What are you buying your parents/inlaws?

[emoflamingo]

I am stumped. Please help with some suggestions?!

My dad drives a truck and has been restoring a classic Corvette. Diabetic, but isn't as strict on his diet as he should be. He is having surgery soon on his elbow, so he will be out of work for 6 weeks.

My ILs make awesome money so they usually buy whatever they want for themselves. My FIL is the rough USMC type who is hyper vigilant about everything, especially weather preparedness. One year we bought him a pith helmet that he really wanted. He just finished painting our new house, including ceilings. My MIL is crafty and I think she likes wine. We were at an event recently and she was sad this local place was out of olives (I think they were filled with blue cheese?), but that's the only idea I have.

Please help!

[sierramist03]

I'm stumped too!! We are doing gifts with the in laws this year but I'm stumped for my parents. I'm thinking about a hotel gift card because they go on a week long bike ride with their group and stay in hotels. They have a brand they prefer.

Sorry I'm not helpful but you aren't alone!!

[Deleted]

Ha! My inlaws are the fussiest, "I don't need anything! What did you buy this for?!" people on the planet. They're great people but they don't take gifts real well. We usually do a family gift from all of us, so they get something big they actually need. Be prepared to read about my holiday drama with this in about another month (as always!).

My parents are getting a hot air balloon ride as a group gift from the kids too. They have every little thing ever..so pooling our money for something is a good bet.

I'm such help. Cool story bro and all that. Just know I feel your pain.

[emoflamingo]

Haha good to know I am not alone. I need to talk to my sisters since they live with my dad to see what he needs. I Just know he is stubborn and he is totally the type to sneak money back to you if you try to pay for something. He tried to pay for our RD ages ago without my ILs knowing.

[heygrey]

H has 9 siblings so we tend to pitch in for a more extravagant group gift or putting money towards travel for them. If no one has any good group ideas we give them gift cards to their favorite restaurant and movie theater passes. They honestly love that combo because they don't need anything and they like date nights.

I usually buy my parents books and/or tv on DVD. Ill buy them a few seasons at a time, but then I can spread out the whole show out over Christmas and birthdays. I just finished buying them JAG. now they want mash or dukes of hazard. They are wonderful about giving specific ideas for gifts when asked. We're a very no nonsense family and rarely are there real surprises.

Not gonna lie, I'm glad our parents are easy to please.

[Deleted]

Does your dad need anything for his truck? My brother drives truck too and he asked for a couple of his "brand" sweatshirts, a window decal for his truck and a cooler that sits on his seat.

Does your grocery store have an olive bar? Ours does and it's really fun to pick out different olives. I do it for parties and app night quite often. Throw in a couple bottles of wine or a gc to a wine tasting.

Otherwise, what about something they can do with you and the kids. My inlaws are all about "gift cards" for an overnight slumber pizza party with out to breakfast the next morning, theater tickets to a kiddie show etc.

If not that, There's always the tie of the month club. And ever guy always needs a new flashlight.

[emoflamingo]

Heygrey, if you can get the MASH box set, it is awesome. I got it from H a few years ago.

[sierramist03]

There are a couple wineries in Weston, MO maybe you can make a day out with her. Do some shopping and do the wine tastings.

[ssmjlm]

My parents get separate gifts. This year mom is getting a spa gc for a massage and mani/pedi. Especially since she just primed all the trim in the nursery for me.

My dad is getting some clothes and a dustbuster for their condo. That man loves his dustbuster and mentioned missing having one at their condo down by us.

MIL and her hubby are getting personalized cutting boards, spreader set and a gc to the "fancy" grocery store. FIL is getting a bird feeder and a special christmas seed blend.

The best gift that went over really well was a couple years ago I snuck around taking photos of everyone's houses and then had someone on etsy paint watercolors of them. Then I matted and framed them.

[kaylie]

My mom is getting a digital picture frame.

MIL is getting a gift card to her favorite online nursery to buy plants in the spring.

FIL is always a challenge because he has everything he could possibly want. Last year I did a photo canvas with a picture of him and all three boys at the wedding. He has no family pictures in the house, so I thought it was a natural choice. He really liked that. This year he's probably getting a gift certificate to a fancy restaurant or the Kindle store.

[emoflamingo]

Nov 24, 2012 19:47:57 GMT -5 @justdairy said:

Does your dad need anything for his truck? My brother drives truck too and he asked for a couple of his "brand" sweatshirts, a window decal for his truck and a cooler that sits on his seat.

Does your grocery store have an olive bar? Ours does and it's really fun to pick out different olives. I do it for parties and app night quite often. Throw in a couple bottles of wine or a gc to a wine tasting.

Otherwise, what about something they can do with you and the kids. My inlaws are all about "gift cards" for an overnight slumber pizza party with out to breakfast the next morning, theater tickets to a kiddie show etc.

If not that, There's always the tie of the month club. And ever guy always needs a new flashlight.

Good call on the truck accessories. The surgery is having is related to working (he has some nerve damage from his elbow down to his wrist because of the way he sits in the truck). I wonder if I can call the company to find out about accessories for it.

My FIL is not a tie guy lol. He doesn't do vacations and dressing up for him usually involves "the nice jeans."

[mrsemilys]

We are doing shutterfly calendars of DD, a custom canvas of a pretty pic of DD for FIL's office, and a few other small things

[bunnymendelbaum]

My parents we are doing a gift certificate to get family photos done in the summer when we are all home. Plus we are convincing my mom to let my dad get an iPhone.

My FIL is the sincere 'I don't want gifts type.' My DH wraps up the same exact bike odometer every single year and he gives it right back. It is their running joke this year.
For MIL we are getting a ceramic ornament printed with DDs photo and maybe a photo book if I get around to it. She loves that stuff.

[emoflamingo]

Bunny, that's sweet! We had family photos done about 2 years ago but there's 2 new babies in the family, so maybe I should plant that seed for next fall.

[emjacobs]

I'm going with gifts from uncommon goods this year.

I'm tight on the budget this year so I'm cutting it short for a lot of things. My dad is getting glasses with different guitars on them to replace his favorite ones that my mom broke, mom and MIL are going to get stone pendants, Ts dad and stepmom usually don't do gifts so they are easy.

[auntie]

My ILs are gone, so nothing there. Previously I bought my MIL one of those Alfred Dunner themed outfits. You know, the Garanimals for little old blue-haired ladies- a skirt, elastic pull on pants, sweater, blouse and pull on top that all go together. She loved that stuff, when she died her little old lady older sister emptied the closets and wore then until she died.

My dad, who has some health problems, will be getting a heavy box of books from Amazon and maybe an Eagles themed gift from DS. Last year it was a creepy garden gnome that looked like dad- I bought it for $5, but it cost $12 to ship. It was his favorite gift and travels with him from MD to FL for the winter.

My mother? Who knows. I was doing vintage gold charms for her bracelet, but it must be full by now. And she has more stuff than she needs. And after cleaning out my aunt's house when she went into the nursing home last fall, I'm not looking to make work for myself. I was thinking about some good cookware, but I just don't know.

[vic1011]

My mom is getting a knife set - possibly a block and a set of chef knives. When I was visiting her this summer there were no good knives in the house and she does a lot of cooking from her garden.

My dad? Probably an art.com gift certificate - they just moved and want "country" art to go in their house, no idea what that means though.

MIL - new digital camera. Her old one broke and my FIL took it apart...with two new babies in on the way in the family, it's necessary though they wouldn't buy it on their own.

FIL - Lowes GC and a ponderosa GC (gag me, but it's his favorite). Possibly not the lowes card - I'll let DH figure out what to get him otherwise.

[aweilba]

I never know what to get my in-laws. DH usually takes care of that. Apparently his dad wants a DNA testing kit this year... weird.

I got my dad a custom made Mallard duck call. He's recently gotten back into hunting now that his dog is a little older and better trained. He was nervous to take her as a puppy, but she's doing great now. He goes hunting almost every weekend now.

I'm making my mom a window jewelry hanger, as I made last year for myself. She loves it. Every time she's at my house, she says something about how nice one would look in her house.

[bunnymendelbaum]

Nov 24, 2012 22:00:17 GMT -5 emoflamingo said:

Bunny, that's sweet! We had family photos done about 2 years ago but there's 2 new babies in the family, so maybe I should plant that seed for next fall.

We had them done about 4 years ago. This summer there will be 3 new kids! Plus, it was sooo awkward the first time because we could not decide whether or not to have my brother's serious girlfriend in them or not. We did and thankfully they got married!

[adhdfashion]

I get my inlaws clothes and big framed pics of the grandkids.
Because......
They dress like hobo's and have a giant house with empty walls. ;D

[tarheels]

We're a boring bunch that exchanges mainly practical things.

MIL - replacement knobs for her vintage oven, a special set of S&P shakers, a scarf hanger, stocking stuffers from Sephora

FIL - work gloves, DVDs, tools

My mom - a dishwasher She's in the middle of a big whole house reno, so an appliance really is hugely appreciated lol.

[emoflamingo]

I think I'm going to get olives, wine and a unique wine stopper for MIL. See if I can contact someone at the dealership for an arm rest for my dad. But my FIL is still one I'm stumped on. It's hard because he never "wants" for anything! And since he just painted our whole house, I wanted to get something good. Grr.

[thatgirl2478]

FIL and UIL get nuts.

BIL just had gastric bypass - so no nuts for him - he's getting a gc to Sears so he can get new clothes once he starts to lose weight.

Mom got some cat stuff from a local artist.
Dad got a new decorative bird house & some bird seed.

[jessicah628]

Mom - had a handmade quilted tree skirt made for her
Dad - Patagonia sweater
FIL - beer making kit
MIL - Rachael Ray cooking utensils

[lemondrop]

MIL & FIL: Restaurant Gift Card (DH will pick that out)
My Parents: DVD player, work bag (mom) and keyboard (dad)

My brothers and I are splitting my parents gifts to save a little money this year.

[pitterwoo]

Nov 25, 2012 21:26:54 GMT -5 mintchocochip said:

Dad--a Nook. He recently left his on an airplane. I think I'll see if I can get a leash for him to tether it to himself.

Mom--no idea

Brother--buckyballs, he left them at his old office and they're going out of business so I snatched them up on sale

SIL--Bath and Body Works Blue Spa line. She loves that stuff

No inlaws!

I'd like to get these for BIL. Can you share where you found them on sale?

[sassafrass]

We got my inlaws a gift certificate for a Spirit dinner cruise around the Baltimore inner harbor.

My mom is getting a bunch of things... sound machine, plates, flatware and other odd stuff.

My father... that's the problem. i have no idea what to get him. he's so difficult to buy for. i get stressed out every year trying to figure something out.

[thewop]

Step-FIL: he's a big Duck Dynasty fan so MIL suggested we get him a Duck Commander duck call. It was $20 on Amazon :-p
MIL: she wanted a cheap watch.
FIL: no idea. Barnes & Noble GC?

[wawa]

Nov 24, 2012 20:31:08 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

My parents get separate gifts. This year mom is getting a spa gc for a massage and mani/pedi. Especially since she just primed all the trim in the nursery for me.

My dad is getting some clothes and a dustbuster for their condo. That man loves his dustbuster and mentioned missing having one at their condo down by us.

MIL and her hubby are getting personalized cutting boards, spreader set and a gc to the "fancy" grocery store. FIL is getting a bird feeder and a special christmas seed blend.

The best gift that went over really well was a couple years ago I snuck around taking photos of everyone's houses and then had someone on etsy paint watercolors of them. Then I matted and framed them.

these are all great ideas, but the bolded is AWESOME. I'm filing that idea away for next year.

[SusanBAnthony]

DH and I just hashed this out on the car ride home from tday.

His dad is getting booze. He wants nothing else.
His mom is getting a photo book of the kids and portraits done with our kids and sil's baby.
My mom we went in with the siblings and are getting her a jam box (?) some kind of wireless speaker for her iPhone.
My dad literally wants nothing and does not like gifts, so I will pick him up something edible at the farmers market and call it a day.