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Quality of Life items. A comfy pair of slippers. A sharp bread knife. A mini pocket knife. A warm hat. A water bottle with a wide mouth locking lid. A 10 foot / 3 meter charging cable for your bedside. Headlamp with red LEDs for night bathroom trips. A tool kit. A bath/shower caddy. A pair of good noise canceling headphones. A steam deck. A high capacity charging brick. An air purifier. Plants.

Immersion Blender -- who the fuck wants a blender that can only blend shit in a specific container? blend anywhere. blend anything. it's anarchy on a wand and it takes up less space than a standing one

You probably have one of those. Get an AR-15 then.

Lockpick set!

bidet

cash money.

Merino wool socks

Safe edge can opener

Two slide whistles.

I don't get things for people related to their hobbies unless they spell it out - I want ABC from XYZ in color 'biscuit'.

Most folks are knowledgeable about their hobbies. They know generally what they'd want, what they don't want/need, what's actually usable, what's overpriced trash, etc. I give gift cards for folks like that and a card/short letter explaining why - you know what you fancy better than I do, and because I care, I want you to have something that you KNOW you will enjoy. So please take this and get that thing you've had your eye on.

Or something like that.

this

Nice coffee beans is always my go-to when an extended family member doesn't know what to gift me. Especially if they live out of state and can send something from wherever they live.

A nice hand written letter.

Dear Comrade RedWizard,

I see you post from time to time and I find what you say to often be insightful, informative, and generally pleasant. Specifically, I like that you post in the parenting com and do the parenti posting. I think you would be a cool person to hang out with in real life. You are a valued member to this small community and I hope you stick around for a long time.

Sincerely, BigWeed

I asked for “a cool hat” a couple Christmases ago and was not disappointed.

harmonica or clay whistle, they are fun to play around, but depends on how you are with fun/procrastination/learning division. moisturizer as a random expendable thingy, which you'll definitely use up, or something in that area. neat chargers (i got some 80w 4 usb-c monstrosity, and couldn't be happier, but i have lots of random shit with different plugs) or cables or phone holders for cars, although aside from cables they run on the more expensive side.

magnets to play around with (and laugh at pentagon)

heirloom beans

What are some of your hobbies? That makes it easier. Anything related to those you specifically want but wouldn't necessarily buy yourself, or useables (like ink or paper or whatever).

I also personally find I like food gifts. I wouldn't normally buy myself a fancy hot chocolate sampler pack but I'll happily drink through one, so anything like that is great, especially because you can keep reusing that as a list item.

Someone gave me a Yeti tumbler a couple years ago. I was skeptical because of the hype but ngl it is kind of amazing. I put ice in my drink and it stays there for hours. Cold stuff stays cold forever. And I’m trying to get more plastic out of my life so a big metal cup for anything is nice. Yetis are nice too because it’s the sort of thing the giver can personalize some with colors and whatnot, but in the end it doesn’t really matter what they pick for you (as opposed to directly asking for something that doesn’t allow any choice on their part).

Drum kit

Volume 1 of the Power Fantasy by Kieron Gillen, its good, also any of the absolute comic runs are good too

Red wizard robes with matching hat

brick with your name chiselled on it

Some cool communist Badges/Pins

For kitchen gadgets, I went way too long in life not owning a tofu press. I also recently got a rice rinsing bowl and I think that's my second favorite random kitchen gadget I own now.