Each week, a decorated matchbox with a tiny present hidden inside is left by a girl (and sometimes willing friends) somewhere in her travels.
posted by Fiasco da Gama on Dec 2, 2008 - 16 comments

"This year, Americans are planning to spend over $400 on Christmas gifts. Instead of buying things we can’t afford, here’s a way to do something more meaningful." Via
posted by jbickers on Nov 26, 2008 - 42 comments

Bad Gift Emporium. Can't stand to look at that glittery unicorn statue from Aunt Ethel any longer? Can't bear to wear the hand-knitted sweater from Grandma Agnes (made from her own cat's hair)? Want to offer your horrific gift items to people who can truly appreciate them, or just share the misery? The Bad Gift Emporium is for you.
posted by amyms on Mar 19, 2008 - 13 comments

Hieronymus Bosch Action Figures: Bosch action figures; a perfect gift for that special niece or nephew whose tastes tend toward the demonic and grotesque.
posted by psmealey on Dec 10, 2007 - 21 comments

Need some help with holiday shopping? Me too. Here's a gift guide roundup: NY Mag * TimeOutNY * Wired * Engadget * CNET * Salon * Time * Newsweek * WaPo * Cool Hunting * DesignSponge under $25 and affordable art guide * Etsy * NOTCOT * Lucky * In Style * Style.com * Travel & Leisure * Treehugger * BoardGameGeek * Babes in Toyland (NSFW) * Babble
posted by lalex on Nov 27, 2007 - 23 comments

Yesterday, Design*Sponge added a city guide for Toronto to their small but growing list of Guides. The list also includes a Letter Press Guide, an Affordable Art Guide, a Gift Guide (2006), and guides for Brooklyn and LA.
posted by dobbs on May 12, 2007 - 9 comments

In need of last-minute Christmas gifts? Want to help the world in some way? Websites like ChangingThePresent and Alternative Gifts International allow you to buy or sponsor something useful as a present - from an hour with a creative coach, to wheelchairs in Cambodia; from walking children to school in the West Bank to flighting corruption. Maybe even a charity gift certificate? [more inside]
posted by divabat on Dec 23, 2006 - 19 comments

Awful Christmas gifts come in many varieties. For starters, there's Yule Doos or Jingle Smells.
posted by nickyskye on Dec 20, 2006 - 10 comments

Hundred Dollar Holiday
posted by anastasiav on Dec 6, 2006 - 36 comments

There are a lot of gift guides for the holiday season, but Make Magazine's open source gift guide skews towards the cool, techy, but also hackable products. Lots of great things listed including: display images in your bike spokes with a POV kit, an open source media server, control your house lights with perl, and free planetarium software.
posted by mathowie on Nov 27, 2006 - 19 comments

Guidestar.org.uk offers detailed information on all 167,000 registered charities in England and Wales, as well as guides to giving and volunteering. And, should you wish to give Christmas gifts that make a difference, The Alternative Gift Catalogue and Good Gifts can help.
posted by jack_mo on Dec 17, 2005 - 4 comments

So, does anyone have any suggestions on what to get this holiday season?
posted by cleverusername on Dec 9, 2005 - 70 comments

GiftBox is a new web application that allows you to keep track of gifts you've given to others, plan to give to others, or that people have given to you. It lets you create wishlists and send thank-you e-cards. All info is password-protected, and their privacy policy seems better than most. Free for up to three holidays, or $19/year for unlimited holidays. (I am not affiliated with the site in any way; I just admire it and thought that, with the holiday season upon us, others might like it, too.)
posted by cerebus19 on Nov 23, 2005 - 14 comments

Elfster is a free web-based utility for automating Secret Santa gift exchanges. My office is Holiday-Cheer-Challenged this year, but after finding Elfster, things are looking up. There's nothing a tech company likes more than a new-fangled spin on a classic.
posted by FlamingBore on Dec 14, 2004 - 10 comments

At least 10 percent of high-tech gifts this holiday season may fall victim to "computer rage" - acts of uncontrolled frustration by their owners - estimates University of Maryland professor Kent Norman, a cognitive psychologist who directs the Laboratory for Automation Psychology and Decision Processes.
posted by mhaw on Dec 13, 2004 - 10 comments

The perfect Christmas gift for the geek in your life. Or maybe you need something for your new niece or nephew? Then again, this site may have all the stuff on your gift shopping list.
posted by Doohickie on Dec 11, 2004 - 24 comments

Dude, sending money to other starving dudes is so...abstract. Give the needy what they need. Like ducks or something!
posted by holloway on Sep 29, 2004 - 16 comments

Templates that you can use to make custom cards, envelopes, and boxes , requires only minor paper folding skill to make one of a kind gift holders/presenters. I like the take out box and the trapezoid box for some reason.
posted by jonah on Jan 21, 2004 - 12 comments

Er ... thanks, just what I, er, wanted. Hate the sweater you were given for Christmas? It could have been worse ... far, far ,worse.
posted by essexjan on Dec 28, 2003 - 48 comments

Some economists debate why we can and if we should give gifts for Christmas. Because a gift is likely to be valued less by the recipient than for the giver, Christmas has been considered by some to be a "deadweight loss" equivalent to tearing up banknotes. To get around this, other economists propose that the value of the gift for the recipient comes from the process of finding a rare gift. On the other hand, perhaps this is one case where we should rethink the basic rationality assumption that economic decisions can be explained by models that maximize individual wealth.
posted by KirkJobSluder on Dec 24, 2003 - 24 comments

Want to create a Christmas list that's not limited to items available at Amazon? There are several universal wishlist websites at your disposal.
posted by sanitycheck on Nov 24, 2003 - 4 comments

Last minute shopping? Still looking for the right thing for that special geek in your life? Perhaps you might cater to the fetish for the modern-day Mona? Or maybe a propeller beanie? Some sophomoric seasonal gag gifts? Some retro kitsch? Some religious memorabilia? Some odd surplus? Or if money is no object, gadgets and robots are always a safe bet. But you better hurry - you're down to the wire! thanks, amberglow!
posted by madamjujujive on Dec 15, 2002 - 12 comments

Possums are labelled an ecological pest in New Zealand, so apparently it's considered "pro-environment" to exterminate the little buggers. With that good feeling about wearing fur in your minds, save the forest and ease your holiday shopping at the same time with some fine New Zealand Possum Fur G-strings and nipple warmers. (Probably NSFW) But don't leave out the kids' Christmas lists! Make sure they get this season's hot toy- a possum hand puppet fashioned straight from the carcass of the real thing! Mmmm, it's still warm.
posted by XQUZYPHYR on Dec 9, 2002 - 18 comments

Mother's Day is coming up! What's the coolest gift you ever got your mom? Any ideas for the rest of us?
posted by MeetMegan on May 3, 2002 - 24 comments

gifts for laid-off .com employees (amazon listmania) sort of old news, but saw this and thought it was odd. didn't really think anything was funny except for the dr. seuss book, in an awful way, but maybe it wasn't meant to be funny.
posted by moth on Apr 1, 2002 - 4 comments

Rabbits with big pointy teeth are on my list of gifts for friends this holiday season. What other cool gifts are there that you can get for under $50?
posted by fleener on Dec 13, 2001 - 23 comments

Who doesn't need a gas-powered blender? Okay, maybe people who need bubblewrap outerwear or a pert double D mouse. Any products you'd like to add to your Metafilter gift list?
posted by headspace on Dec 7, 2001 - 8 comments

Since the gift season is right around the corner, what are all the audiophiles looking for? Is it a minidisc? Or mp3? Or some kind of combination? Maybe something to integrate into your stereo system?

Which side of the tradeoff is worth it? Cheap capacity with real-time recording limitations or ease of use and multi-format support with high priced memory?
posted by rich on Nov 27, 2001 - 37 comments

Has anyone else seen this product advertised on TV lately and thought they were watching a fake SNL ad? Then comes that sinking feeling when you realize that it is real. It just started running on TV here in Virginia. Perhaps our median IQ finally reached a suitable level. Don't even get me started on the domain name!
posted by machaus on Apr 1, 2001 - 9 comments

Valentines day is coming and what better gift to get for the one you love than gourmet body paint...in passion fruit flavor no less (mmmm....passion fruit)
posted by dangerman on Jan 25, 2000 - 2 comments

I now know what I'm getting *everyone* for xmas. (thanks Looka)
posted by mathowie on Dec 10, 1999 - 0 comments