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NWR: (Hand-made) Secret Santa Help!

loro929loro929 member
250 Love Its 500 Comments Third Anniversary Name Dropper
edited November 2014 in Chit Chat
Every year a big group of friends (around 20 of us) participate in a big Secret Santa - and have a nice big boozy Christmas party to exchange gifts.
However, there is one catch. There is no budget for the Secret Santa present because it MUST be hand-made.
We just made the selections and I have to make a gift for one of the guys in the group.

This is where the help requests come in. 
Any inspiration for a hand-made Secret Santa gift for a man in his mid-late 30s?
I know there are some very crafty people here on the boards, what would you (or have you made) in similiar situations?

ETA: I generally am not so crafty, last year, for instance, I wrote a poem to my secret gift recipient. This year, I wanted to try to get a little more "hands-on".

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Re: NWR: (Hand-made) Secret Santa Help!

  • novella1186novella1186 member
    5000 Comments 500 Love Its Second Anniversary First Answer
    1) champagne chocolate truffles, hand made (it's not so hard) 
    2) Oak barrel aged Manhattans, bottled with a hand-made label-- We're doing this to give to FBIL. You can buy a small oak barrel pretty cheap online, you put in whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters, and then let it age for about a month. The flavors meld and get all oaky and smooth. It's delicious! You can put it in a cool bottle with a fancy label with instructions to just pour over ice 
    3) There's a thing online with simple directions to make a solar phone charger out of an altoids container and a few other simple parts 
    4) a few different spice rubs in cool containers with hand-made labels that you mix yourself (I can give you my magic spice rub recipe if you're interested!) 
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  • RebeccaFlowerRebeccaFlower member
    1000 Comments 500 Love Its First Anniversary Name Dropper
    edited November 2014
    What about Skittles (or some other infused) vodka? It's not hard and something they might enjoy. Or homemade vanilla.

    If you do choose something else, know that you should also have a coupon for most craft stores. Joanne's, AC Moore and Hobby Lobby always have 40-50% coupons out. (I tell everyone that because I didn't know when I started crafting.)
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  • climbingsingleclimbingsingle member
    Knottie Warrior 10000 Comments 500 Love Its 5 Answers
    What about something food related? Do you know anything he likes? Sweets? Or maybe a jar of homemade sauce? 

    What about a DIY stitched leather case? Does he have a tablet or an ipad?
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  • loro929loro929 member
    250 Love Its 500 Comments Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    edited November 2014
    Wow. You guys are much more innovative than me :)
    These ideas are really great. 

    @novella1186 Do you have a link / recipe for the oak barrel manhattans? 

    @RebeccaFlower and @ClimbingBrideNY something home-made might be good too. Problem is, besides knowing that he doesn't like wheat beers, I am not sure what his food-preferences are. In that case, some homemade treats could do the trick, who doesn't like sugar, afterall !
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  • esstee33esstee33 member
    Ninth Anniversary 1000 Comments 500 Love Its First Answer
    Make these bad boys: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/bourbon-balls.html

    (I have tested this among a group of mid-late 20s dudes and it was a big hit. Dude approved.) 
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  • novella1186novella1186 member
    5000 Comments 500 Love Its Second Anniversary First Answer
    loro929 said:
    Wow. You guys are much more innovative than me :)
    These ideas are really great. 

    @novella1186 Do you have a link / recipe for the oak barrel manhattans? 

    @RebeccaFlower and @ClimbingBrideNY something home-made might be good too. Problem is, besides knowing that he doesn't like wheat beers, I am not sure what his food-preferences are. In that case, some homemade treats could do the trick, who doesn't like sugar, afterall !
    I got the recipe from a magazine, tore the page out, and now I don't even remember the name of the magazine lol. I can send it to you when I get home tonight! 
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  • theartistformerlyknownastheartistformerlyknownas member
    10000 Comments 500 Love Its 5 Answers First Anniversary
    Mix up custom flavors of barbecue rubs? Lamp or soap dispenser from a liquor bottle (bonus - you get to drink the liquor)? If you can sew, can coozies, remote control caddy, grilling apron, or tablet sleeve? If you have a saw and he likes woodsy things, wood slice coasters or a tree branch coat rack? 

    Or you can decoupage any type of paper onto a plain ceramic tile with ModPodge - you could do comics or newsprint/crossword puzzles or beer labels or whatever he's into. http://www.cardstore.com/blog/diy-photo-coasters/
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  • pinkcow13pinkcow13 member
    2500 Comments Fifth Anniversary 500 Love Its First Answer
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    JK - how about a calendar? And put pictures of cool things he likes for each month. A calendar is pretty useful. Or maybe bake some yummy treats!
                                 Anniversary
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  • loro929loro929 member
    250 Love Its 500 Comments Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    novella1186 said:
    loro929 said:
    Wow. You guys are much more innovative than me :)
    These ideas are really great. 

    @novella1186 Do you have a link / recipe for the oak barrel manhattans? 

    @RebeccaFlower and @ClimbingBrideNY something home-made might be good too. Problem is, besides knowing that he doesn't like wheat beers, I am not sure what his food-preferences are. In that case, some homemade treats could do the trick, who doesn't like sugar, afterall !
    I got the recipe from a magazine, tore the page out, and now I don't even remember the name of the magazine lol. I can send it to you when I get home tonight! 
    Thanks!!

    The lamp and soap dispensor out of liqour bottles could be very cool too. Do you have any instructions for that?
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  • theartistformerlyknownastheartistformerlyknownas member
    10000 Comments 500 Love Its 5 Answers First Anniversary
    For the soap dispenser, you just need to buy one of these and screw it onto the top: http://www.amazon.com/Chrome-Replacement-Lotion-Dispenser-Pump/dp/B00897AUII/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8


    You could also do salt and pepper shakers out of airplane size bottles - just poke some holes in the caps. 

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  • loro929loro929 member
    250 Love Its 500 Comments Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    @lolo883 I would quote you but it would be huge. I love this! So so cute... and so many possibilities! :D
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  • wandajune6wandajune6 member
    2500 Comments 500 Love Its Third Anniversary First Answer
    Homemade maraschino cherries. I make a huge batch every 2 years. They get better with age. Also, if they last until the 2 year mark, eating 2-3 will knock me on my butt (I'm a lightweight).

    Deliciousness.

    I use this style of jar: http://www.amazon.com/Bormioli-Rocco-Round-Clear-4-Ounce/dp/B0001BMYGQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1415288284&sr=8-2&keywords=glass+jar

    I use my uncle's recipe:

    1 cup simple syrup (50/50 mix)
    2 cups kirsch (cheap is fine)
    frozen cherries (I use ~ 1 lb pitted) (Fresh are probably better but I'm lazy).

    If the liquid doesn't cover the cherries in your jar, just add more kirsch until it does.

    They're best after 6 months but I've been known to start eating them after a couple of days.
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  • loro929loro929 member
    250 Love Its 500 Comments Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    @wandajune6 They sound delicious!
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  • wandajune6wandajune6 member
    2500 Comments 500 Love Its Third Anniversary First Answer
    loro929 said:
    @wandajune6 They sound delicious!
    They are! The older they are, the more potent. I moved around a lot over the past few years and managed to forget about a jar in the storage locker until a few weeks ago. They're probably just over 2 years old and have a serious punch. I've been mixing the liquid with tonic and it's amazing. They cherries are great on ice cream, in drinks, or just for munching. Just be careful- I can't have more than 2 or 3 without getting tipsy. I'm a lightweight but they're stronger than you expect!
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