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[Pedro Picasso]

hm. buying christmas presents is hard.

also: gift-giving guides for specific interests/genders/etc are always useless. What is the deal with that? Nobody in my family wants whiskey stones, or a fancy shaving kit, or a solar charger for their blackberry.

My brother told me yesterday, "Just ask. If someone had just asked when I was a kid, I would have been incredibly excited each Christmas and would eventually have had every Transformer ever made. Instead it was kind of awkward opening something and saying, 'Th..anks. I guess.'  Surprise-gift-giving is ridiculous. Just ask."

I recoiled at the monologue, but then remembered that the last Christmas gift I bought him was a t-shirt with a working electronic drum kit in it.

So yeah.

[theinevitable]

The only person who would tell me exact things was my mother. She wants compression shorts. Everyone else in my family likes to play it cool. I told them I want warm socks, because I told them that last year and no one got me any.

Frankly, I am mostly trying to eliminate objects, not gain them. I have realized that now that I am an adult, I do not need to own, say, a closet full of shirts that I kind-of like. Instead I can own 6 nice shirts that I really like. I am slowly getting there. Recently I bought a pair of slim dark blue levis without any weird fades, and I think I can probably get rid of all of my other jeans at this point. Save one pair in case I ever want to do something like paint a wall.

I have been wearing almost the same outfit every day that I don't have work, and it is kind of nice to have a life uniform.

[jay-ell]

Life uniforms are awesome, indeed.

For the technologically advanced, I have been using an iPhone app called "No More Socks" (ironic, given Inev's request). It's a good way to organize holiday gift-giving, and it can be used year-round for birthdays and such. (Built-in reminders, handy.) It's free! Check it out.

[dejavroom]

Re: uploading the image for the t-shirt. No internet at home for a while, hold on to your hats while I figure this out.

[Carlos del Vaca]

also: gift-giving guides for specific interests/genders/etc are always useless. What is the deal with that? Nobody in my family wants whiskey stones, or a fancy shaving kit, or a solar charger for their blackberry.

I got whiskey stones last year as a gift. They are bullshit. I do not like a drink with rocks in it, and if you drink it so slowly that your ice completely melts and waters down your drink, you're doing it wrong. With bourbon, the gradual melting of the ice changes the character of the drink as you sip, and that's not a bad thing.

Yes, many gift guides are crap. I saw several last year that listed the iPad. REALLY? THAT'S A THING PEOPLE MIGHT WANT? HADN'T HEARD OF IT! THANKS, EINSTEIN!

Bon Appetit usually has a good giift guide for foodie types.

[Carlos del Vaca]

Addition: I totally wish more people would have freakin' wishlists online, it makes it so much easier. If you don't want to use Amazon, try wantsthis.com.

[theinevitable]

I think if I requested a book called "Being Nobody, Going Nowhere" for Christmas my parents would worry I was planning on "not living up to my potential." I thought of this as I was falling asleep and woke myself up laughing.

[jay-ell]

I keep Amazon wishlists for myself and my kids, they are detailed and up-to-date. I also include (in the "comments" field) local stores that stock the items in question because I know not everyone likes to shop online (and some people in my family are last-minute shoppers). I've found that people love wishlists for the kids, but nobody ever wants to buy me anything off mine. Because I want weird things, apparently. (We've talked about this before.)

My list this year includes Legos, board games, video games, a bunch of nerdy t-shirts, a couple of beads for my Pandora bracelet, some sewing and knitting books, and gift cards to some places I like to go. I am doing the same thing as Inev where I'm trying to have less stuff and to only have stuff I love. But my Mom keeps buying me kitchen gadgets with only one function and fancy handbags that I never use (because I wear jeans and carry a wallet like a boy).

[jay-ell]

I do not know what Pedro does to his shoes but he bought a nice, expensive pair last year (on the theory that they would last longer than the cheap ones he usually buys) and they were unwearable within six weeks. The soles came unglued. He tried to return them to the store, and they wouldn't take them back. It sucked. He's back on cheap shoes now.

[doomglobe]

My crispness shopping has gotten real simple. 90% of my gifts are salt. Real nice stuff, I buy bulk salt from http://www.saltworks.us/wholesale-bulk-gourmet-sea-salt.asp (none of the stupid infused ones, I get the mineral rich and alternate crystal shape kinds from around the world and write up a little guide about which ones to use on which foods). I make about 20 gifts for 200 bucks in this manner, and they knock the socks off all sorts of people.

Then I have gifts for everyone, and I can really focus on a couple people who are close to me. I have been visiting friends with good etsy shops the last couple years - makes for a fun evening, I catch up with a friend, patronize their business, and get deals and advice on jewelry for the ladies I care most about.

[jaydub]

It is all he can afford on his salary.

[pmcd9]

Salt is, like .39 cents a pound.

[AugustWest]

... lock up the wife and kids and dogs.  Apparently we've got chupacabras in the neighborhood.

Oh noes!

[doomglobe]

Salt is, like .39 cents a pound.

Good salt makes a huge difference. It is the most important seasoning in any cooking, and the variety of salt available globally is actually pretty amazing. Check out Saltworks, they have some really cool stuff.

Asherdan I don't know how romans bang around, should I be doing that?

Chupacabras are a myth. It was probably bigfoot.

[jaydub]

salt...Romans...Latin....salary

_nevermind