Trouble Picking Christmas Gifts?

I get everyone in the world the same thing

The two boys who are into video games could stand to benefit from the following.

Make a note of what genre video games they play the most often. Find that genre in your DVD store. Buy the most expensive-to-make movie or TV show you can find in that genre, but only if you've actually heard of that show/movie. Kiddies don't want a no-name brand.

Trust me. A good movie or TV show will last longer than any video game, long-run-wise. (Usually.) Once you've completed a video game (or given up when it got hard) a few times, your hands remember how to do all the cool things, and pretty soon you're looking for the next high. If you can physically remember doing those things, doing them again a year later doesn't seem as interesting.

But for a movie - they do cooler things with graphics than you typically see in the you-controlling-it part of the video game. And because you're not physically causing those interactions, it's easier to go back to that DVD a year later and love it just as much as the first time.

Or maybe I'm full of crap, and am just a secret DVD agent intent on converting gamers to a more inert state for my Master Plan TM...

But yes, that was my first thought on the matter.

ButtonTheCat said:

Booze?

Drugs?

Seasonal gift cards that expire the day after Christmas?

Click to expand...

A hardy "Happy Holidays" and a nod

10-year old boys should be easy. Mine, at that age, loved anything that fired projectiles, and had the word "NERF" on the box.

Last year all four of my kids got NERF swords, they were the most used gifts they got. My youngest is a girl, and they range in age from 7-18. They still beat the snot out of each other with them, and the swords are starting to fall apart.

The helicopter pilot who travels - I'd look into whether he has a decent camera/video camera yet (if you're planning on spending that much on him...). My sister is a big wine drinker / traveller, and when she travels she always includes enough money in her savings to go on a bender, so I'd steer away from buying him booze, but what she always does is take loads of pictures.

If the pilot has a computer, definitely go with a digital camera/video camera. If no computer, then perhaps an old-style camera that was really famous for its day and age (but not the collector's items unless you have a spare $10,000 !).

Was I any help?

Your mum - I need to know more about what she likes to do to be any help.

The only thing I can currently think of is a home-made greeting card that says, "You're lucky I got you even this, so be thankful," with a $50 note inside.

*shrug*

All my shopping is done.

Hobby Lobby has some really cool science kits for kids.
Make your own superballs.
The Mentos and coke experiment.
Triops. (Like sea monkeys, only much bigger, and cannibalistic )
Baking soda submarine.
I think there are kits to make slime and putty, too.

Or check the bookstore, and get "Oh Yuck! The Encyclopedia of Everything Nasty" . That's always a hit.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0761107711/?tag=absowrit-20

My ex MIL (common law) ws so awful that I finally started donating to great causes and giving her the 'donation was made in your name' cards they give you. I felt sooo much better She was still awful, but she was always awful, seriously.

My brother has made it some kind of a test over the years, and I find that very frustrating. I'll never pass one of his tests. I got him a cool little something and called it a day. I'm not spending much on nutty-family party games I enjoy seeing him, anyway