat. I try and think of something more interesting, but almost always go with a food item. One other thing, though, that has been successful was magazine subscriptions for something that interests them (i.e - my movie-loving BIL got “Entertainment Weekly”; SIL with a new condo in FL got “Coastal Living”)
Looking forward to seeing if there are any other good ideas out there!</p>
<p>Movie gift cards, picture frames, gloves/mittens (everyone loses their gloves & needs more), Amazon gift certificate, assorted “fun” socks to wear under boots, small leather goods (key chains, credit card holders), those bulb plants that bloom indoors in the winter (can’t think of the names offhand), & of course wine.</p>
<p>Netflix + Gourmet popcorn
Second the amarylis idea
I think earrings are fine for those with pierced ears. They get lost like gloves in my experience.
Sweaters and casual shirts for the guys.
Potholders and kitchen towels and other kitchen gadgets (Crate and Barrel had all sorts of nice stuff when I was there a couple of weeks ago.)
Amazon gift card in a book size box with a nice bookmarker or a set of [Book</a> Darts - Remember the Point!](<a href=“http://www.bookdarts.com/]Book”>http://www.bookdarts.com/) for marking things you liked in a book</p>
<p>A big hit this year in our house was a popcorn popper. The kids have grown up on microwave popcorn and we had an air popper from a brief period where H thought it was healthier. I picked up a traditional old school style popper from BBB. The kind where you add oil and real popcorn kernels. H and the kids love it and and it has been used daily. We celebrate Chanukah so our gift giving is over.
For women if they like to take baths a nice bubble bath or bath product. Aveda and La Occiotane (spelling is wrong) have nice products that are expensive. Also a nice expensive candle. I love to get gifts that I enjoy but feel guilty about spending the money on myself.</p>
<p>ugh, I feel your pain amandakayak. Still doing the gift exchange with my 50-something sibs who I see once a year. They are seven and ten years older than me so we have never been really close and it is so hard to buy for them. We did finally agree to drop the exchange for spouses and college/ adult age neices and nephews which was a relief.</p>
<p>This year I ordered from Sierra Trading Post for them. Sis is getting a wool scarf and a sheepskin bucket hat lined with fleece. She just got a new puppy so I figure she’ll be spending a lot of time outdoors with him this winter.
Bro. is a golfer so is getting a microfiber windproof golf vest. </p>
<p>Last year I got bro. (the grillmaster at his house) a grill pan from Williams-Sonoma that was made out of meshy stuff so you could grill vegetables without them falling thru the grill. W-S has lots of neat gadgets. </p>
<p>I love getting gift cards/movie tickets etc. but some people (my sis…ugh) think that’s not very personal and just not Christmasy with no package to open. </p>
<p>DH sends his sibs gifts from here [Bertie</a> County Peanuts](<a href=“http://www.pnuts.net%5DBertie”>http://www.pnuts.net)
It’s something different and everything they sell is wonderful.</p>
<p>Last year I bought movie tickets and gift cards to Ruby’s at Costco. I put it in a fake plastic movie-style popcorn container I found in the dollar section at Target. I called it “dinner and a movie”. This year everyone is getting a calendar that I made using their pictures from Snapfish. Some families I had a lot of pictures that I had taken and others I took from their Facebook pages (If the pictures are not private Snapfish lets you download them from facebook). Others this year are getting fuzzy socks and mittens. My brother-in-law is a math teacher so I got him a “Pi” t-shirt from [ThinkGeek</a> :: Stuff for Smart Masses](<a href=“http://www.thinkgeek.com%5DThinkGeek”>http://www.thinkgeek.com)</p>
<p>I bought the digital frame key chains at Best Buy for $20 and filled them with pictures from our childhood for my siblings. It took a little while to scan the photos and upload them, but my daughter helped, and it was fun to go through and choose.</p>
<p>I think everyone enjoys receiving a themed basket, movies/popcorn/candy being a favorite. The wine/cheese/crackers is always nice…throw in a couple of clearance wine glasses and maybe a corkscrew. For tea and coffee lovers, a couple of dollar store mugs (our $ store has some pretty nice ones), organic teas, a lb. of DD coffee, hot cocoa or whatever they like. Or an Italian basket with some organic sauces, semolina pasta bags, a jar of grated cheese maybe all tucked in a small stainless spaghetti strainer. Shower and bath products, etc. etc. Wrap em up with some clear cellophane and tie with pretty bows.</p>
<p>bottle of wine
bottle of champagne
picture frame
gourmet food such as balsamic vinegar or fancy chocolates
movie gift cards
restaurant gift cards
theme calendar
something for their pet
new pillow
nice slippers
cashmere socks
hiking socks
new towels
absolutely beautiful and somewhat useless category: small vase, bowl, or teacup from a local artist
hand-knitted item (scarf, hat, mittens, gloves)
materials for their favorite hobby, such as beads, paints, brushes, scrapbook supplies
luxury bicycle seat (such as a Brooks leather seat)
camera memory card
specialty printer paper</p>
<p>I like the idea of consumables. I sent my sibling a holiday centerpiece from llbean.com …met with rave reviews. My BFF goes shopping with her sisters and each picks out a $30 gift for themselves from each sister…“Here’s what you can give me”…They get an afternoon shopping together as a bonus! Fortunately they live near enough to each other. Wouldn’t work for everybody, but they love it!</p>
<p>Before my husbands sibs called off the gift exchange (my family never did it in the first place), we were HAPPILY exchanging a box of Omaha Steaks for a box of Harry and David pears. We like getting the same thing year after year. It’s gone in a few days, so it doesn’t matter if we had it last year. Maybe you can hit on something they’d like to receive annually–ideally something that is indigenous to your area and not theirs (if you don’t live in the same place). My husband’s grandmother used to send the family an annual box of See’s chocolates from San Francisco, back before you could buy it in every mall in the country. It was a special, once-a-year treat.</p>
<p>I am not “crafty” in the least and can not even cut a straight line, but one year I made everyone double fleece blankets ( [How</a> to Make a Double Fleece Blanket | eHow.com](<a href=“http://www.ehow.com/how_4805718_double-fleece-blanket.html]How”>http://www.ehow.com/how_4805718_double-fleece-blanket.html) ) that were a big hit. I got different fleece depending on their likes/interests including sailboats, Hawaiian print, paw prints, penguins, sports teams, college themes, etc… They are easy to make and are pretty quick especially if you have help tying the knots.</p>
<p>I always like getting and giving movie gift certificates also, but with the proliferation of movie theaters that serve dinner, I’ve moved to those. Looove getting and giving a movie + dinner. We have Alamo Drafthouses here, but you can google your relatives’ city, of course, for theaters that have dinner (and wine!).</p>
<p>Gift certificate to a restaurant in their town. Since there’s not time to have it sent to you (if they live out of town), the restaurant will send it directly to them. I prefer to fina a not chain restaurant. Go to tripadvisor.com with the name of their town. It will have restaurants ranked by popularity, with reviews.</p>
<p>Put an end to this when I noticed I was spending $50 to $100 dollars and getting gifts I had no use for.</p>
<p>Also my sib and his wife stopped giving the kids gifts (they have no kids). So I just suggested that we refrain/abstain and I’ve been happy with my decision.</p>
The movie gift card + candy sounds good, thanks and keep em coming!!</p>