Secret Santa

“Great luck!

The woman in our office I picked for a Secret Santa gift is into backpacking! She is kinda new to it, and hasn't gotten the gear bug too bad yet, so I probably have a lot of options. Our limit is 25 bucks - any suggestions? (I know, famous last words....)”

“Very cool, martyB? How about an Aurora headlamp? That may be closer to 30 clams though.

How about a Nalgene bottle filled with Clif bars, waterproof matches, and other smaller cheaper items that one can never get enough of?

Just call me Santartex.”

“Lots of small $$$ stuff would be cool!

8)”

“Leatherman Micra. About $20 I think.”

“For Christmas dis year I wanna MSR titanium cookpot. I binna good boy, honist.

Yur fren,
Geobeet”

“I like that idea Artex! That'd make a great gift for lots of people I know. Hmm...
Martyb, add some lip balm, like Badger Balm or Dermatone, etc... Everyfemale loves lip balm!
I'd be stoked if I got a Nalgene bottle AND lip balm!”

“Someone PLEASE write Santa so Geo can get his cook pot!

If you are talking lip balm though anything in the Burts Bees line would be a dream to me! Hey how about socks filled with goodies.”

“How's the secret Santa thing working. Been in some where you leave little surprize gifts every day for a week. Or is this one gift?”

“a 24 pack of condoms.

Ice Tea made me say it!”

“Throw a lexan spoon in that nalgene!”

“i know give her the gear bug”

“lexan spoon - LMAO!”

“What'd I say?”

“the things i want that are under $25 are:

leatherman mica, new hat with ear flaps for the cold, mini candle lantern (the tealight one), toe and hand warmers and polartec socks.

If I didn't have a tikka headlamp, I'd want one.”

“i got my princeton tec triple led hedlamp, two AAA battery power for $22...cant remember the site i got it from though

liked the nalgine idea, good call there

how about a silvia compass?
a good knife, gerber is one of my personal favorite blades

a couple smaller things, sierra cup, lexan mug, silverwate, small frisbee (the perfect plate, and good for some after-dinner fun) mabye an aluminum teflon skillet+plastic spatula, boony hat (the ones with a brim all around, i think thats what their called), first aid kit, iodine pills, whats a pack cover run? im just gonna make my own, so i dont really know prices there, poly pro long johns? ah, thats a little iffy

thats all thats coming to me at the moment

later,
-nate”

“One year I got a nalgene bottle filled with the hard candy I like to take on the trail. Great gift!”

“How 'bout a mini LED light too?

Will you be my secret santa?”

“I'll be your secret Santa. Com'ere baby!”

“I can't wait til Christmas morning when Santartex brings my titanium cookpot. It will be sitting there under the tree with a big bow, I just know it will.

If I can stay awake Christmas Eve I might hear the tiny hoof beats from the eight wart hogs that pull Santartex's sleigh.”

“Officially, Santabirch already brought me a new sleeping bag, but, I sure hope I get some unofficial goodies too!”

“Slacker - what's the secret in that?”

“Woo-hoo!! I knew I could count on you TTers for some ideas!! (BTW, it is one gift, to be given at the company holiday party.) I like the headlamp idea - pretty sure she doesn't have one of those. Nalgene bottle w/food goodies is risky - she might not like what I pick. Leatherman could be good too. Hey, isn't the REI sale this weekend?! More ideas welcome, I'll report back with whatever I decide to get....

Thanks again, gang!!”

“How you gonna get all that stuff in a Nalgene?”

“

How do you like your secret santa now!”

“No fair, Buddha Bear. Where did you find that picture of me?!”

“eww!...looks like my ex-future-brother-in-law!”

“correction thats my almost-ex-future-brother-in-law!”

“Oops, Budha Bear and Geobeet seem to be losing it early this year.”

“Gremlin, what makes you think we had anything to lose in the first place?

Just a coupla kids havin fun!”

“Shh it's a secret - I would buy socks, Smartwool and a stuff sack filled with goodies, food bars, lip balm was a great idea, gloves or a warm hat, a bandana - go to Campmor. They have sales. Secretbackpack Santa - Kule Yule! glad tidings!”

“OK, just back from REI. In addition to a number of other gifts, I got my Secret Santa recipient a Black Diamond Ion headlamp. They had one out to try - pretty cool! Not nearly the life of the other lamps, but it is light as a feather - will certainly do for the kind of backpacking she does. Woo hoo!”

“Yeah, I scarfed up one of those in the EMS Club Sale. It's a fair piece of equipment. I would not want to hike far in the dark with it, but it is passable for around camp. And it is so light you can forget it's there.

Sometime in the spring I want to get a more powerful headlamp, but the Ion is so light you can throw it in the pack as a backup. That little 6V battery packs a wallup.”

“Yeah, Geo, they seem pretty cool. So cool that - shhhhhhhhh - I picked one up for Cameron for Christmas.”

“(sniff) My son's first headlamp....

Brings a tear to my eye....”

“Good for him. My grandson wanted a camping lantern, so he traded to get a full collection of Pokemon cards, sold it, and made enough to buy a good Coleman lantern with the proceeds and a discount I had. I got him a plastic case for Christmas, and he loves being able to fire that thing up. I gave him a compass for his birthday and we did map and compass reading work on the car camping trip last summer. Kids do love being in on everything.”

“It's now my turn to buy a gift for the office holiday gift exchange. We each buy a gift and then draw numbers to pick a gift out. We are allowed to exchange one time. I think I'm going to buy that Leatherman Micra and hope that I can pick it for myself. Even if someone else get's it they'll probably be glad to trade.”

“Sounds cool, wing. Our party is this Saturday, so I'll report on how the headlamp was received. Also will report if I got gear from my SS, like last year (sort of) - a couple of lexan wine glasses....”

“I delivered the Secret Santa gift (Black Diamond Ion headlamp) to my co-worker at our company party last night - it was a HUGE hit! The funniest part, though, was that I received my gift right before she opened it, and the guy who was my Secret Santa gave ME a headlamp (a Petzl Tikka)!!!”

“OK, here we go again. We just drew names for our office Secret Santa thing. I drew our CFO-in-training, who also happens to be the boss's daughter. She's not into backpacking, unfortunately. In fact, I'm not sure what she is into. Her husband is a motorcycle enthusiast, she drives a 'Vette. Hmmmm. Any ideas???”

“a puppy?”

“Not to sound negative or anything but...you're screwed! Turn in your resignation tomorrow. LOL!

What's your spending limit? If there's no limit get her a day at a spa.

The failsafe gift is to go out and buy her the smallest diaphragm you buy. Even if she can’t use it, it’ll be a compliment.”

“Um, "great" idea, Rockman. BTW, were you home when the explosion happened (didn't you say you're in W. Creek?)?

Thanks Nigal. That's an, um, interesting idea, too. Spending limit is around 40 bucks.

BTW, she drew my name a couple years ago and got me this awesome coffee table book about surfing (I had taken a surfing lesson while on vacation)....
last edited: 11/12/04 8:55:51 PM”

“Gift certificates always work well. Amazon.com is a great choice.”

“Job application for a place that daddy doesn't own?”

“Bowlderman, I was at work when everything blew. Coming home, south on 680, the freeway sign said the highway was closed further up ahead. Didn't hear about the explosion til later in the evening though.”

“One of those cool car wash kits that has everything? Or make your own up with air fresheners, armour all wipes, car wash gift certificates and a chamey?”

“Make up a nail care gift bag. Include a couple bottles of good polish (OPI), top coat, a good nail file, hand lotion. Go to a beuty supply store rather than a wal-mart to buy the stuff.

Or another themed gift bag idea would be a "pamper yourself" bag. Bath salts, bottle of wine, chick book, scented candle, CD.

Or an easy thing would be to buy her a gift certificate to a good local salon for $40 and let her choose her own services. That would be enough to get a pedicure and/or manicure.

Put it all in a nice gift bag with crinkle paper or tissue paper. She'll love it, think you are incredible, and tell everyone else in the office about it (including boss daddy).”

“I second the idea of the bath salts and and candles and body washes. Put it all in a nice bag with that crinkly paper.....

AARK!!! I sound just like a parrot!”

“A savings bond.

If she likes wine - that's always nice.”