<p>Joan, click on the link in her post. It is now bookmarked in my “bizzare gifts” folder. :D</p>
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<p>Not a student gift in my house…I bought a share for H and it was by far the biggest hit. His parents, sisters and nieces (all avid Packer fans) were also very excited about it. </p>
<p>For the kids, D got a new ipod, as well as some clothes she likes and a book of Sondheim lyrics. S’s big gift is a trip to NYC for a weekend. Both kids like the gift cards and money is always a winner.</p>
<p>D1: sparkly ugg boots and viva juicy couture perfume</p>
<p>D2: black ugg boots, camera, $10 eyeshadow pallet from Forever 21.</p>
<p>Their grandpa got them Northface jackets. So I feel like they are a little cliche and conspicuous consumption with the ugg boots. But they are teen girls…</p>
<p>Throughout the fall, I knit colorful fingerless mittens for all of the girls – nine pairs for the daughters and nieces. Most of the older boys (high school, college, and beyond) got SmartWool socks. (The nephew at Harvard seemed especially appreciative). My Ds received SmartWool socks also. But the great surprise, when they thought presents were “done” was when I pulled those perfect light blues boxes from Tiffany’s for my purse! A couple of the boys received “party” lightbulbs that I found at Home Depot. Color changing LEDs in the shape of an incandescent bulb.</p>
<p>I have to put in a “miss” comment on the LL Bean Fitness Hoodie. D2 recieved one, and says it is not form-fitting enough for her (she and D1 are both slim, and like to show it off – must say that I own one, and it fits me just fine :p).</p>
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<p>OMG!! These are too perfect for any number of people I know. Thank you, thank you.</p>
<p>^
I now have this site bookmarked.</p>
<p>Thanks, mansfield!</p>
<p>Adding the student perspective with other posters. </p>
<p>Hits: Train tickets to NYC for January to go see a taping of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon! I am a huge fan of late-night talk shows and Jimmy is #2 on my list right behind Conan O’Brien. Tickets are free to the show but the train tickets are the pricey part of the gift. </p>
<p>Miss: I don’t think my parents missed this year at all. I had a small list of movies/TV shows/CDs I wanted but that was it. Clothes are a big question mark because of size issues do better bought in person anyway.</p>
<p>BTW, the Unemployed philosophers usually have a booth at the Union Square and Bryant Park Christmas markets in NYC.</p>
<p>Hits–Wii Zelda Gold (sort of a miss too as it was a gift from S to D but now S is playing it until he leaves to go back to work & then D will get a brief chance at it before she has to go back to school).</p>
<p>Hit–Coach leather wristlet for D, as well as silk thermal top for D (tho she wishes the color were other than pink). 
Hit also–Prince Valiant bound books for H & all of us to pore over–love the illustrations (gift from the kids). Food–yummy fruits from relatives via mail. Ball that lights when you bounce it from H to nephew (age 6) is huge hit as well. H’s personally selected See’s Candies were also big hit. Wristlet for niece, jar of pickles & gardening snipper for B & SIL were also hits.</p>
<p>Misses–wallet for me from D (too bulky & heavy), packing folder for S from me (he already purchased one for himself & loves it–says the smaller one is too small to be useful & only need one to pack an entire week’s worth of shirts). Chocolate covered jelly beans–just weird. Bamboo cutting boards–we already have MANY cutting boards but S thought they would be great to add to our collection (already have ONE bamboo one & my folks have many unused ones in their kitchen as well). Cool, expensive headphones were near-miss: D has decided after due deliberation that she’ll wait & get cordless ones rather than the ones I got her from Costco.</p>
<p>I just wanted to add that if my child greeted ANY gift with a frown, that would be the last gift he ever received from me.</p>
<p>My best hits were items I found a the resale shop crossroads juicy couture sweats, Nina shoes, a great coat, and some juicynhoodies from eBay</p>
<p>All totalled less then new one juicy hoodie</p>
<p>Other hits were tights and socks, and some tops I admired showed up under the tree, also bathrobes were greatly appreciated by my girls who both live in apartments</p>
<p>Have to add another hit. Last year, I made fleece pants for about a dozen people either out of college print fleece or NFL prints. This year, the kids who got them last year love them because many of them are paying their heat bills. Also this year, I made a pair for our niece’s husband. The next day, she announced that she insisted he put on regular pants at two in the afternoon, but that she would like a pair too.</p>
<p>What does it say about us that we have most everything on the Unemployed Philosphers Most Obsure Page?? Including multiple Michael Foucault puppets.</p>
<p>Hits: A can of mini bungee cords, a four track tape recorder, a book of Pogo cartoons, some voodoo dolls and a piccolo.</p>
<p>Misses: Flannel pajama pants.</p>
<p>Skyrim game for DH. Of course, he bought a new computer so he could play it…</p>
<p>Don’t think anything for the kids was a real hit this year. Cash, gift cards etc. Ho hum. But I did just send my 25 year old a box filled with his old star wars stuff, figurines from his childhood etc. I figure that will be a hit for at least a few minutes, since he just bought a working R2D2 robot. (And even if it’s not, at least it’s out of MY basement!)</p>
<p>Hits: Michael Kohrs wristlet that holds iPhone for D1, iPhone for S2, Garmin 110 running watch for S3. S3 also really liked his Lego Chewbacca key ring. BIL seemed to really like the Pop Quiz math clock we got at Think Geek [url=<a href=“http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/lights/ac3f/?pfm=Search&t=pop%20quiz%20math%20clock]ThinkGeek”>http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/lights/ac3f/?pfm=Search&t=pop%20quiz%20math%20clock]ThinkGeek</a> :: Pop Quiz Clock<a href=“he%20is%20a%20math%20teacher”>/url</a>. Grandma got S2 and S3 these really cool calendars. One is a dart board calendar that is magnetic and each month there is a different target (which came with magnetic darts). The other is a basketball calendar and game with a blow-up basketball and a hoop with different backgrounds each month. </p>
<p>Misses: Possibly the ACT study cards in S3’s stocking were a miss. But I am hoping he uses them. </p>
<p>MD mom: How hard are those fleece pajamas to make? One year I made most of the people on my lists No-sew double fleece blankets with various themed prints.</p>
<p>OK…
Hits with DS…a massage (scheduled and paid for while he was here). Those smart phone gloves. </p>
<p>Miss. We wanted to buy him a new IPhone but he doesn’t want to buy one until the 5 comes out. Oh well.</p>
<p>The worm came with me to buy my iphone 4; I wanted him to upgrade to the S and I’'d take his 4. He was “no go”. He did teach me the basics.</p>
<p>The Brookstone balls were a hit. The Neiman Marcus cashmere sweater was a hit (wore thru vacation). Other clothes go back. The Steve Jobs book was a “ho hum”.</p>
<p>Hits with … Hunter rain boots(expensive red rubber boots that look like something fireman wear) and a car charger for her I phone. Also a hit three La Coste collared pullovers and two pairs of Sperry Top Siders which she wears like a uniform.
Miss…noise canceling head phones.</p>
<p>S2 and S3 had previously gotten noise-canceling headphones and wore them out, so asked for them again and they were a hit.</p>