hurrah! most of the bargainous christmas shopping is done... simply faced with the tremendous issue of the brother in law yet again... he does not drink, he is not into sport and has no notable hobbies, please do you brainy people have suggestions?

(may i also duck any thrown objects for having the shopping done already- in my defence i hate the town nearer christmas, in fact just usually, and internet stuff might be late,so like to have it done well in advance. there are also severe money restrictions this year so i am getting things now so i am not desperately trying to find things that meet budget nearer the time. i'm also post operative and internet shopping fills time!)

Does he read?  Would he like a humorous book?  Does he use grooming products.  My Hubby genuinely likes good quality socks, Ted Baker, Pringle, Jaeger something like that.

not really to either...difficult one huh? not particularly into any foods either. seems to enjoy beanie hats though but then thats not terribly exciting. i bought him a back flipping cow once out of desperation. and i refuse to get gift vouchers, its cheating!

might go with a jumper again...

Men can be so dull :-)

i know! women are so easy! my sis told me today she wanted a book, easy, my best pal and i like the same books, no problem, some shoes for mum, simple... still haven't done other half either but then we are waiting to see how much money we have before we get each others.

Hah!
My soon to be ex -bil, wont qualify this year!
He was the same, no nothing about him to go on..........
A non persona, smarting here for my sister cant you tell........

Karen :(

ohhh, sounds like an unpleasent situation, hope your sis is doing ok.

Any TV progs he's perhaps into?  I was thinking memorabilia ie Dr Who or similar?  DVD?

no, not really. he's a nightmare. right, i suspect another jumper.

It is... well she would marry a toy boy!!
Sadly 17 years down the line he says he doesn't want to be with her any more. :(
He was never worthy of her but we could never say that...then or now.
Karen

well i do hope she comes through it ok

Thanks....she is a lovely lady, I hope she survives her almost 15year old daughter too.
Sister has one saving grace in this situation.....as she says....at least now she can have a dog!
Karen ;)

he wouldn't let her have a dog??? good riddance.

LOL..........
Total agreement here........

Karen :)

Come on Astarte don't resort to a jumper, there's gotta be something he's interested in or you think he'd be into..even if he doesn't normally read if you buy him a book he might like you might trigger an interest, there's some really good books coming or already out at the moment, there also tends to be loads of autobiogs out around Xmas.  Does he drink? Maybe you could get him some real ale (they have some great packs in Sainsburys), a nice bottle of wine/spirit/liquer?  Food? I'm planning on making some homemade shortbread this year as small gifts for people.  How about a small hamper with lots of small gifts?  Membership to a club or society? Adopt an animal for a year? Is he interested in birds? RSPB membership? Gardening? What sport is he into?

I know some people are really difficult to buy but if you really really think about it you can come up with something that appeals to them.  I don't mean to boast but I always seem to get a fantastic reception for the gifts I buy & I'm often consulted on what to buy other people!  Hope that helps! Maybe if you can give us a better idea as to what type of person he is we can offer some more tailored suggestions!

i might get him the same thing as i'm getting for part of oh's present- a speedboat trip!

I love giving my OH pressies like that!!! One year I sent him on a days off roading and organised a few friends to go, one year I got him a direct access course to do his motor bike test, this year for his birthday I got him a days falconary course. The problem is these things then end up costing us a fortune because he gets right into them!!!!:-)

lol, thats actually the one thing bil is into already! he has a boat (a one person yachty thing) so it works well i think :)

(btw, you need to get funshow picks up- not a mastiff of any kind in sight in the entrys! i'm currently collating photos!)

Ok will try to find some pics of my gang and stick them up!! Funshow has kind of passed me by.

Boat idea sounds good then...is different and is something he is already into...it's a winner!!!!

Errrm kim am i being dumb?!! But where do I find the funshow?!!!!! Well I am blonde!!!!

Just been reading all the posts on here and catching up! Wow Gembo you sure are pretty good at this, so thanks for those ideas, cos ill be really sruggling with what to get my oh this christmas, i find men so hard to buy things for, women are easy peasy, well i like to think so, but men just seem such a task!!!

Buy him a bottle of your favorite liquor   :-)

Barry

Wow you're generous I thought those adventure day thingys were really expensive! Guess having money makes buying things for awkward people a bit easier!

I've set a maximum of £50 per person this year as I'm a bit skint & if I can I'll be getting pressies for a lot less than that! I seem to sepnd more & more each year, last years bill was ridiculous for one day!  I'll be making a lot of shortbread to see if it's any good beforehand I think!

Glad I could help yorkies4eva, I love thinking of pressie ideas if you've an idea what the person is like! I'd love to set up my own present buying company - just think shopping & being paid for it!!! Lush! :)

I've set a maximum of £50 per person this year as I'm a bit skint & if I can I'll be getting pressies for a lot less than that!

I always set a maximum for everybody, I love Boots as they tend to have some really nice gift ideas on the 3 for 2 so you can get everybody nice things and save a bomb!!

Try Boots on line, they have an even bigger selection there and at the moment they're offering extra advantage card points and free delivery.

Got my OH a plane ride once and when he went to have his fly there was an accident at the airport so it was postponed!!! He did go again with his Dad and they had a great time.
This year we have a canal boat a 6 berth for the two of us and the dogs and family are meeting us at various stages for a ride and a stay so we see all the family but not at the same time, and the dogs are with us 24/7 (with life vests the dogs not us) . we leave 27th dec - 3rd Jan from Rugby. GREAT.
My nieces OH has big teeth (and a GSOH) so we got him a horse bucket brush and some toothpaste!! and a real pressie as well.
When my boys were about 8 & 10 we used to get some awful pressies from Old aunties so we would trawl for bad taste pressies, we would crease up in shops and get awful vases ect... the best bit of shopping.
I try to get stuff I would like to have now, and imaginative stuff try  "I want one" on Goggle  really great idea for everyone.

We set an amount between OH and I (£15) one year I got him a new push mower from ebay, and the following year a leather flight jacket (ebay again). I have a paint by numbers (which I loved) plus a frog in wood that you rub with a stick to make a ribbit ribbit noise. Silly but such a surprise. He like's flying saucer sweets (from when we were kids) so i got a s/h sweet jar and filled it for £10.50 so this year he will have two pressies. It makes for a real thought provoking pressie and a laugh. We tend to get whet we want through the year so Christmas is more for fun and family.
MIL cancer is inoperable so we may not have many more family xmas parties.

Thanks Earl, I've been meaning to have a look at boots for a few days & I'm on late 2nite at work so I'll have a squiz - they do normally do some nice gifts & they don't all have to be toiletry related too which is good!

Thanks Earl that is really good to know and the added bonus is can do it from comfort of my own home and not in all the crowds!!!

I've just had a look through the boots 3 for 2 & have to say I'm really disappointed, they have some great kids branded stuff e.g dora, peppa pig but the adult gift section has let me down, plus the gift wrap etc I wanted isn't available online!!  Looks like I'll be trawling the shops then...

Ah sorry gembo, was kids toys that I'd been buying.  Hadn't looked at the adult stuff.

> I'd love to set up my own present buying company - just think shopping & being paid for it!!! Lush!

LOL that would be fab, unfortunatly i am rubbish at thinking up ideas, especially for my OH, i find it so hard!!

Ill have a see nearer the time anyway, he might even be able to give me some ideas himself, i keep trying to catch him out when we are out, but never seems to work!

x :)

lol, just search funshow... its a few pages in by now :)

> Wow you're generous I thought those adventure day thingys were really expensive! Guess having money makes buying things for awkward people a bit easier!
>

hahaha!!! having money? me? recent graduate on longterm sick?? lol nope.

its 23 quid, a bargain :)
(and thats more than most are getting spent on them this time, i am super skint!)

but your right those red letter day things usually cost a fortune. i ramdomly came across this one- in fact for the scots amoung us its a company called experience ecosse. they have lots of fairly bargainous experiences.

Woolworths also seem to have some cheap experience days.