So, Violet is out of town (and has made it safely to the bottom of the grand canyon ::sigh of relief::)… AND is out of cellular and internet reach, meaning, I can beg you, my fine, fine readers, to help me and not get caught. The deal is, we have agreed to only spend $20 on each other for the holidays (actually it was $10 but that is ridiculous) as we are going on a little vacation this coming January together.
So the (obvious) question is: WHAT THE HELL DO I GET MY GIRLFRIEND THAT DOESN’T SUCK FOR UNDER 20 BUCKS?
Here is what she doesn’t want or need: scarf, gloves, hat, socks.
Feel free to HELP ME PLEASE by commenting, tweeting or emailing your suggestions… or you can just sit at home, point and laugh at the screen while you keep the perfect gift idea a secret, cause you are mean like that. COME ON FOLKS! I GOT NOTHIN’!
I will have to temporarily take down this post or hide comments or something by tomorrow around 8 or 9 on the off chance that her first priority in her return to civilization is checking my blog… likely right? Hmm. Anyway… Oh, and I have to be able to pick it up by Friday – no pressure.
Oh yes, and what’s in it for you, you ask? Serious gratitude and one of the following: The person who’s gift idea I go with will either get a Cherday dedication (you can even choose the song) OR the Seal will balance the (reasonable) object of your choosing on her head – up to you…
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December 16, 2009 at 9:38 pm
~k
is there a book of poems that would make her all mush? or better yet, something like a photo album with memories (written and photo) of the two of you that you put together especially for her?
just based on how you write about her in your blogs, i can only imagine that something you put together with thought and love would be incredibly-well-received. (just no out-of-season grapes! *grin*)
a basket of some of her favorite little things all wrapped up so she gets to open each one individually? (tea, snacks, other goodies?)
some of my most-cherished gifts from partners-past have been low-cost and high-sentiment…deeply personal and thoughtful, made specifically for me. (one friend – yes, an ex, but we were no longer together at the time of the gift – made me a set of river-rock Runes when i expressed an interest in learning about divination…quite possibly the *best* present i’ve ever received, and to this day one of my most prized possessions. she collected, polished, and inscribed each one, then put them in a handmade leather pouch with a drawstring. perfect. it was the creativity and thought – the fact that it was the most perfect thing for me, in that moment in my life.)
good luck with choosing something for your perfect girl,
~k
December 16, 2009 at 9:40 pm
jessejames
Oooooh! Strong start ~k! You got the wheels spinning, that is for sure! Thanks!
December 16, 2009 at 10:18 pm
zach
a photo of the two of you, framed?
maybe with a copy of the hilarious one of the seal with everything in his bed, in a double frame? (if she likes Seal a lot).
homemade granola?
December 16, 2009 at 10:25 pm
jessejames
Ah! This is fun! I LIKE the idea of a framed pirate Seal photo. Violet would totally dig that. Serious contender! Thanks for another great idea.
December 16, 2009 at 11:04 pm
fg (for now)
new music! and i have a recommendation: sleep with heat by lovers. i’m completely crushed out on it right now, and i bet you could get them to sign it and send it to you by friday. they rock.
or maybe take her on a walk that has something special hidden away along it, or a series of things, or a series of pictures that tell a little story about things like how you felt while she was gone…i dunno. i’m bad at presents. i was thinking to do this same exact thing on my blog, so congrats on beating me to it!
December 16, 2009 at 11:09 pm
jessejames
Not good at gifts?!? The walk with hidden treasures is awesome! Will check out the tunes…
December 17, 2009 at 6:03 am
Amber
Combining a couple of the ideas above and adding a geek twist, make her a Powerpoint presentation of your relationship. Right from the beginning when you were doing long distance, include things like old emails, maybe you have messenger logs, scan in old phone bills from calling her, photos, memories of her and of you two, photos, things that happened, things that still remind you of events or occurrences. Maybe put in things you love about her, when you discovered these things. Set it all to music, use songs that mean something to both of you or are a reminder or are from that particular time period. Burn it onto a disc with a cover with a photo collage of you two on it (easily done) and do a presentation of it for her. Cook something for her (I know she’s more the cook, but I’m sure she’ll appreciate it), then sit her down by candlelight and present it to her.
December 17, 2009 at 6:14 am
greg
Amber, wow. That’s such a great idea.
Mine is this: Gf had a magnet made for me a few years back. Printed on it were some words that were very significant to me. That was one of the most thoughtful gifts I’ve ever received. Simple, inexpensive and romantic.
December 17, 2009 at 6:42 am
sarcozona
Not expensive gifts I’ve loved: cookie cutters (with DINOSAURS!), potted plants, a journal with nice paper, a massage from a friend
December 17, 2009 at 6:50 am
Jesse
wow, so many great ideas! I came here with one but I’d just feel like a cheap, unthoughtful husband posting it. LOL.
I just may cop some of these.
Thanks everyone!
December 17, 2009 at 6:51 am
trinity2
A vibrator from http://www.rocketpopp.com
December 17, 2009 at 7:12 am
sinclair
oohhh some very good ideas here
wish I had good ones to add, but I got nuthin right now. will get back to you later jesse.
December 17, 2009 at 7:20 am
JMc
We have had similar cost restrictions and have come up with the $20 gift-date. Past giftings have included cheap lunch and free day at the museum or a hotdog and a walk around the garden at the locks, followed by coffee and a cupcake, or a bike ride out to the Arboretum with Salumi sausage and fabulous cheese, or the water taxi out to west seattle and lunch at the brewery (there may have been a coupon involved in that one)…anyway, you get the idea. Time together and a new adventure.
December 17, 2009 at 7:32 am
Kate Black
A handmade accordion fold book?
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28621949
December 17, 2009 at 7:41 am
jessejames
Wow folks! I am SERIOUSLY impressed with the creativity going on here!
December 17, 2009 at 9:30 am
alphafemme
I am no good at simple gifts, so I don’t have any suggestions of my own, but DAMN these are some good suggestions from folks! My ex-girlfriend did the whole powerpoint thing, exactly as delineated above, for Valentine’s Day one year for me when we were long-distance, and it was so romantic it made me cry.
I guess my question is: do you want to go all out romantic, or do you just want to do something sweet and thoughtful but not a hugegrandgesture?
December 17, 2009 at 10:09 am
jessejames
The biggest restriction is due to my procrastination at this point and I don’t have a ton of time now. I have a bit of today and most of tomorrow to get something together but that’s it.
December 17, 2009 at 8:24 pm
alphafemme
well my idea is nowhere neeeeeeeeeeear as creative as most of these others, but if mi’lady and I decided to just exchange $20 gifts, I know I’d be really, really excited by some nice food thing that I would never buy for myself. Cuz $20 is still a lot to spend on a single food item. For example: saffron, fennel pollen, nice bottle of oil or vinegar (there are even really pretty ones! last year I got a bottle of lavender vinegar, with the flowers still in it, and I love it), caviar, a high-end coffee or tea, really good baking chocolate… Those kinds of things. Because it’s still *special* (i.e. something I wouldn’t buy for myself) and kind of luxurious, but not expensive.
Good luck!
December 17, 2009 at 2:07 pm
tangoastor
The best gifts (imho) are those bought & paid for with the heart. Something personal, meaningful, sentimental, precious and one-of-a-kind = usually they cost $0.
One of my most favorite gifts *ever* was when my gf drew me a tiny little comic book. It was full of in-jokes, sex, kittehs, queers and other things I adore. She then (over the years) has made 2 “sequels”.
I think it may have cost her $1 or so for the colored pencils.
Other suggestions:
Buy the ingredients for a home-cooked meal, cook it, serve it, clean up the mess after. Trust me. A High Femme swoons when her husbutch cooks/cleans. If not a full-on meal, then DM me or email me & I’ll give you my fool-proof recipe for dark chocolate mocha mousse with chantilly cream. The ingredients are less than $20 and it’s FUCKING DELICIOUS.
A home-made/hand-picked personalized playlist is a thing of beauty. Like Sinclair’s “A Thousand Kisses” for Kristen. I made a playlist out of existing songs on my gf’s iTunes and then surreptitiously put it on her iPod. She loved it.
A magazine subscription to “Bitch”.
The “Cute Overload” Page-A-Day Calendar for 2010.
A spankin’ new copy of “The Little Prince”. And make sure you find the page wherein the Prince talks about “it’s only with the heart that one can see rightly” and underline that passage. Write something beautiful on the cover page. Print a photo of yourself, laminate it & put that in there as the bookmark.
Good luck!
December 17, 2009 at 3:27 pm
scar
make her a disk of music with songs with her name in, or names you call her [er, the lovin ones]
December 17, 2009 at 9:06 pm
saintchick
okay so i am a little late….. Please pick me.. I want a chershoutout !
why don’t you take 5 different very nice pieces of stationary and write out 5 great memories that you have of her. Even if the are everyday plain memories (those are the best) and explain the entire day/event in detail and why it stands out as one of your favorites.. this may have already been listed, but I have thought about how sweet and from the heart this would be.
December 17, 2009 at 9:42 pm
jessejames
THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!
December 17, 2009 at 10:39 pm
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December 29, 2009 at 11:06 am
breathingmoss
Catching up on a teeming RSS reader, though I’m post-xmas at this point, I’ll add my thought anyway.
This year I bought a $12 journal made of handmade treeless paper made by women in Nepal from one of those fair-trade global gifts places (Global Exchange on Hawthorne in PDX), on parchment paper printed out all the sweet text messages my love and I exchanged during our long-distance courtship, cut out the texts and pasted them into the journal. It was far more time-consuming than I anticipated, but well worth the effort.
January 4, 2010 at 2:47 pm
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January 7, 2010 at 10:30 am
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February 18, 2010 at 6:28 am
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