Do they like coffee?

I was shopping at our Hen House supermarket, yesterday, and for the first time noticed that it has a Starbuck’s. I was pleasantly surprised at their selection of Christmas gift coffees.

Have you tried a bookstore, yet?

Does your mother in law have one of those snatcher thingies that the elderly use to grab stuff off of high shelves? Massage pillows? Foot bath?

Clapper?

Chia pet?

Pretty much hit all those on previous Christmases (save the last two). One thing I got a few years ago, that she actually uses, is one of those electric jar openers.

My fallback this year is Henckel knives, though I gave her a couple in the past. At least she uses those, too.

GPS? So she doesn’t have to stop for directions either.

Geoff - Go to this site: http://www.flyingnoodle.com/clubs.html You’ll find something for sure. I’m doing the tea of the month club for my Mom. Hard to get people [i.e., parents] who have everything they need - and can buy what they want when they want - something. So, tea of the month club sends two new teas every month. Yeah, I think it’s a bit pricey, but it will be a surprise every month, just the same. They have wine of the month club, beer of the month club, lobster of the month club… cheesecake, flowers, cookies, etc., quite a selection, actually. If we didn’t live in Saudi I’d be sending my DH the beer of the month for a gift! Other ideas - gift certificates to nice department stores, Nordstrom’s, Macy’s, Dillard’s, or stores you know they like to shop at, i.e., Banana Republic, Talbot’s, whatever the store… A gift certificate to a day spa for the full treatment - facial, massage, manicure, pedicure, etc. Tickets to an upcoming show / concert / something that is a way off in the future, but something you know they’d enjoy - add a gift certificate to a favorite restaurant for dinner. Good luck.

Thought about GPS, but I’m a little concerned about distracting them in the car. My parents are both at that minimal driving stage, and even the little driving they do makes them nervous. I was also thinking about an XM radio subscription, but was hemming and hawing over the same issues. One of my gift-buying foibles is that I have a strong preference for electronica - a preference not at all shared by my parents and sister.

BT: I’ll check that out, although I used to belong to a wine of the month club and a beer of the month club, and found that I could only choke down about 1/3 of what they sent me.

Trying to avoid gift certificates, which I have used profusely in the past. Last year it seemed like the adults were just handing each other gift certificate cards, making it seem pointless and a bit less than romantic (romantic in a Christmassy sense).

But am I to gather from this that you folks are all set for Xmas? I’m the only one who’s still shopping and starting to panic?

Your Xmas-fu is strong.

How old’s your sister? What’s their marital/significant-other status?

Hobbies?

I heard what you said about gift cards but you might consider a combo that makes up your budget for the gift—i.e. if somebody is a cook, get a cookbook and a gift card to Williams-Sonoma (or Amazon or Kitchen Kaboodle or whatever).

She’s 45, married, no kids, no real hobbies (buying things for serious hobbyists is always risky, anyway). She likes girl-type stuff (clothes, perfumes, and other feminine condiments), but that’s way, way over my head (and my wife is being useless on the subject).

Williams-Sonoma gift card might be a starting point for my mom, though my dad has imposed a moratorium on buying her any more cookbooks.

Sorry I keep coming back to gift cards, but a night out at a nice restaurant is usually a decent choice for married people.

Bath & Bodyworks for feminine condiments. Does she take long baths? The girls at the shop ought to be able to help you pick specifics.

Think if you can remember anything your mom needs for the cooking—has she broken a cutting board lately? Are her knives kept in good order? Handles coming off any of the pots that you could replace? Broken wine glasses?

Spa Gift Certificates.

Spafinder.com has some you can use at numerous spas in the USA.

It seems kinda cheesy, but I’d recommend a gift card to Bath & Body Works - especially for your sister. Their semi-annual sale starts on 27-Dec, so she could get a ton of stuff she likes for a modest sum. Hope this helps. Merry Christmas!

Broken wine glasses?

Not that I know of, but maybe I could drop a few . . .

Well, broken, or mismatched, or doesn’t have enough, or … :)

Try going to the mall at 7 pm on Christmas Eve. I did that one year…your decision will be made for you because there is not much left.

If your mom and/or sister are anything like mine, they hate the tangle of wires (so do I) that takes up half the bathroom counter where women “do” their hair. I heard my wife whining about it, so, among other things, I bought her a wall mounted hair dryer with a coiled cord. (I consider it a win-win situation)