The following are mixed up across both #1 and #2’s families. You know, to obfuscate.
FIL: A light for his grill and a mandolin.
MIL: An almost top of the line replacement blender. The $90 one, not the $500 one.
GIL1: A book with questions about her past that she fills out. And a calendar.
GIL2: A quarter share in a group-purchased Austin Air Filter.
SIL: $50 to help her meet her goal of getting her credit cards paid off completely by February (wedding debt…)… possibly also YMoYL and All Your Worth… oh, and JD’s excellent tome, Your Money: The Missing Manual
Sister: Tickets to the Nutcracker and a french press
Mother: $50 giftcard to local bookstore (as per usual)
Father: A beard trimmer (he requested one! He is SO IMPOSSIBLE to shop for)
BIL and SIL2: UPDATE YOUR AMAZON LISTS PLEASE. Seriously.
And any family member who has to get me obligatory gifts– I really do want the stuff on my Amazon list. Especially the stuff marked “highest” and “high.” There’s a variety of prices and options. So if you don’t know what to get me because you don’t know me very well but feel as if you must get me something, my Amazon wish list is a fantastic place to look. Not saying I don’t appreciate the sugary foods I can’t eat or the perfumey soaps and lotions I can’t use because my body is broken… I’m perfectly happy to pass those on to someone who can (the daycare ladies think we’re amazingly generous). They’re definitely great gifts and all. Just saying that getting stuff off my Amazon wishlist brings me extra joy.
We need your help on some other gifts:
The FIL who has everything.
The 30-something-male perfect significant other who is not into sports. (x2)
What do you suggest? And what are you all getting for your loved ones (if anything at all)?
Grumpy Rumblings (of the formerly untenured) 
December 15, 2010 at 7:17 am
For the person who has everything I like to get consumable gifts. My grandparents are like that. One of them is getting the Sam’s Club size bag of pancake mix (it’s their favorite, and they don’t live near Sam’s Club) and fancy syrup. The other pair is getting a bottle of wine from a local winery and some fancy cheese and crackers. Obviously you need to know at least a little about the person you are giving to, to know if they can use what you give them (as you well know, it seems), but this gives them something without adding to the clutter. Another idea is experience gifts. Tickets to a game or show? A gift certificate for his favorite restaurant?
Also, I would like someone to tell me why men are so hard to shop for. All the people on my gift-list that are hard to buy for are men.
December 15, 2010 at 2:05 pm
I do consumable gifts, too, especially for far-away grandparents. They don’t want things, but they enjoy food from the local area that I happen to be living in at the time.
One of my relatives gave a donation to Child’s Play in my name (childsplaycharity.org) and I thought that was super-rad and also considerate of them.
December 15, 2010 at 8:29 am
I am stumped myself. I quite often resort to books if I am really dying for ideas. Never know if they are a hit or not, but I try.
Men who have everything are really difficult. This may be really dumb, but would FIL like a sweatshirt from his college or fanware of some sort?
As you can tell I am at a loss.
December 15, 2010 at 2:07 pm
Books are great because whatever someone is interested in, there is a book about it. Unfortunately, I probably got them that book last year! But I do often end up wandering around aimlessly in a bookstore in order to fill out those last-minute gifts. Books are always great.
December 15, 2010 at 9:33 am
Look at the “Dimple Green Laser Pen Astronomy” on Amazon – they are amazing and a great bargain. We’ve given about 6 of them over the past year to men for Christmas/birthdays and they were a big hit. They are great for pointing out stars, so you can add a book of constellations (or probably the men have a constellation app on their smart phone). Keep in mind that these green pens can’t be used as laser pointers for presentations, however. But men love that “action at a distance” power.
You can fill baskets or bowls (dollar stores have some great, inexpensive plastic bowls or fun containers – even a Ziploc or Rubbermaid container is good) with theme goodies inside, such as
winter car kit: gloves, nifty ice scraper, insulated coffee mug, gas gift card, car wash gift card, etc.
coffee/tea – interesting bulk coffee or tea, gourmet cookies or nuts, mug, Starbucks card, etc.
books – find some interesting used books at Goodwill and write a message in the books about why you picked those books for them, gift card for your local booksellers, book mark, print out of someone’s “Top 100 Books” on interesting paper, magazine(s), etc
Food possibilities are endles- ice cream related stuff (toppings, clever scoop, syrup, gift card for ice cream, etc.); wine/liquor/beer related stuff, including glasses, cute napkins, crackers, etc.; non-perishable ingredients for ethnic meals with a grocery store GC and a cooking magazine + some utensils; etc.
After that, there’s always the dreaded fall back of calendars, scarf & hat combo, and Hickory Farm gift packs (which just might serve ’em right for being hard to buy for!)
December 15, 2010 at 2:08 pm
My family has done the “reading night” combo with things like: a few books; booklight; hot chocolate / blanket.
December 15, 2010 at 11:06 am
The men I know who are hard to buy for are hard to buy for because they’ve already bought the things that are important to them.
Me: two people are getting signed copies (by the author) of the same text; it’s a good book, and cool that the author is willing to sign.
My SIL is getting snow shoes. She and I went last winter, and she enjoyed it, so…
My Mom is getting photo stuff; they’re coasters that you put photos in, and I’m putting photos of my brother’s kids in. Photos are GREAT for grandparents.
December 15, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Oh yeah, photos! Like one of those fancy digital frames that you can load up with hundreds of pictures that cycle through. One year my brothers gave me photos of themselves in a frame that they could record a message in. Now I just push the button and hear their little-kid voices from long ago (lisp and all).
December 15, 2010 at 4:40 pm
I love love love Amazon lists and knowing what to get people.
That said, my gift to my family is coming back and annoying them :) (Have to travel)
December 15, 2010 at 8:51 pm
Lucky them!
December 15, 2010 at 6:14 pm
Having this trouble myself…in fact, should be online shopping right this very minute but we’re all very picky in my family. Would your book people find book-safes amusing? There’s a kind of cool local artist here in Austin.
Also, second the food option…speaking of which, off to figure something out!
December 15, 2010 at 8:51 pm
Haha, love the flask booksafes!
December 16, 2010 at 3:39 am
My cousin has an amazon wish list that I ignored. You know why..it’s full of stuff and she’s a hoarder. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t need a cat riding a bicycle wind fan when she’s got boxes stacked to the ceiling. She also wants a trainer for her bike even though she hasn’t ridden her actual bike since she bought it, or the exercise bike that is still in the box. For her, I’m getting an experience cirque de soliel and dinner at a fancy restaurant.
For guys, what about a fancy booze? Like we have a local bourbon company that makes very unique things. perhaps there is something in your area. Tickets to a concert? How about doing something for him that he hates doing? Or going somewhere with him that you hate going to?…as a sign of love.