After 35+ years of friendship, I'm running out of ideas for presents. OK, I ran out of ideas a long time back but it just gets harder and harder.
T-shirts, bike jewellery, beer, coffee, tools, socks - what else do you buy?
Artwork. Doesn't have to be expensive. Just buy them something you know they'd be into. One of my mates is a big Hip Hop fan and always wears Adidas shell toes so I got him this print
Another mate is a big Liverpool fan, so I got him this one
A huge range of designs that your sure to find something they'd like, from https://social-recluse.myshopify.com/collections/prints-1 and https://www.thestanleychowprintshop.com/products respectively. Loads of lovely artwork at very reasonable prices and its always good to support independent artists
Voucher for a nice local coffee shop?
A pint or two at the pub. Or for a bigger birthday, a nice whisky. And by the time the next big birthday comes round, they need a replacement bottle!
Maybe I've got shit mates, or maybe I'm the shit mate... but we get each other sod all 😆
C&H obvs
For a cricket fan mate I bought a copy of Wisden from the year of his birth.
Stuff to do. Last year we did brewery tours, year before we did a kit guitar building course. In the past I've done butchery, sausage making and driving courses. For a friend's 50th got him a couple of online guitar lessons with one of his favourite blues guitarists (surprisingly cheap).
Maybe I've got shit mates, or maybe I'm the shit mate... but we get each other sod all 😆
This, we just organsie a night out, or for a big brithday a weekend away!
Maybe I've got shit mates, or maybe I'm the shit mate... but we get each other sod all
Same here. Family too. We've given up on it. If we want something we buy it ourselves.
Some nice, good quality tools. We got my mate some Wera spanners and sockets last year (sixtieth) this year probably a pair of Knipex waterpump pliers. Something that they wouldn’t get for themselves but will give happy thoughts every time they’re used?
Maybe I've got shit mates, or maybe I'm the shit mate... but we get each other sod all 😆
Yep, we try and avoid giving gifts and in return, I expect none
I've only got one mate that I get presents for and both of us seem to be in competition to source the most random presents for each other, which can be fun.
I like the Wisden suggestion though.
Maybe I've got shit mates, or maybe I'm the shit mate... but we get each other sod all
Yep. Not a thing for me either. Sometimes bake them a cake if I remember
Miserable bunch 😀
I like the artwork suggestion (have an idea for a version of the cassette) - but I've also done art before!
Many years ago we all came to an agreement not to bother. It's your birthday so I'll spend ten quid on some random tat you don't want; it's my birthday so you'll spend ten quid on some random tat I don't want; and around we go again. It's crackers.
What I do do however is "I saw this and thought of you." I see something that I think a mate will like, I'll buy it as a gift without waiting to need a reason to give it to them.
Recently got this for my long suffering riding buddy who has had to be my gate opener for the last 12 months due to my dodgy hip making it painful mounting and dismounting.
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If we go out to celebrate the birthday, then I'll buy them a pint or two. If we go on for a curry, the group usually try to pay for them, but it is usually turned down these days.
Saying that, tonight we are going to an organised 50th party (with food and music etc all put on), so me and my brothers have clubbed together and got the birthday girl a voucher to use in the spa at the hotel where she got married.
My mate bought me festival tickets for my 60th. That was good cos I'd never buy them for myself (expensive though!). I bought him some records, cos he still likes the old vinyl. Sometimes it's books about music.
Recently got this for my long suffering riding buddy who has had to be my gate opener for the last 12 months due to my dodgy hip making it painful mounting and dismounting.
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I read that three times before realising that "gate opener" wasn't a euphemism.
... I hope.
My best mates are all of the same vintage, 1962. They both are Landy fans, so I get them 1962 landy parts. If we all live to be many thousands of years old each of them will eventually have a fully working Landrover (as if such a thing has ever happened!)
Or Lego. Everybody likes Lego even if they don't know it yet.
Voucher for a nice local coffee shop?
Seriously? 🤔
I’ve got a fairly small collection of friends, with varied tastes and interests, so while it’s sometimes difficult, I can usually come up with something they’ll like. I always find nice cards for birthdays and Christmas, I’ve built up something of a reputation for giving nice cards, my best mate has similar tastes to me, but he’s hugely into building model kits of various types, for Christmas last, I spotted my local museum was selling model kits for things like Ballista, catapults, etc, all in pre-cut pieces, so he was pretty chuffed with that. They work, as well, and all wood for the main parts. I’m looking forward to seeing what he’s done with it, he builds proper diorama bases for his model tanks, so should be interesting. And big, the box was about two feet long…
Otherwise, a decent whiskey, I’ve propagated acer trees from seedlings from my big tree, which have bred true, and it’s a specimen tree, so they have the parents autumn colour, so those have been appreciated.
Books, commissioned artworks, all sorts of things, depending on the recipient, really
The group I ride with occasionally celebrate life events with a gift: Marriage, near death accidents, turning 60 etc.
Gifts are by whip-round with a small donation and range from:
- hip flask with personalised insult (See you next Tuesday, together with the grid reference for where we meet)
- bench to watch chickens from
- analogue weather stations (for me, reaching 50)
- a new trail spade etc.
Depends how organised we are to have a whip round.
Tickets for a gig that is near where they live, voucher for a restaurant? Unexpected gifts from mates are the best. It's all very well taking the pee out of each other but it's important to do nice things too. Actions are louder than words.
My mate bought me a pair of pants after I had to keep stopping to put my todger back in place after it kept falling out the hole whilst riding in the park.... Saxx.... The ones with a mesh to hold your cock and balls. Quite good.
I got a personalised t-shirt printed for him.
I don’t give or receive gifts outside of close family. We’re all adults so if we want something we’ll just buy it.