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Holiday Draw

Lauren

Every year my family draws names instead of buying Christmas (aka Atheist Kids Get Presents, Too! Day) presents for everyone in the family. This saves us all some money, a headache or two, and hopefully quells the holiday-related spoiling of youngsters.

Two Questions:
What would be a great gift for a brilliant, feminist, mouthy, headstrong pre-teen girl?

What would be a great gift for a forty-something brother-in-law? (If he gets yet another alumni-themed gift I think he’ll revolt.)

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I decided to get Ethan a video game system for Christmas, and after doing some research decided on the Nintendo GameCube. I’m familiar with the interface and am more comfortable with the Nintendo brand than the other gaming systems, thanks to being a Nintendo kid myself. I got one off of ebay for very little. Therefore, Immediate Family Who Has Been Charged With Buying Us Presents, good E-rated GameCube games for Ethan would be appreciated. And Legos. Always Legos.

Anyone have any suggestions on good GameCube games for kids?

I, on the other hand, am torn for my own list. I’ve been a little naughty and a little nice this year, but the real question this season is whether or not to be frivolous or pragmatic. I’m graduating in two weeks and I have no job. I’m not applying for teaching jobs, have no real idea what I’m going to do with my degree, and have no money, as in once I pay bills for December we have zero dollars in the bank. Fucking scary. So while part of me wants to ask for yarn, yarn, and other crafty wonderfulness, the rest of me knows that what I should be asking for includes gift certs for professional clothing, for a proper interview suit or something, and cash.

Oh, the decisions.

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Also, I found an awesome idea for what to do with your old Cons. Must do this.

42 thoughts on Holiday Draw

  1. Thank you for calling it “Atheist Kids Get Presents, Too” Day instead of Z’s “Atheist Kids Get Presents Day, Too”. It drives me fucking batty.

    And thanks for the heads-up on what to get E… I’m not down with getting him a video game to rot in front of the teevee with, but maybe something more real-life interactive will do. You on the other hand… I’m sure we’ll figure something out (minus a butt-load of cash which we, unfortunately, cannot provide for you). What about Ryan? We have no clue what to get him.

  2. If said girl is musically inclined…how about a musical instrument and lessons? Martial arts lessons. Sport team membership – ie soccer or softball. All are activities that will both sharpen her talents AND teach some of the humility that comes with the discipline of mastering music or participation in a team (be it band or sports).

    Bro-in-law — think activities — green fees at his local golf course (assuming he plays golf), theater tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, etc. Is he interested in gourmet cooking? How about popping for lessons.

    My parents are very active 70-somethings and I haven’t given them much in the way of “things” in years…Dad golfs, Mom gardens, they ski, love movies and good restaurants. We all coordinate our gifts to them around such activities.

  3. Also, I found an awesome idea for what to do with your old Cons. Must do this.

    When I was younger, I filled an old converse sneaker with dirt and grew a plant out of it. Wish I had photos, but it was awesome. I’ve been getting into a fill it with dirt and plant shit kick lately, as an alternative to actually throwing anything away, a cardinal sin in my family.

  5. If your brother-in-law barbecues, you could make him a bunch of dry rubs for fairly little money.

    I’m getting my nephew a Roboraptor. I think my sister will begin to hate me at about 11 am on Christmas day. Unless she makes us go to Mass or something, which means the hate will be delayed until about 2 pm.

  6. good E-rated GameCube games for Ethan would be appreciated. And Legos. Always Legos.

    Lauren,

    “Lego Star Wars” is a lot of fun. It’s E-rated, because, well, they’re all Legos, but of course there’s Star Wars-style fighting. So it just depends on your feelings one way or the other on the appropriateness of that; but it definitely jumped into my head from your description.

  7. BTW, the other nice thing about Lego Star Wars is that it’s fun for adults, as these things go, and two people can play co-operatively, so you and Ethan could both sit down and play, or he can play by himself, depending on your preference.

  8. [DISCLAIMER: I’M A NERD]

    Lego Star Wars is fun, that’s a great pick.

    How can you have a Nintendo system without getting a Mario game? Super Mario Sunshine isn’t as good as its predecessors, but it’s not bad, and since it’s cheap now it’s worth getting.

    But really, IMO the crowing achievement in terms of E games on NGC has got to be The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker. It’s gorgeous, it plays well, it’s not difficult, it’s a classic game. It’s also a couple of years old, so you’ll be able to find it for lt/eq $20

  9. We are lucky enough to have a theatre supply and costume store close to us. Stage blood, amputated fingers, fake scars, and tooth-black for that missing-tooth look make a great gift.

    As for the pre-teen girl, I don’t really have any ideas 🙂

  10. What would be a great gift for a brilliant, feminist, mouthy, headstrong pre-teen girl?

    What would be a great gift for a forty-something brother-in-law? (If he gets yet another alumni-themed gift I think he’ll revolt.)

    I’ll leave gift ideas for the feminist teen for the feminists around here. For the brother in law, guys always dig gadgets or tools. Tools and gadgets to a man are like toys for kids. We love things we can use rather than wear, experience, etc. If you get it for a good price, a game system for an older man isn’t necessarily a bad idea. A game system combined with classic games from his youth could be the best gift imaginable. Just be prepared to be hated by his wife;-).

  12. My daughters are probably a bit younger, 8 and 6, but they already love earrings. They like one like these synthetic rubies. I like the synthetics because it’s a cheap way to get a real ruby without paying hundreds just because it was dug out of a rock. My kids also love books. Incidentally, Costco has that new Calvin and Hobbes collection for about 20 bucks less than Amazon. There’s also awesome stuff like a crossbow that shoots suction cup arrows. Slingshots are good for stocking stuffers. They’ve also been going fly fishing with me, so my older one is almost ready for her own fly rod. I think next year, or maybe Easter will be just about right for their first air rifle. That above suggestion for sports or martial arts was good too.

    With the brother in law, that’s harder. Does he have any hobbies? What does he like to do?

  13. I love love love MarioKart; my boyfriend also got a lot of mileage out of Super Mario Sunshine. It’s a little different than the other Mario games, but very shiny happy and fun. And then, of course, there’s Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon. Both are great fun, I think. Neither game involves fighting, which is a bonus for me, because I hate games in which I have to kill something.

    In Animal Crossing, you concentrate on fishing and bug catching (and your finds go in a museum!), and in Harvest Moon (there are two diff. versions, one with a male main character, and one with a female) you’re a farmer. Pretty slow moving, but I’ll admit my nerdery and say I love them both.

  14. Animal Crossing is a decent gamecube game from what I hear. I’ve only played it for about 10 minutes (when my cousin got it) but it looked fun.

  15. Brilliant mouthy feminist pre-teen: books or theater tickets or Zelda (that’s an awesome idea!). Bro-in-law: spice rub or green fees…great ideas! We don’t give each other gifts, btw. We take each other’s kids on a Saturday night here and there-just a thought…

  17. For the brilliant, feminist, mouthy, headstrong pre-teen girl I recommend books (on topics she might be interested in), music, or something that she would get a lot of use out of (mp3 player, CD player. etc). I really don’t recommend jewerly unless you’re sure it’s something she would wear.

  18. Do you know about “Post Secret” After I checked out the web site I ordered 4 books for gifting. Even non bookish people will like it, I think.

  19. I always recommend graphic novels as gifts. 🙂 For the preteen girl, Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, volume 1. (Volume 2 is a little more adult in content, although not – pardon the pun – graphically so.) For the 40-something guy, take your pick, most of the real nice coffee-table size graphic novels seem to be aimed at that demographic.

  20. Kirby Air Ride is popular here. As is Pokemon (gag) and Mario Paper.

    Girl present…hmmm…I don’t know. I would go to my local women’s bookstore and pick out something cool.

  21. the only thing gamepubes are worth is for resident evil and zelda. as i’m not sure you want ethan playing the former, the latter is wonderful for someone of his aptitude and skill (as evidenced by my watching him play at dr.b.’s). i think he’d like windwaker or ocarina of time. challenging, colorful, and the monsters are stupid and purple (for instance, the giant purple dragon has gotten his tail stuck in a crater in the mountain, and you need to volcano it out. he whines a lot if you don’t.)

  22. For the girl, “Alanna: the First Adventure” and “In the Hand of the Goddess” by Tamora Pierce. Even if she’s not a reader. I got them for my tenth birthday, and they’re the best presents I’ll ever get. Alanna is a smart, very strong, female character (she used to be the only one in young adult fiction, in fact). There’s plenty of ass-kicking, patriachy-fighting, and just enough soap opera. Reading level 5-7. The brilliant, feminist, mouthy, headstrong pre-teen girl will thank you forever. Unless she already has them.

  27. Just get everyone a Gamecube. They’re great.

    But, I must warn you, if you ever want to see your son again, don’t get him Animal Crossing. That game is pure electronic crack. I’ve spent hours simply arranging my furniture in the game. And don’t even get me started on my insect collection.

  28. Lauren:

    Forgive me for butting in here…

    I have no idea what your budget is, but there’s a web store called Penzey’s that sells all sorts of spices, etc. I’ve never ordered from them, but I get their catalogs, and their enthusiasm for spices and cooking is extraordinary. The site is http://www.penzeys.com. They have some 4-jar gift boxes that seem reasonable. I also understand they have a retail store in Indianapolis–I confess that I don’t know where in Indiana you live…

  30. Zuzu: Dry rubs? That’s a great idea! Do you have any suggestions for where I could start?

    Alton Brown has a good one on foodnetwork.com. It’s pretty much just brown sugar, spices and salt, and you can make up big batches cheap and put them in Mason jars. You could also poke around on cooking.com, the SOAR database, Southern Living, or even epicurious.

    I had a good one from Hawaii that I can’t remember the brand name of, but it was essentially black pepper, dried ginger, salt and some brown sugar.

    People usually like food gifts, and they can be done for cheap. When I had no money I would often do herb vinegars or homemade jam, sometimes with berries I’d picked on the side of the road.

  31. Legend of Zelda Windwaker is a great game for all ages. It’s an action-adventure. The violence is cartoonish and some of the boss monsters could be considered a bit scary to a wee one, but for the most part it’s the cutest darn game (Makar‘s so cute it makes my head asplode)

    Mario Kart Double Dash is a racing game and you can pick your favorite Mario Player to play on different tracks in different vehicles, all with very fun themes. It’s a great single or multiplayer game.

    The Mario Party games are fun for all ages. It’s basically different board games that are filled with mini-games. It’s single or multiplayer and always is fun at parties.

    And Animal Crossing is indeed Nintendo crack. With adorable critters like Bob and Maple as your neighbors, it’s hard to not visit them every day! This is a fun sim type game that takes place in real time. Perfect for any age. This one will give you the most replayability bang for your buck. You’ll get tons of playtime out of this game. There’s new stuff to do and see every day.

    The nice thing about all of these games (with the exception of Zelda) is that they are multiplayer (and Zelda is as fun to watch as it is to play) and you’ll have just as much fun playing as the kid. Nintendo rocks as much for me at 25 as it did when I was 10. I

  34. My twelve year old daughter is into magna somewhat, and by far her favorite is Ramna 1/2. The main character is a teen boy that falls into a magical spring – afterward, cold water turns him into a girl, hot returns him to being a boy.

    It makes fun of sexuality and roles assigned by society, martial arts and relationships all quite well. And of course, this results in unending amounts of cross-dressing. 😉

  35. Games (suggestions from my husband who is a video game reviewer):
    Super Mario Sunshine
    Mario Kart: Double Dash
    Pikmin (or Pikmin II)
    Super Monkey Ball
    Animal Crossing
    Lego Star Wars
    Zelda: Windwaker
    Veautiful Joe
    Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
    Super Smash Brothers Melee
    All kid-appropriate and fun.

  36. For the girl:
    I would avoid jewelry or Claire’s gift cards. Not all teenage girls like that stuff (I would have been offended to have recieved such gifts). I’d go with a book (lots of good ones out there), a game (Shadows Over Camelot is the biggest suggestion I have for the type of girl you suggested), or a gift card to a place like Amazon or Barnes and Noble. I think I would go walk around in a book store and see what catches my eye.

    Oh, a good teenager book that would be an excellent gift is “Owl in Love” by Patrice Kindl. The back of the book makes it sound really stupid (they do that will all her books for some reason), but it’s one of the best teen books out there right now.

  37. The teenage girl might like Apples to Apples.

    I love this game! I discovered it freshman year in HS on a robotics trip (yes, I am a HUGE nerd!) and even 7 years later, I love to play it. However, if she’s kind of a loner, it may not be the best game, because it’s the most fun played with a large group of people.

  38. The 40-something guy will like the spice rubs. Follow Zuzu’s lead and make a set for chicken, beef, fish, etc.

    Something like a little Leatherman Micra is always cool.

    Johnny Walker Black works.

    If he golfs, consider a dozen nice golf balls, like Titleist Pro V1s (~$45 per dozen, I’m sure he doesn’t hit these but would like to), or Titleist NXT Tours (~$27 per dozen, still most likely much nicer than the rocks he usually hits).

  39. I have to say, if you’re looking for some sort of spicy gift, Penzey’s is amazing. There is a Penzey’s retail store near me, and I can spend hours in the store, looking at all the different spice mixes they have. I’m personally addicted to their Chip Dip Mix, and I use the Greek Seasoning on all of my green salads. Such fun, if you’re a foodie!

  40. Mario Kart Double Dash is the very best gamecube game. It’s multiplayer, both cooperative and competitive, and it can be played in 5-minute chunks. It’s still my favorite game and I’ve had it for 2 years. Nobody, but nobody, doesn’t like Double Dash.

    As far as the girl goes, I second the classes/lessons recommendation, if you can swing it. Or support some hobby she already has.

  41. I second the suggestion of Tamora Pierce’s “In the Hand of the Goddess.” Both my wife and my brilliant, mouthy, feminist, headstrong pre-teen daughter loved it. My wife, the bmfhptd, and I all also liked Rebecca Tingle’s “The Edge of the Sword.” Not as much patriarchy-fighting, but based on the imagined girlhood of a historical character (Queen Aethelflaed of the 800s) who we only know about as an adult.

    My bmfhptd also likes “The Princess Grace Mysteries” (whodunnits in the court of Elizabeth I) and both the “Young Royals” and “Royal Diaries” series by Carolyn Meyer [obviously we need to work on the bmfhptd’s classist tendencies].

    And of course, “It’s Perfectly Normal,” if she doesn’t have it already.

  42. I don’t know what young adult authors are doing these days, but some of my favorite books as a pre-teen were the Anne McCaffrey series, Dragonsinger, Dragonsong, Dragondrums, I Love to Sing To My Dragon, My Dragon Kicks Ass… I don’t quite remember what they were all called, but the first three are legit. I don’t know if she is into that sort of thing; I wasn’t even really into that sort of thing, but the books they were so very good.

    When my little sister turned thirteen I got her a book about bodies and sex, which was age apropriate, but thorough, and discussed homosexuality and emotions and boundaries and everything in the very not-hyped, matter-of-fact way that kids can appreciate. It also included real questions asked by real girls her age; I wish I could remember what it was called. I ran it by my Mom first, but it was a good resource for her (and for all of her friends in the neighborhood, I think;).

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