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  #1  
Old 12-13-2002, 12:56 AM
ADPiViolets ADPiViolets is offline
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Lightbulb Gift ideas for Boyfriend's PARENTS

Hi everyone!

My boyfriend and I have been together for over a year. He is so easy to buy for at Christmas. (He's a car guy, so just get him anything to do with his Grand Prix, and he's happy).

When it comes to buying for his parents, on the otherhand, I am absolutely clueless. I bought his mom a candle last year. We had only been together for about a month at that time.

But now, it's been longer, and we plan to be engaged next year, so because we are so serious, I think I should get them something nicer.

I asked him what I should get them, and he said he had no idea.
So now I am taking it to you guys... Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you in advance for any ideas you might have!
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  #2  
Old 12-13-2002, 01:04 AM
juniorgrrl juniorgrrl is offline
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My guy and I have been together 5+ years, and I still don't know what to get his parents. I honestly would have never thought to get them anything until *they* gave me something the 2nd year we were dating.

Last year, I was pressed for time, so I re-gifted a really nice wine basket. I felt kinda badly about it until I opened what they gave me - a travel organizer bag. Right. Because I travel so much, in between going to college full time and going home every other weekend and not needing a 400 pocket bag for makeup. It was probably a re-gift too.

It stayed in the closet for a few months, then I saw them at Bed Bath and Beyond. So, I returned it and parlayed it into $20 towards a really nice stainless steel garbage can for the kitchen.

My boyfriend still doesn't know

This year, I'm thinking of getting them a set of glasses from Mignon Faget. (www.mignonfaget.com) They're very label conscious so that should be a big hit
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  #3  
Old 12-13-2002, 10:03 AM
dzrose93 dzrose93 is offline
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Smile

Gifts for the bf's parents are always a little stressful. My suggestion is to find out what some of their hobbies are and use that as the basis for your gift. Also, if your bf is getting them something that you could add to, that's always good.

For example, I know that my bf's dad loves watching movies. So, last year, I found an awesome ceramic popcorn bowl at Crate & Barrel and filled it with packets of gourmet popcorn, hot cocoa, and a $10 gift certificate to Blockbusters. My bf bought his dad a DVD player that year for Christmas, so my gift matched his really well.

For his stepmom, I went to a local spa and got a few bath items (scented soap, a candle, loofah sponge... you get the idea) and created a gift basket out of them. My bf got her a gift certificate to the spa, and we added that to the basket that I had created. Both gifts went over really well.

Hope these ideas help! Good luck with your holiday shopping!
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  #4  
Old 12-13-2002, 10:38 AM
carnation carnation is offline
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For all you people just starting a relationship and wanting an idea for a Christmas present, a poinsettia for their house is always classic. People seem to like either red or one of the unusual new varieties, like the marbled or spotted ones.

Dzrose...what great ideas!
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  #5  
Old 12-13-2002, 11:21 AM
juniorgrrl juniorgrrl is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by carnation
For all you people just starting a relationship and wanting an idea for a Christmas present, a poinsettia for their house is always classic. People seem to like either red or one of the unusual new varieties, like the marbled or spotted ones.

Dzrose...what great ideas!
My boyfriend gets my mom a pointsettia every year for christmas. Apparently, it was something his brother did with all of his girlfriends, and they just passed the tradition on.
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  #6  
Old 12-13-2002, 12:00 PM
Imthechamp Imthechamp is offline
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I usually would give my ex's parents gift certificates for Olive Garden/Outback/Tahoe Joes/Whatever else decent restraunt is in town for any type of holiday/anniversary/birthday.

Can't go wrong with a nice dinner.
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  #7  
Old 12-13-2002, 12:16 PM
Ginger
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I agree...a gift certificate to a mid to high quality restaurant is always nice.

Otherwise, my boyfriend and I just give gifts from the both of us. Saves much anxiety
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  #8  
Old 12-14-2002, 03:17 AM
juniorgrrl juniorgrrl is offline
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A few years ago, I gave Boy's parents a framed black and white photo I'd taken of him for a photography class. They loved it
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  #9  
Old 12-14-2002, 10:31 AM
navane navane is offline
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One year I bought my boyfriend's parents a small timepiece for their fireplace mantle. Nothing hugely expensive or anything. I made sure it matched the decor. Now 5 years later, his mom has it on her bedside table.

This year I got his parents individual presents. For his dad I chose a nice toiletries bag with silver shoe horn, mirror, etc (juniorgrrl, it's not a re-gift, I promise!). Yes, as a businessman, he *does* travel a LOT. I got his mom a garden-themed diary/planner. She loves her garden and the planner has some stunning floral illustrations in it. I hope they like them!

.....Kelly
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  #10  
Old 12-14-2002, 10:40 AM
James James is offline
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Going along with Carnation's pointsetta idea and Dzrose's gift basket . . .

Almost any pre made gift basket is not a bad idea . . . it looks nice at the holidays, its useful/eatible, and it has the added bonus of being disposable.

I am still not comfortable with this infamous re-gifting. I know we had a thread about it but I was taught it was the height of bad manners to give someone a gift you had gotten as a gift.

There are "gift expectations," namely that you went out and specifically got that gift for that person.

I think I would like a person a lot les if they gave me a re-gift and I somehow found out (I'd rather get a card), and I would be suspicious of my gift if I knew the person did this in general.

But hey, thats just me.
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  #11  
Old 12-14-2002, 11:37 AM
James James is offline
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Actually, looking back on my post above, it might look unduly critical.

But honestly, I am fully aware that everyone has their own ideas about gifts and gift giving.
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  #12  
Old 12-14-2002, 11:41 AM
Munchkin03 Munchkin03 is offline
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Man, even though this is our third Christmas, there hasn't been much gift-exchanging. Maybe it's more important when you live in the same town/region, but when you're from Florida, you go to school in New England (where the boy lives as well), and your boy's family lives in the Midwest, there's not much gift-exchanging. His whole family does a Secret Santa, which I've been in on for the past two years. When I spent the few days after Christmas there, I did bring a box of nice chocolates to their house...which worked out really well because they said they had been looking for those chocolates the whole season and couldn't find them.

So, maybe I need to pay more attention to this. I haven't even figured out what I'm buying my own parents, let alone his.
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  #13  
Old 12-14-2002, 12:03 PM
cash78mere cash78mere is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by carnation
For all you people just starting a relationship and wanting an idea for a Christmas present, a poinsettia for their house is always classic. People seem to like either red or one of the unusual new varieties, like the marbled or spotted ones.

Dzrose...what great ideas!
that is a good idea but make sure that they don't have animals in the house!!! poinsettias are POISONOUS to animals if ingested--which it probably will be because animals love plants.
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  #14  
Old 12-14-2002, 02:39 PM
Lynzi Lynzi is offline
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My mom and I always make a tonne of Christmas candy, and I had never met my boyfirend's mother and only met his father a couple of times, so I sent (they live far away) a big tin full of Christmas candy for their family....gingerbread men, shortbread, gumdrops, caramels, fudge, all sorts of stuff. His mother was really impressed, and his father and brother enjoyed it, too . We'd been going out for about a year and a half at the time.
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  #15  
Old 12-14-2002, 04:21 PM
AchtungBaby80 AchtungBaby80 is offline
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If you two are serious, why not buy the parents something like a nice piece of Fenton art glass? All of it is gorgeous, plus you can get it in just about any color and price range...and "joint gifts" (to both parents, not a separate gift for each) are always easier.
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