'Tis the season to...buy presents

[dlish]

as we are well aware, Xmas is only days away, and im still procrastinating about xmas pressies for my friends.

i choose not to have a big circle of friends, in fact i can count all the friends ive ever had in my lifetime on one hand. i usually choose them and keep them for good, and have never had a fallout with any of them. that being said, i have a diverse circle of friends.. a lebanese, an italian and a chinese. with the lebanese being muslim and the chinese being buddhist, they dont celebrate xmas, so i dont buy them gifts for xmas.

so that just leaves my italian friend. she and i have been good friends for a few years now. my wife knows and acknowledges our friendship as being purely platonic one.

since i may be moving countries in a few months for work, this may be the last chrsitmas i spend in sydney for a few years. so i wanted to get my friend a present that has some sort of sentimental value, and something out of the ordinary.

ive been thinking for the past week on what i should be getting her, and i know im running out of time, so i thought id pick your brains here in the TFP to see if you can help me choose a present.

heres a list of things ive come up with. please feel free to brainstorm or add your ideas.

#1 a handdrawn artwork/painting
#2 a song composed for her
#3 an extreme sport - ie skydive or similar
#4 an organiser - like a blueberry/palm to organise her busy lifestyle.

im not really into the whole pictureframe idea unless i make it myself.. i know someone's gonna say pictureframe, so i thought id say it first

shes into sth east asian artefacts, shes an active person..more of a tomboy sort of female, but still feminine in every sense.

id rather make something or get something that has a lasting effect on my friends' lives. money isnt really an object, up to the value of a couple of hundred dollars..give or take a hundred or two...

hope y'all can be of help.

[Brewmaniac]

Artwork or song would be memoriable and timeless. She would have these forever and cherish them. But something like skydiving if you did it together would be be a memory that would bond you two forever.

That gets my vote. Of course, that's something I always wanted to do and now can't.

[Temporary_User]

Originally Posted by dlishsguy

#1 a handdrawn artwork/painting
#2 a song composed for her
#3 an extreme sport - ie skydive or similar
#4 an organiser - like a blueberry/palm to organise her busy lifestyle.

I'm not familiar with your artwork, or songwriting abilities, of course if your thinking about either I'm sure they're both very good.
However you always run the risk of it being cheesy or not good, then sure it is remembered, it will always be an awkward remembrance.
So IMHO 1&2 are out.
#4 is a good idea, however that would go out of date in a year or so, so I would rule it out.
That to me leaves #3 of your ideas. I think this would be a lasting one. Make sure it wouldnt be something too extreme for her though. I saw on the TLC show "big world, little people" that they went hiking in the mts or something and then shooted across valleys on cable pulleys. bungee jumping is another although I'm sure you've though about this.
Also I don't know what your budget is, but possibly a small trip together? I'm not too familiar, but don't blueberrys run $400-600? I'm sure a decent trip could be had with that. (of course the price would go up as you would want to include you and your wife, im just trying to throw out other ideas.)
hot air balloon would be another idea to go along with extreme sports.
That might be something that would want to be done as a double date if she has a boyfriend/husband of her own.

[ngdawg]

Definitely go in the artwork mode. I give artwork at this time of year-all the nephews are getting an original Harley Davidson design on a tshirt; last year I did wall art for some friends and personalized notecards for their kids. They loved it.
Because it came from you and of you, it will cherished so much more than anything some store could offer.

[dlish]

well so now ive had 3 responses and you've all endorsed 3 of them except #4. so guess #4 is out.

when i said composing a song for her, i meant get a classical piece of music. sit down with a proffessional musician or composer and get a piece of music written for her..no words.. sometimes its the songs without words that mean the most.

artwork..its been a few years since i last did an artwork, but my artistic flair is still quite good.. i just dont like rushing anything..the essense of the artwork diminishes when you work to a timeframe or deadline. my preference would be an artwork..but i lack the time to do anything. i run a construction company, so im quite tied for time these days.

temp_user.. i like your brainstorming.. but the whole trip thing would be awkward, since she is single..so thats out of the question. an extreme sport would probably be the easiest one to give, so if all doesnt go according to plan, then thats my backup plan.

NG's is right, but time is of essense.

i just dont want this whole thing to be mushy....basically its a present for my appreciation of our friendship.


$Benjamin$-wise, up to $1000 bucks, but not more.

any other ideas from anyone else???

[Lizra]

Buy a painting or sculpture from a local artist you think she would like.....a fantastic peice that she would be thrilled to have hanging in her home....and when she looks at it and thinks, "I can't believe I own that"...she'll think of you.

You'll help make the artist's Xmas merry too....