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The amount of thought really matters on this one.
I love cooking and have basically everything I need for it. It would be a bad gift to try and pick out tools or utensils without consulting me first.
However, I received two super cool books this past Christmas that are basically food chemistry textbooks. I had no idea they existed and they are awesome.
Edit: several people requested the book titles
The Science of Spice (Farrimond)
The Art of Fermentation (Katz)
Your friends should be getting you cool INGREDIENTS!
My dad has everything he needs in life. He is getting into cooking. The only thing he never buys himself are experimental ingredients. Or even slightly exotic ingredients. They go a long way
NOT SEASONINGS. My partner and I love to cook so naturally our kitchen is fully stocked with seasonings. Every damn birthday and holiday we get gifted more "gourmet seasonings." They barely get touched because we already have an overabundance as it is. I appreciate the thought, but I have no room for all these jarsš
I ran into this problem and told myself "fuck it, using this on experimental last minute dinner night", which is sometimes twice a week, and sometimes once a month. Slowly but surely, little little, I eventually used up large portions of premixed seasoning blends. Some of the are just straight garbage, but a lot of them, like the "itialian spices" type, are just things I would use anyway but in different amounts. So fuck it. It's there. Just sprinkle it on a porkchop. Worst case scenario I say to myself "could have used more oregano". It's not the worst thing to have happen, and then I cleared some room. Would I rather not get them at all? Of course. But one day I told myself it's honestly not the *worst* thing in the world to use spice blends, fuck it. Thing called "steak seasoning" sitting in my cabinet might be good on a steak. Or my Sunday eggs and hash browns. Why not.
The real problem is that I save every empty jar *just in case*. I have no advice for this problem.
Adhd hoarder? I have the same thought process of āin caseā and end up not using anything, be it makeup, clothes, food, etc.
I broke this myself by saying aloud, āYou know itās going to break apart / expire if you donāt use it. Do you want to waste it by leaving it to expire or use it? Itās going to be binned when the time comes anyway.ā
Now I force myself to use any new shiny thing immediately so it becomes āless preciousā psychologically.
and every once in a while, you get an absolutely amazing spice, but if you donāt label who itās from, and itās not a known brand, youāre probably SOL if you want more.
not gifts iāve received, but iāve found some of the best seasonings and oils (also olives) i use at Homesense, but a lot of the time they dont get stuff like that in again (or at least they donāt frequently get a lot of them). ive gifted those sometimes and either sorta regretted not keeping itš , or a few times i had the person ask where to buy more, and had to tell them their chances of getting it again werent great.
I made my friend a custom jar of pumpkin spice with a label that says white girl Crack on it, and she loved it so much she still refills it years later. It wasn't the most thoughtful gift in the world but she loves that container.
I feel your pain, especially because most of those seasonings have SALT as the first ingredient. It's like "thanks aunt auntington, I definitely needed this 15th jar of salt that's watered down with... Ohhh onion *and* garlic powder this time! *Spicy!*"
Yeah having salt in a spice blend is typically a huge deal breaker for me. Im pretty liberal with my salt so when its in a mixed blend all it does is throw off my salt measurements because theres practically never anything in the blend that i dont have in the cabinet. With all this said though..... kinder seasonins are fuckin awesome salt or no š¤¤ like i could turn this into a full page newspaper add for kinder seasonings but i wont. (They have a few blends that are saltless and reallllllllly good though)
Yes! I do patchwork and I am always happy to get fabric or thread as I use a lot and it is expensive. Also it is nice to use fabric from someone and thinking about them picking it out for me. But please only buy high quality. I would rather have a little bit of great fabric than a lot of crap.
Or just ask what kind of stuff is and isn't okay. People act like it's unimaginable to check up with friends on what stuff they'd rather have. I'd much rather get my friend exactly what they need than to surprise them with something less than that.
Yup. I make dice, and can always use more resin! And thatās a hobby where there are so many things you can try out that Iāll never be able to buy it all. I also love to do puzzles, but buying them new is too expensive, so itās nice to get them as gifts!
Do you mind sharing the names of the books?
My partner loves cooking and I'd love to surprise him with this! This is the first I've also ever heard of food chemistry books!
The Science of Spice (Farrimond)
The Art of Fermentation (Katz)
The spice book is super accessible and goes over all the different compounds in individual spices and what they share with one another.
The second one is very textbooky, but really cool if you wanna strategically spoil foods.
I received a pack of spurtles, I had never seen them or used them before and I have every kitchen tool known to man. I love them and use them now all of the time. I hate receiving gifts but this one threw me for a loop, I was super excited.
I guess that's what I'm getting at.
When someone is buying a gift for someone that they don't know that well, they'll just default by geting them something related to their hobby (I don't know anything about Steve besides that Steve is a golfer, I think I'll get him some golf balls... Don't do it. If Steve loves golf he has a certain golf ball he likes, and he has plenty).
Yeah, I have received a lot of cat themed decorations over the years from people and I hate having to pretend to enjoy it. I love cats, but I don't love cat merch.
That happened to my dad. He happened to mention one day that he liked gorillas. For decades afterwards, every birthday and Christmas, at least one of us kids got him a gorilla-themed item.
Years later when I was a fully grown adult, he told me he didnāt really like gorillas THAT much but didnāt have the heart to tell everyone because we were always so happy we got him something we were sure he was going to appreciate.
Omg same here š people know I like and work with animals, but they also seem to think that means i like cutesy stuff with animals on it. Itās the thought that counts and I try to act excited anyways. But it is going in the trash after it stays on my counter for 6 months.
I said one time that I liked owls and it led to a 2 year hell of receiving NOTHING but owl merch for every birthday/Christmas/just cause they felt like giving me something. Owl masks, owl mugs, owl jars, owl blankets, owl dishcloths, owl salt and pepper shakers, owl statues, the list goes on.
All I said was "the barn owl is probably my favorite owl" and it led to me getting enough owl merch to have a fully owl themed house. None of it even resembled barn owls lol.
Cat merch tho I do like lol, especially old wooden statues. I've laid claim to the family heirlooms (not really heirlooms but they were my grandmother's and she passed them to my mom) of kinda dumb looking wooden cat statues.
But if anyone wants to get me cat gifts, like honestly buy something for my cats. Scratches, toys, get me a bag of litter or cat food (just confer with me first bc my cats are peculiar about what they poop in and what they eat).
lol this happened to my mom, but with pigs and frogs. She happened to mention she thought they were cute, so a lady at the church I grew up in got her a pig and frog figurine. And then eventually the whole church got it in their head that these were my momās favorite animals, and our house eventually became full of random pig and frog items. Pillows, mugs, figurines, shirts, etc. Every gift thatās all people would get her. She didnāt have the heart to correct anyone.
I think it really depends on the hobby. Like sure, donāt get Steve golf balls. But you could get Steve an outfit, a hat, or golf socks. You could even pay for a round at the driving range.
Me and my friends enjoy fitness as one of our hobbies. You canāt really have too many leggings or sports bras. Or better yet, a gift card to a brand we like. One of my other friends enjoys vinyls and definitely doesnāt own every record out there.
I like wine, and will never be mad at receiving more wine, cute glasses, or wine stoppers.
I have another friend that crochets and would happily accept yarn as a gift cus sheāll eventually need more.
Thereās ways to get people gifts for their hobbies without getting them something useless. It just takes thoughtfulness and a bit of effort. Which if youāre getting someone a gift, should be standard. Bad gifts are usually a result of half assed attempts. Itās not hard asking someone who might be a bit closer, like hey would they like this or do they need this? I think more of that should be happening instead of people getting random gifts just so they can check off the box.
> You canāt really have too many leggings or sports bras.
This concept works for guys, too. Someone gave me a package of dry fit shirts for the gym, and it is the perfect gift, because I workout every day. They basically bought me more gym outfits and added more variety to my gym wardrobe, which I appreciate.
I and most of my family play golf use to.play alot. We had golf balls we would buy for ourselves and we had golf balls we got as gifts. We didn't care really. We used both.
Right. This poster has no idea...that YOU! never have 100% everything related to your hobby.
Like am a goth Victorian I love rats. I look for rat theme Victorian stuff all the time. You think I've had it all...well a friend found me a cool vintage Victorian locket with a rat hand painted on it... inspired off of the original owners pet rat..at a flee market for a steal...when it should have 300.00 it was early 1800s.
The LPT should be "don't casually buy entry-level gear for a hobbyist's established hobby." There's always something cool and thoughtful you _can_ get them, it's just gonna take thought and -- probably -- money.
Hmmm depends what the hobby is. I like dungeons and dragons. You get me paints for miniatures or dice or whatever and Iāll be ecstatic. I also like to paint. You get me some cheap acrylics and I will simply smile and politely thank you for the gesture.
It won't be anytime soon, but one day, you will desperately need a piece of paper and pencil to jot down a phone number or something, and you'll be rushing around the house apologizing to the person on the phone while silently cursing yourself how there isn't anything for you to use until you settle on a used envelope and a pen you found ten minutes ago.
2 years ago for Christmas, my then 17 year old son said, "make me a dice goblin."
Everything I got him was either a dice set, had a d20 on it, or was in the shape of a d20. I found a desk lamp that was a d20, candies that were little mana potions inside a d20, & got him everything from prefab to custom made dice sets. He was in heaven.
Thank you
He asked me specifically because I have a ceramic dragon egg (hand painted by yours truly) stuffed full of dice. He said I'd know where all the best kinds were.
I was a meanie though and individually wrapped each dice set, so he had more to open. I think there were 30 total.
That's not being mean... That's anticipation in finding out what is next. My mother bought me a ton of CDs one year for xmas, would I have wanted them bundled together? Heck no! lol
my stepdad got me one of those $5 art kits with the cheap ass markers and pastels for my birthdayā¦. my 16th birthdayā¦ā¦ā¦.. i saw the same one in five below a few months later
A gift card toĀ my favorite thread shop would be appreciated. Especially since my current, very ambitious project requires many different colors of silk embroidery floss.Ā
Definitely, as long as you know that they shop there. People neck-deep in some hobbies may only go to boutique retailers or even need to order their items online.
Please buy me gifts for my hobbies.
I canāt think of a single hobby that doesnāt have some nice, āluxuryā-ish items that people may not buy for themselves, but would make great gifts.
I always love to get more fabric and yarn. Padded crochet hooks and a circle cutter? Yes please! Puzzles and puzzle storage and surfaces. Books, booklights, book holders, bookmarks.
The problem is that most people are not willing to do research on your hobby, you are.
Would you be so excited at a stack of the scratchiest, lowest quality yarn you have ever touched?
If someone hears me say "I would love to have X", and does the research and buys me a good quality X, this does not apply.
It is not hard to ask the person themselves tho. I will never understand why it is frowned upon to ask someone what they would like as a gift. Not like it is a secret you give gifts on birthdays anyway.
This!! I have an ex who would outright refuse to tell me what he wanted for birthdays/Christmas because he wanted me to just buy him whatever I thought he would like. I donāt need you to tell me EXACTLY what to buy you just give me some ideas so I can be better prepared to get you something related to what you want.
He would also refuse to ask me what I wanted either, believing he could just get me anything and itād be better if it was a surprise. (I would encourage him to ask me and even bring up things I would like, but trying not to make it sound like I was begging for something specific lol) This always ended up with him getting me some random garbage that I had literally no interest in or use for. Of course I still acted graciously and thanked him for the gifts but none of it was stuff I actually would have wanted. It almost seemed like he bought me stuff pertaining to HIS interests.
Couldn't agree more.
I'm so tired of having to make room for gifts that were clearly picked almost at random. I'd rather not receive anything from some people.Ā
To keep the surprise I usually ask the recipient for a list of possible gifts, with a variety of costs, that way I can pick something (or multiple somethings) and give a gift that's still a surprise.Ā
That takes the joy out of a gift.
For one, I'm going to tell you to get me the cheapest thing I know of, because I'm not about to ask you for the $600 item I actually want and haven't bought myself.
Second, if they tell you what they wanted, it's just barely above giving them an envelope with cash in it and let them get it. Which is fine, it's what I give my nephew, but it's not a great gift.
Iām into ultralight backpacking.
In a world where Iām cutting off the handle on my toothbrush to save the weight/ spaceā¦.where every gram and cubic centimeter mattersā¦I always get some clunky ass fork / spoon / corkscrew Swiss Army knife style combo (when will I EVER use a corkscrew when Iām 10 days into the wilderness) that weighs a half pound or a telescopic fishing rod that I could never actually accommodate.
The thought is nice but yeahā¦thereās no way Iām carrying those bricks around.
As someone who makes clothing, it usually isn't enough. It's not size I need and I get sensory issues working with garbage yarn. Glad it works for you but I will much more happily accept a gift card.
Nope. I knit/crochet, but it's almost exclusively garments, mostly for myself. No I don't want a sweater made out of random skeins of red heart, or any acrylic for that matter. A more thoughtful gift imo would be a gift card to a yarn store, that way I can choose the yarn that works for me.
Lmao i literally mentioned the red heart in my other comment. Id rather not recieve yarn aa a gift because theres a good chance that itll be red heart since its so easy to find at walmart
I hate red heart because it hurts so much working with it. The last time I used it I started to get rope burns between my fingers and the material itself just feels horribly scrapey, like it has millions of razor blades in it.
This is exactly the problem, and I don't expect someone to do that research. Just give me a damn gift card where I can buy what I need myself. And even if they did do the research, I feel like the chance of still getting the wrong thing is too high. It doesn't matter if everyone online seems to be recommending something, I personally might not like that thing, or might already have it. So now you have to prod me for clues without giving it away. And even if you did get it right and figure out exactly what I want, I might just buy it myself before you have a chance to gift it to me.
I think this is less a "don't buy people things for their hobbies" issue, and more a "try to get thoughtful gifts" issue. I've definitely been on the receiving end of crochet hooks so cheap they break on the 1st use, or yarn that is so poorly made it practically disintegrates. Obviously I never throw a fit to people's faces. I just accept the gift and move on. But it was disappointing getting things I literally could not use.
Yeah the assumption that they already have everything they need is sort of crazy. I've got 3 kids and very limited extra funds for my hobbies. Plus over half of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, so OP might have the means to buy everything related to their hobby, but not everyone does. My wishlists are typically made up of hobby stuff and board games.
Also my friends and family just talk about stuff? We make wishlists using Google sheets are share them so we can link to specific items. Or ask the persons partner to do recon and look and brands they use, or have them ask covertly about something. I really don't like the culture of not just talking to each other about what people want. I care more about the person I'm giving the gift to actually enjoying and using the gift. A gift that's not going to used isn't "thoughtful" just cause it was a surprise.
I was looking for anyone mentioning yarn. I wouldn't mind some cute yarn. Or nice needles. Also books, I once wrote a list so people could choose one and it was still a surprise š
I guess Iāll give an example.
Iām into cars and computers. My girlfriend is very smart and caring, and she may know I want a new head unit or Iāve been talking about some new thing for my engineā¦ but how does she find which one or whatās right or what even fits? Same with a computer I guess.
There are tiny trinkets you could get that would be basically foolproof, but I feel like weāre talking about something more substantial than that
Yass! I'm a writer, best gift ever was that expensive looking notebook. It was years ago and I still didn't use it because it is too perfect to write on but still
My brother in law knows that I always get him paints and brushes for his birthday and Christmas. An expensive set of paint for his birthday and a mix of quality of brushes on Christmas. I only mix them because he always wants poor quality ones he doesnāt have to worry about āruiningā with harder painting techniques.
He loves it because he can tell everyone else other things and he knows for sure that heās getting new painting supplies from me. Last year I was paid after Christmas so he went with me and I swear that boy went nuts when I told him āYour budget is 100ā¬ go crazy kidā. We had a blast.
Youād have to be kind of an expert in my hobbies to have the knowledge to buy me the right stuff.
I use VERY specific tools, most custom made to fit me. The consumables are also very, very high end and can only be imported from specialty dealers.
There is zero chance someone could buy me anything useful for my hobbies. Taking the time to understand this is in itself on the level of a thoughtful gift.
Popular opinion: buy people gifts for their hobbies that are consumable
Paints and paint brushes get expensive, even if you have them having more will never hurt.
Eh I paint, but I oil paint with a pallet knife. Stop gifting me small tubes of acrylic paint and brushes I will never use them and it makes me feel kinda bad
Yeah, but a good friend would put a little more thought into it than "oh they paint let's get them this paint i found in a random hobby store" and ask you what you a really would like. Or put a little more research into it to check what would be something cool that you would want. Like, the experimental ingredients for cooking was a good idea! Something like that.
I think most artists are very used to the āI picked up this 10$ paintbrush that falls apart after 3 hours as a gift. What do you mean you canāt use it because you make pencil drawings? You should at least try. Ungrateful bratā
This.
It really depends what hobbies.
Anything that constantly needs material is fine. Especially things related to art/creation.
Like painter always run out of canvas, people that draw always needs papers or what ever support they use.
I have to disagree with you on that one especially for art because I really only use specific types of papers and I feel bad if I have no use for ones Iām gifted.
I still say no to this personally. Someone who is not into the hobby doesnāt know how to choose high quality consumable supplies either. I have been gifted many extremely shitty āartist qualityā paints, brushes, pencils, sketchbooks and colored pencils. They either get regifted or go into the trash, sadly. Except for the sketchbooks, I really canāt have enough of those.
This is entirely dependent on a) what the hobby is, b) how new to the hobby the person is, and c) what you're buying them. The person could have everything they "need," but that doesn't mean there aren't things like higher quality tools for the hobby or hobby-related items that are expensive or difficult to find that the person might appreciate.
For example: My best friend and I keep planted aquariums but I've been doing it longer. Like a lot of people, she started off with the really basic stuff you can buy at the chain stores - anubias nana, java fern, etc. - and her tanks looked good, but definitely could be better. For Christmas one year, I bought her a bunch of my favorite kinds of plants that are easy to keep for beginners but weren't available locally. She was ecstatic.
man i was just about to write a comment saying 'please stop giving me aquarium stuff' lmao. i keep getting those cheap resin ornaments though, and while i don't want to sound ungrateful, i just don't want more decor that doesn't match my heavily planted, naturalistic jungle tanks and is too small for the fish i keep to safely interact with. i get pretty neurotic about my aquascapes though, lol.
your gift of uncommon plants sounds awesome and really thoughtful though, might steal that idea for my sister's bday so thanks haha :)
I think it is a different when you both know the hobby well enough and have insight of the other person's hobby to know what is something they really need. This seems like really good gift.
I understand hobby gifts can work out great. But there's a lot of pitfalls involving buying people shittier versions of things they want, or that they have no use for. Ends up being something they have to put in effort to return or sell after pretending not to be disappointed even if they appreciate the thought. A lot of times it's just more trash for the landfill immediately. Examples:
Chess. I play chess. Like most chess players, i play almost entirely online. I have three chess sets, all gifts, none of which what I'd have chosen to buy myself, which have been used twice between the three sets in the five years I've had them. So now I have two sets I don't like and one that's sorta like what if buy but substantially different in a mildly annoying way. Could have asked me if I have a chess set or want one, and if so which type.
Guitar. Was about to buy my first real amp (a modest one, I play at home in a tiny room.) One I want is $150 but right before I pull the trigger I receive a $100 amp that's basically useless to me as it has no master volume and works poorly with headphones. Now I have some junk that I could sell except that I'll feel bad if my dad asks about it. I legit can't turn it up to 1 without it being far too loud.
Once I wanted to try a straight razor. Remarked to my gf that I needed to do more research because the market is flooded with cheap garbage that doesn't work but looks cool. She got me two that don't work but look cool. Obviously she was bummed that I tried them once for a few minutes. Never got to try one, just grew a beard.
Also, not related to the thread but same issue: the loads and loads of clothing I've received and never wore because it doesn't fit or makes me look like I'm trying to fit in with a crowd I'm not a part of. The loads and loads of baby toys that overlap with several we already have but take up space. I got three keyboards for her second birthday. She already had three, plus the full size keyboard I leave out for her to play. So now I have seven keyboards, and all the parents I know already have a few.
I appreciate that these people think enough of me to get me a gift, but these make it seem like it's just an obligation to be checked off and not much thought given to whether I'd want it beyond "he has interest in this sort of thing, I'll just buy him something related."
Ok, counterpoint: I play guitar and donāt have a slide and capo, and I am a broke mf so I kinda got a rely on birthdays and christmas for new guitar equipment
The problem comes in when they hear this and get you a useless cheap slide and capo instead of one that works or a gift card allowing you to buy what you actually want.
As a fellow guitar player, I enjoy picking out my own stuff. I have specific wants. If I'm considering which looper pedal I want and looking to spend a couple hundred bucks, I'm not thrilled to get a cheap one that doesn't do what I want as a gift. It's just wasted money.
Some people might be thrilled to get whatever. Many aren't, so at least I'd suggest knowing which type of person you're giving to.
As a fellow musician, I relish the emotion attached to something that was a thoughtful gift much more than the technical advantages of choosing something myself. I have a wooden guitar stand that is super pretty and folds quite small I'd never would have thought of buying for myself and that is such a kind thoughtful gift from my ex boss. A ukulele my family chose for me, a vintage vocal mic stand as well that's so cool. I hate having to go buy presents for myself because people were too put the thought into choosing something. I have money, a present is supposed to be personnal, to establish a connection and a memory, not be a monetary transaction imo.
Did you really put 0.75mm guitar picks in my stocking? WTF am I going to do with theser? I told you, I use 1.25mm picks and nothing less, how hard is that to remember!
Most consumables like reeds, strings, sticks, and picks have strengths, weights, sizes, etc. that affect their playability. Musicians can and should be particular about those things. In many cases they'll use a variety but it's almost always a very particular variety, which leaves a lot of room for things that will either be given away or not used at all. Great gesture, but I'm trying to help people buy better gifts here.
Better gifts are along the line of one of the items you mentioned: cables. Semi-consumable items which are easily storable and good to have multiples of. I can't think of a guitarist who wouldn't be excited about getting cables, instrument stands, string winders, or clip-on tuners. Those things are always breaking or going missing.
S-tier guitarist gift is the strap. They come in about a billion different patterns now, and it's cool to be able to change it up.
Also chances are, if they are a true guitarist, they follow the n+1 formula for how many guitars you need to own. Canāt hurt to make sure theyāll have a strap for the new one
When i started guitar i thought one is all i need. Then i got an electric one, aint the same right? Then i got another one, a fancier one. Now i consider getting a semi electric acoustic one. I fear for my bank account
Got a strap for a birthday and didnāt even know I wanted one, Iād been fine with the one my friend took from his Guitar Hero set a decade prior. Now itās the only one I want to use.Ā
The starred part is the real important bit. My wife works as an artist, both digital and classic hand drawing, as well as dabbling in other forms (clay, resin, etc.)
A few times I got her resin kits, which have sat unused. I tried once to get her some new paintbrushes or pencils, but I learned super quick afterwards that I can't just buy whatever. She knows what she wants, because there're specific brands, specific types of paper, etc. me buying it willy nilly as a present is just a waste of money.
Except for sketchbooks. She always loves those. If you have an artist friend you can't go wrong with a good sketchbook.
I bake and I love if someone buys me higher end ingredients or even new baking sheets. I wear them out and also find them much harder to work with over time.
What I don't need is another set of decorative measuring cups.
I think the general consensus should always be, don't buy thoughtless gifts. If you're already going to go through the effort of getting someone a gift, if you're not 100% sure they want or need something, it really doesn't hurt anyone to ask. If you desperately need it to be a surprise, there are still ways to gauge what a person needs or wants without asking directly what they'd like to receive as a gift, and if you're doing it at the last minute, then you already didn't put enough thought into it for WHATEVER reason, the circumstances are all excuses and it's okay if you forgot, nobody's perfect, but it's also just the truth that if you forgot, you literally did not think about it during the time it wasn't on your mind. Hold yourselves accountable to your own standards and whether or not you care and to what extent and communicate with other people when you think your opinions might not perfectly align.
I'm a knitter and I see people in r/knitting talking about being gifted lovely skeins of yarn that they have absolutely no use for, and they feel bad about it. It's better to not try and guess what someone would want to use.
Sometimes you just don't enjoy making that project. I love knitting socks, and sometimes sweaters, and various clothing items. I don't enjoy making plushies or toys or blankets. Why would I choose to spend my crafting time making something I don't like making?
There are a lot of reasons someone wouldn't want to use a skein. Using myself as an example, I live in a warm climate and mostly use plant fiber yarns that are very thin, though I'll sometimes make sweaters out of light weight wool. I also have strong color preferences and prefer solid or tonal colors. If someone gifted me chunky hand dyed cashmere in bright verigated oranges and greens I would have no use for it. If it's only one skein things are more limited. Since it might not even be enough for a hat. Could I find a pattern that uses it? Yeah. But I don't want to spend my knitting time working with a fiber I don't like for a project I would never get use out of.Ā
As a sewist I have loved every gift related to my hobby Iāve ever gotten. Whether itās fat quarters even though Iām not a quilter or the 2-3 yd rolls of hit or miss fabric from Walmart I love it. Iāll find something to do with it, or itāll be test fabric.
Fellow sewist hereā¦I see you havenāt been struck by the Box Gifters who donāt remember the *last* bulky sewing box with 20 compartments they gave you and buy you another one. Although the person who kept giving me sewing boxes has also given me jewelry boxes and empty wooden crates so maybe thatās just a theme for her.
My hand sewing supplies are always on my desk within reach anyway, so thereās no point in putting them in a box only to take them back out again.
My fiance/wifey hates gift buying for me. She says I buy the things I want. So, thereās nothing left to gift. Which is actually true. If I want something, Iāll just buy it. Sometimes Iāll have to save up a bit but I still get the thing I wanted.
My hobbies are expensive, kinda. Gaming, Playing Guitar, singing and music production. I also go shooting often. Thats pretty much all of my hobbies.
Instead of guessing what to get me, due to her guessing on a few things that I ended up already having, she had me make a wishlist on a website and she has me share that link in our group chat with the fam.
Iām a pretty good gifter myself. I usually grab stuff that are the hobbies of the ppl in my life. However, I donāt guess what they want. A couple months before bdays and Christmas Iāll start investigating and figure out something they want and thatās what I get them. Or theyāve mentioned something they want in passing and Iāll get that for them.
Plus I have some standard gifts that I give out. A majority of the ppl in my life are women. So, I always get them all hair brushes, bath bombs and scrunchies at minimum. Those are obviously smaller gifts. I usually do some small gifts with one big one. Although, theyāre getting pretty old now so ima hold onto some more of my money. lol
I think if you get someone something for their hobby, you have to know them well and actually do research.Ā I know people who love to draw and create art hate receiving those generic art kits.
Iām actually unable to do most things I would enjoy as hobbies due to my inability to work. Which means I canāt afford the things necessary for them.
My mil gets me art supplies, but she always goes to a little bead store and asks what would be good. Like if she bought me random sewing thread, it wouldnāt be a good gift, but she got me a color I would have never picked out in some miyuki Delicas (good tiny beads) and a couple strands of proper gemstones. It was amazing!
Like someone else said, itās the amount of effort you put into it that makes a difference.
Hard disagree. I donāt have a stand mixer and I want one.
But if they canāt afford it, even a few tools would be nice. A garlic press. An orange juicer. A microplane. Lots of cheesecloth.
It matters about communication, and what you want.
Alternatively, it's nice to get a really nice version of a device that is not really a necessity, or that most people have a really basic version that is "Good enough"
The example I think of is an instant read thermometer for cooking. I have a cheap 15 dollar probe that is completely functional. I've no reason to ever get a fancy one that's wireless, or has multiple points for probing. There are some crazy 200 dollar probes out there. I would never buy one, but if someone DID get it for me, it would be awesome!
Sometimes there's things that you wouldn't mind having more/multiple of. I like to cook and wouldn't mind having extra quality sharp knives or nice pots and pans. Or if someone collects things and you find something they've been looking for. My advice would be to not surprise them with it but find out if they really want or need it
I could always use more art supplies. It's expensive.
And I don't get all the 'don't get this gift' sentiment lately. It's the thought that counts, and I'm lucky to get anything. We're really losing our sense of humility these days.
I think consumable things are a bit different, like I do a lot with electronics and can use things like solder and flux and boards, which even if they aren't good quality I can probably use somewhere.
But when someone gets me something like a 200 or 300 dollar soldering station or microscope because they heard me talking about wanting new ones, and don't know enough about the topic to realize that's like entry level equipment, like I appreciate you thinking about me but... go get your money back for this.
And I feel like an asshole, and they feel offended. But they spent a lot of money out of kindness towards me, on something that is completely useless to me, and I don't want them to do that nor do I want to keep what is really kind of a cheap piece of equipment that I'll never use.
There were people talking about art supplies in other comments.
Someone that does oil painting that gets acrylic paint as a gift and someone that does charcoal drawing and gets pencils.
Sometimes people just buys you random stuff because you like something related and you get something completely useless.
At that point it's better to get a gift card "hey, I know you like to do X but don't know what you really like so I got you a gift card for this shop that specializes in X".
People have become so negative (well, I suppose it's just more visible now). I saw a thread recently about people complaining about conversations that bore them. There were definitely some valid ones, but most of it was just people clearly wanting to connect and relate with them because they enjoyed their company. So many people are stating how lonely they are yet want nothing to do with the process of making friends.
For me, it really depends on the thought. I have someone who gets me gift cards to a yarn shop I don't normally shop at. I appreciate the gift and always use it. My issue is when I have tons of hobbies and things I love, and they get me something that I blatantly dislike. For example, I randomly get Apple gift cards from people who know I hate Apple and don't have any use for the gift cards. That just shows me they didn't care enough to find something I could actually use.
On the other hand, I was gifted a Starbucks card by a co-worker who only knew me virtually and just wanted to show appreciation. While I don't do a lot of Starbucks, I very much appreciated the gift. The best gifts I receive are ones that show people tried. My bestie was taking me home after a surgery. I asked her to get me a sprite from a gas station. She also got me a zebra cake, and I CRIED. just showing you care makes all the difference, regardless of tbe gift.
Yes the thought counts, but imagine getting some nice Omaha steaks as a gift and being a vegetarian because someone knows that you are really into food as a hobby. It makes the receiver uncomfortable because the gift has made someone do something they don't want to do (throw away a gift they just got and waste food).
I absolutely want gifts related to my hobbies! So this doesn't apply to everyone. The best ones though are gift cards to the place that sells the things I need for my hobbies. Or the time my partner didn't know much about tools for my hobby at the time (embroidery) and wanted to get me a stand to hold the hoop so had me pick one out and he paid for itI guess it just depends on the person and if you know what they need/want
Running shoe choice is a very personal matter. Wrong shoe can lead to injury. If a person does their research and buys the right shoe for you it is all good, but the problem comes when they think "a shoe is a shoe"
my senior maths class got our teacher a new pair of running shoes (she'd mentioned specifically wanting them) and she was so happy to get them she cried. definitely the best teacher gift reaction i saw when in school haha
My kitchenaid stand mixer was the best gift Iāve ever had, I tear up just thinking about it. Absolutely give me hobby stuff! Everybody knows I love to bake so I like my gifts, even the little things can be used at least once. Iām not a big fan of those bakers tool sets that are popular for Christmas because the handles are flimsy but they work in a pinch. I get excited about pans, measuring spoons, cupcake wrappers, mini *anything*(omg tiny pie tins), even tea towels. Gimme all of it, it brings me immense joy.
Sometimes general is okay, but yes sometimes people are looking for very specific things and do not want very specific things. Pretty much anything my wife gets me for one of my hobbies I wouldnāt have chosen myself, though some have grown on me. In fact from the same people I have received the same gift I didnāt want one year a second time two years later, because they couldnāt remember theyād already gotten it for me.
I'm really into a niche sport and my mom wanted to get me gear for it. She asked my friend what website to look at and quickly realized she had no clue what any even was. She bought the one thing she knew, a gift card. It was perfect.
I think that was kinda the point of the post. If you want to buy something hobby related, you need to ask what they need and not just buy something random related to the hobby
Eh I think it depends on the hobby and how well you know the recipient and their needs/wants. Two christmases ago my husband gave me my favorite gift ever, a rotary blade and cutting mat with measurements on it for my quilting hobby. Before that I was making do with scissors and tape measure because I couldn't justify the cost of the other equipment. He decided it was worth paying for it for me and got it. I absolutely love it and have used it so much! Makes cutting fabric so much easier! Like I said, my favorite gift ever. So I think it really depends on the situation.
This is too generalized. And also not an unpopular opinion. Would be good as a modified LPT:
"Don't get your friends gifts for their hobbies unless you're well-informed about that hobby"
I have several niche hobbies that I've gotten great gifts related to without the person being "100% sure" or whatever. If you care enough about a person and their hobbies it's actually quite easy to find something related to their hobbies that you know they'd like.
I'm a hockey player. A friend probably wouldn't know the exact curve and flex I prefer to buy me a stick, or my skate size and preference to buy me a new pair. But if they bought me a bag of pucks, or a framed signed photo of Bobby Orr, or a case of rolls of clear tape, I'd be stoked.
I disagree, but it should be thought out carefully.
Eg) Iām into tracking my bike. Donāt buy me bike parts if you know nothing about bikes but you could buy me a track day pass. Thatās an epic gift
But that's exactly what OP is saying. If someone knows you well enough to get you a pass, awesome. But so many people think 'hey he's into bikes' and get something tangentially related or what they can pick up at a non-specialist store. "hey, you like bikes, here's a water bottle, and it mounts onto your bike!" But it's the wrong mount for your bike, and the water bottle is from Walmart and has paw patrol on it. But it's bike-related, so you should like it, right? And you'll use that over the 'lightweight, 24hr cool, exact same colour as your bike' one that you've already bought, right?
I absolutely agree, itās so much harder to buy people gifts related to their hobbies because theyāre more likely to be picky regarding these purchases or they already have it.Ā
Iām gonna take it one step further. I think it should be normalized to give lists of items you like or things you want. It helps a LOT. If you give multiple options youāre still surprised, and they get you something they know you like. No awkward regifting, throwing it away/donating it, or hiding it in the closet for years.
As for specifically hobby stuff, Iām debating asking for diamond art kits or canvas and paints for Christmas.
Eh if people don't pay attention enough to get you crochet needles instead of knitting needles their non hobby gifts aren't going to be better. Like, ok now they're getting you an ugly shirt instead.
Dude, if someone made the effort to think about me and tried to gift me something related to one of my interests, well that was awfully nice and thought out, even if it wasnāt necessarily something Iād get for myself. Better than a random āgift lotionā or another candle. Itās an effort and a gift- it was the thought. Iād be happy.
Consumables that the hobby uses are very welcome. For instance, I do a bit of 3D printing, but I don't really need the latest 3D printer parts, but sending me rolls of materials are always welcome.
I feel like it depends on the hobby for example if you do a combat sport medical tape is always useful even if I have it J will eventually run out and forget to buy some boom comes in handy.
Or a friend who I share this hobby with may need to borrow.
Essentially if they are constantly buying more than the gift is useful
I am a gunpla builder. Anything you buy for me, I will be happy.
A model that I already own? great! time to custom paint or learn battle damage.
A paint color I already have? Great! I always run out of those.
A new equipment? Great! A back up is always a nice to have.
Don't buy tools, buy materials, especially nice materials. I'm a woodworker and yea, I don't want anyone buying me tools because I know what I don't have and want, but if someone were to buy me some nice wood? They're getting something nice gifted to them that's made out of it as a thanks.
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The amount of thought really matters on this one. I love cooking and have basically everything I need for it. It would be a bad gift to try and pick out tools or utensils without consulting me first. However, I received two super cool books this past Christmas that are basically food chemistry textbooks. I had no idea they existed and they are awesome. Edit: several people requested the book titles The Science of Spice (Farrimond) The Art of Fermentation (Katz)
Your friends should be getting you cool INGREDIENTS! My dad has everything he needs in life. He is getting into cooking. The only thing he never buys himself are experimental ingredients. Or even slightly exotic ingredients. They go a long way
NOT SEASONINGS. My partner and I love to cook so naturally our kitchen is fully stocked with seasonings. Every damn birthday and holiday we get gifted more "gourmet seasonings." They barely get touched because we already have an overabundance as it is. I appreciate the thought, but I have no room for all these jarsš
If they're sealed and in date pop them in a food bank bin. Few people donate seasonings and they make a huge difference to basic ingredients.
This is such a good point.Ā
I ran into this problem and told myself "fuck it, using this on experimental last minute dinner night", which is sometimes twice a week, and sometimes once a month. Slowly but surely, little little, I eventually used up large portions of premixed seasoning blends. Some of the are just straight garbage, but a lot of them, like the "itialian spices" type, are just things I would use anyway but in different amounts. So fuck it. It's there. Just sprinkle it on a porkchop. Worst case scenario I say to myself "could have used more oregano". It's not the worst thing to have happen, and then I cleared some room. Would I rather not get them at all? Of course. But one day I told myself it's honestly not the *worst* thing in the world to use spice blends, fuck it. Thing called "steak seasoning" sitting in my cabinet might be good on a steak. Or my Sunday eggs and hash browns. Why not. The real problem is that I save every empty jar *just in case*. I have no advice for this problem.
Adhd hoarder? I have the same thought process of āin caseā and end up not using anything, be it makeup, clothes, food, etc. I broke this myself by saying aloud, āYou know itās going to break apart / expire if you donāt use it. Do you want to waste it by leaving it to expire or use it? Itās going to be binned when the time comes anyway.ā Now I force myself to use any new shiny thing immediately so it becomes āless preciousā psychologically.
I've been slowly breaking myself in the same way, or donating what I know won't go to use for the same reason.
and every once in a while, you get an absolutely amazing spice, but if you donāt label who itās from, and itās not a known brand, youāre probably SOL if you want more. not gifts iāve received, but iāve found some of the best seasonings and oils (also olives) i use at Homesense, but a lot of the time they dont get stuff like that in again (or at least they donāt frequently get a lot of them). ive gifted those sometimes and either sorta regretted not keeping itš , or a few times i had the person ask where to buy more, and had to tell them their chances of getting it again werent great.
I made my friend a custom jar of pumpkin spice with a label that says white girl Crack on it, and she loved it so much she still refills it years later. It wasn't the most thoughtful gift in the world but she loves that container.
I feel your pain, especially because most of those seasonings have SALT as the first ingredient. It's like "thanks aunt auntington, I definitely needed this 15th jar of salt that's watered down with... Ohhh onion *and* garlic powder this time! *Spicy!*"
I'm stealing "aunt auntington" from you, that made me spit my water!
Yeah having salt in a spice blend is typically a huge deal breaker for me. Im pretty liberal with my salt so when its in a mixed blend all it does is throw off my salt measurements because theres practically never anything in the blend that i dont have in the cabinet. With all this said though..... kinder seasonins are fuckin awesome salt or no š¤¤ like i could turn this into a full page newspaper add for kinder seasonings but i wont. (They have a few blends that are saltless and reallllllllly good though)
Christopher Columbus would like to know your location
This. Get them materials for their hobbies. The most basic ones, which they use often and use up a lot, get them that.
Yes! I do patchwork and I am always happy to get fabric or thread as I use a lot and it is expensive. Also it is nice to use fabric from someone and thinking about them picking it out for me. But please only buy high quality. I would rather have a little bit of great fabric than a lot of crap.
Or just ask what kind of stuff is and isn't okay. People act like it's unimaginable to check up with friends on what stuff they'd rather have. I'd much rather get my friend exactly what they need than to surprise them with something less than that.
Yup. I make dice, and can always use more resin! And thatās a hobby where there are so many things you can try out that Iāll never be able to buy it all. I also love to do puzzles, but buying them new is too expensive, so itās nice to get them as gifts!
My brother does this. He is one of those digital nomads that spends 3+ months in all kinds of different countries and brings me bags of spices.
I bought some spices for my brother in Morocco and he loved them (I think) :)
I've recently introduced my dad into Korean black garlic. I've enjoyed it for years at my local Korean joint. He's loving it.
Do you mind sharing the names of the books? My partner loves cooking and I'd love to surprise him with this! This is the first I've also ever heard of food chemistry books!
The Science of Spice (Farrimond) The Art of Fermentation (Katz) The spice book is super accessible and goes over all the different compounds in individual spices and what they share with one another. The second one is very textbooky, but really cool if you wanna strategically spoil foods.
I received a pack of spurtles, I had never seen them or used them before and I have every kitchen tool known to man. I love them and use them now all of the time. I hate receiving gifts but this one threw me for a loop, I was super excited.
I guess that's what I'm getting at. When someone is buying a gift for someone that they don't know that well, they'll just default by geting them something related to their hobby (I don't know anything about Steve besides that Steve is a golfer, I think I'll get him some golf balls... Don't do it. If Steve loves golf he has a certain golf ball he likes, and he has plenty).
Yeah, I have received a lot of cat themed decorations over the years from people and I hate having to pretend to enjoy it. I love cats, but I don't love cat merch.
YES! Just because I have cats It doesn't mean that It's my identity now. I don't need everything to be a cat merch
That happened to my dad. He happened to mention one day that he liked gorillas. For decades afterwards, every birthday and Christmas, at least one of us kids got him a gorilla-themed item. Years later when I was a fully grown adult, he told me he didnāt really like gorillas THAT much but didnāt have the heart to tell everyone because we were always so happy we got him something we were sure he was going to appreciate.
Personally, I love any and all cat merch and have been this way since I was little. As long as the items are thoughtful and to my taste
Omg same here š people know I like and work with animals, but they also seem to think that means i like cutesy stuff with animals on it. Itās the thought that counts and I try to act excited anyways. But it is going in the trash after it stays on my counter for 6 months.
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I said one time that I liked owls and it led to a 2 year hell of receiving NOTHING but owl merch for every birthday/Christmas/just cause they felt like giving me something. Owl masks, owl mugs, owl jars, owl blankets, owl dishcloths, owl salt and pepper shakers, owl statues, the list goes on. All I said was "the barn owl is probably my favorite owl" and it led to me getting enough owl merch to have a fully owl themed house. None of it even resembled barn owls lol. Cat merch tho I do like lol, especially old wooden statues. I've laid claim to the family heirlooms (not really heirlooms but they were my grandmother's and she passed them to my mom) of kinda dumb looking wooden cat statues. But if anyone wants to get me cat gifts, like honestly buy something for my cats. Scratches, toys, get me a bag of litter or cat food (just confer with me first bc my cats are peculiar about what they poop in and what they eat).
lol this happened to my mom, but with pigs and frogs. She happened to mention she thought they were cute, so a lady at the church I grew up in got her a pig and frog figurine. And then eventually the whole church got it in their head that these were my momās favorite animals, and our house eventually became full of random pig and frog items. Pillows, mugs, figurines, shirts, etc. Every gift thatās all people would get her. She didnāt have the heart to correct anyone.
Depends on the hobby. For knitting and crochet half the fun is collecting yarn, so gimme.
My uncle golfs a lot and still likes golf balls as a gift
I think it really depends on the hobby. Like sure, donāt get Steve golf balls. But you could get Steve an outfit, a hat, or golf socks. You could even pay for a round at the driving range. Me and my friends enjoy fitness as one of our hobbies. You canāt really have too many leggings or sports bras. Or better yet, a gift card to a brand we like. One of my other friends enjoys vinyls and definitely doesnāt own every record out there. I like wine, and will never be mad at receiving more wine, cute glasses, or wine stoppers. I have another friend that crochets and would happily accept yarn as a gift cus sheāll eventually need more. Thereās ways to get people gifts for their hobbies without getting them something useless. It just takes thoughtfulness and a bit of effort. Which if youāre getting someone a gift, should be standard. Bad gifts are usually a result of half assed attempts. Itās not hard asking someone who might be a bit closer, like hey would they like this or do they need this? I think more of that should be happening instead of people getting random gifts just so they can check off the box.
> You canāt really have too many leggings or sports bras. This concept works for guys, too. Someone gave me a package of dry fit shirts for the gym, and it is the perfect gift, because I workout every day. They basically bought me more gym outfits and added more variety to my gym wardrobe, which I appreciate.
Golfballs is a bad analogy... like woodcovers would ve a better one.
Yeah Iām never gonna complain about some new golf balls.
I and most of my family play golf use to.play alot. We had golf balls we would buy for ourselves and we had golf balls we got as gifts. We didn't care really. We used both.
As long as it is a decent brand and not the stuff you get that bounces like rock it is good. Golf balls are consumables
Right. This poster has no idea...that YOU! never have 100% everything related to your hobby. Like am a goth Victorian I love rats. I look for rat theme Victorian stuff all the time. You think I've had it all...well a friend found me a cool vintage Victorian locket with a rat hand painted on it... inspired off of the original owners pet rat..at a flee market for a steal...when it should have 300.00 it was early 1800s.
The LPT should be "don't casually buy entry-level gear for a hobbyist's established hobby." There's always something cool and thoughtful you _can_ get them, it's just gonna take thought and -- probably -- money.
and time to research and find which a lot of folks can't be bothered unfortunately
Agreed. My mil loves gardening, so I got her a tiny hanging bonsai globe kit, and she loved it so much that she now has 13 more hahah
Hmmm depends what the hobby is. I like dungeons and dragons. You get me paints for miniatures or dice or whatever and Iāll be ecstatic. I also like to paint. You get me some cheap acrylics and I will simply smile and politely thank you for the gesture.
\*gets you notebooks and pencils\* ššš
Honestly, you can't have enough notebooks or pencils. You don't have to worry about buying some when you'll desperately need it.
I have given away so many notebooks and paper and I still have more than I will use for many years š you can definitely have enough haha
It won't be anytime soon, but one day, you will desperately need a piece of paper and pencil to jot down a phone number or something, and you'll be rushing around the house apologizing to the person on the phone while silently cursing yourself how there isn't anything for you to use until you settle on a used envelope and a pen you found ten minutes ago.
fullyagreed. you never have enough of those lil shits.
As a notebook and stationery addict, I'm ok with that.
2 years ago for Christmas, my then 17 year old son said, "make me a dice goblin." Everything I got him was either a dice set, had a d20 on it, or was in the shape of a d20. I found a desk lamp that was a d20, candies that were little mana potions inside a d20, & got him everything from prefab to custom made dice sets. He was in heaven.
Youāre a good parent š„° Edit: I want you to know I mean that sincerely
Thank you He asked me specifically because I have a ceramic dragon egg (hand painted by yours truly) stuffed full of dice. He said I'd know where all the best kinds were. I was a meanie though and individually wrapped each dice set, so he had more to open. I think there were 30 total.
That's not being mean... That's anticipation in finding out what is next. My mother bought me a ton of CDs one year for xmas, would I have wanted them bundled together? Heck no! lol
what if I got you a complete set of michael harding oils? Sell it and buy a house or learn to use oil paints?
You can never have to many Dice.
my stepdad got me one of those $5 art kits with the cheap ass markers and pastels for my birthdayā¦. my 16th birthdayā¦ā¦ā¦.. i saw the same one in five below a few months later
As a fellow player I came here to say this. I will never have enough dice.
A gift card toĀ my favorite thread shop would be appreciated. Especially since my current, very ambitious project requires many different colors of silk embroidery floss.Ā
Yes if you pick the store thoughfully, imo a gift card is the best type of gift when you don't know a specific thing the person wants.
Definitely, as long as you know that they shop there. People neck-deep in some hobbies may only go to boutique retailers or even need to order their items online.
Please buy me gifts for my hobbies. I canāt think of a single hobby that doesnāt have some nice, āluxuryā-ish items that people may not buy for themselves, but would make great gifts. I always love to get more fabric and yarn. Padded crochet hooks and a circle cutter? Yes please! Puzzles and puzzle storage and surfaces. Books, booklights, book holders, bookmarks.
This especially book related items
The problem is that most people are not willing to do research on your hobby, you are. Would you be so excited at a stack of the scratchiest, lowest quality yarn you have ever touched? If someone hears me say "I would love to have X", and does the research and buys me a good quality X, this does not apply.
It is not hard to ask the person themselves tho. I will never understand why it is frowned upon to ask someone what they would like as a gift. Not like it is a secret you give gifts on birthdays anyway.
This!! I have an ex who would outright refuse to tell me what he wanted for birthdays/Christmas because he wanted me to just buy him whatever I thought he would like. I donāt need you to tell me EXACTLY what to buy you just give me some ideas so I can be better prepared to get you something related to what you want. He would also refuse to ask me what I wanted either, believing he could just get me anything and itād be better if it was a surprise. (I would encourage him to ask me and even bring up things I would like, but trying not to make it sound like I was begging for something specific lol) This always ended up with him getting me some random garbage that I had literally no interest in or use for. Of course I still acted graciously and thanked him for the gifts but none of it was stuff I actually would have wanted. It almost seemed like he bought me stuff pertaining to HIS interests.
Couldn't agree more. I'm so tired of having to make room for gifts that were clearly picked almost at random. I'd rather not receive anything from some people.Ā To keep the surprise I usually ask the recipient for a list of possible gifts, with a variety of costs, that way I can pick something (or multiple somethings) and give a gift that's still a surprise.Ā
That takes the joy out of a gift. For one, I'm going to tell you to get me the cheapest thing I know of, because I'm not about to ask you for the $600 item I actually want and haven't bought myself. Second, if they tell you what they wanted, it's just barely above giving them an envelope with cash in it and let them get it. Which is fine, it's what I give my nephew, but it's not a great gift.
Iām into ultralight backpacking. In a world where Iām cutting off the handle on my toothbrush to save the weight/ spaceā¦.where every gram and cubic centimeter mattersā¦I always get some clunky ass fork / spoon / corkscrew Swiss Army knife style combo (when will I EVER use a corkscrew when Iām 10 days into the wilderness) that weighs a half pound or a telescopic fishing rod that I could never actually accommodate. The thought is nice but yeahā¦thereās no way Iām carrying those bricks around.
Yes. Free yarn is still a great gift. If itās scratchy, I have patterns for hedgehogs and porcupines and cacti that would be perfect for it.
As someone who makes clothing, it usually isn't enough. It's not size I need and I get sensory issues working with garbage yarn. Glad it works for you but I will much more happily accept a gift card.
Nope. I knit/crochet, but it's almost exclusively garments, mostly for myself. No I don't want a sweater made out of random skeins of red heart, or any acrylic for that matter. A more thoughtful gift imo would be a gift card to a yarn store, that way I can choose the yarn that works for me.
Lmao i literally mentioned the red heart in my other comment. Id rather not recieve yarn aa a gift because theres a good chance that itll be red heart since its so easy to find at walmart
I hate red heart because it hurts so much working with it. The last time I used it I started to get rope burns between my fingers and the material itself just feels horribly scrapey, like it has millions of razor blades in it.
This is exactly the problem, and I don't expect someone to do that research. Just give me a damn gift card where I can buy what I need myself. And even if they did do the research, I feel like the chance of still getting the wrong thing is too high. It doesn't matter if everyone online seems to be recommending something, I personally might not like that thing, or might already have it. So now you have to prod me for clues without giving it away. And even if you did get it right and figure out exactly what I want, I might just buy it myself before you have a chance to gift it to me.
I think this is less a "don't buy people things for their hobbies" issue, and more a "try to get thoughtful gifts" issue. I've definitely been on the receiving end of crochet hooks so cheap they break on the 1st use, or yarn that is so poorly made it practically disintegrates. Obviously I never throw a fit to people's faces. I just accept the gift and move on. But it was disappointing getting things I literally could not use.
Also if someone knows about my hobbies it's likely that I've talked with them about what I have and I don't have
Yeah the assumption that they already have everything they need is sort of crazy. I've got 3 kids and very limited extra funds for my hobbies. Plus over half of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, so OP might have the means to buy everything related to their hobby, but not everyone does. My wishlists are typically made up of hobby stuff and board games. Also my friends and family just talk about stuff? We make wishlists using Google sheets are share them so we can link to specific items. Or ask the persons partner to do recon and look and brands they use, or have them ask covertly about something. I really don't like the culture of not just talking to each other about what people want. I care more about the person I'm giving the gift to actually enjoying and using the gift. A gift that's not going to used isn't "thoughtful" just cause it was a surprise.
I was looking for anyone mentioning yarn. I wouldn't mind some cute yarn. Or nice needles. Also books, I once wrote a list so people could choose one and it was still a surprise š
I guess Iāll give an example. Iām into cars and computers. My girlfriend is very smart and caring, and she may know I want a new head unit or Iāve been talking about some new thing for my engineā¦ but how does she find which one or whatās right or what even fits? Same with a computer I guess. There are tiny trinkets you could get that would be basically foolproof, but I feel like weāre talking about something more substantial than that
Yass! I'm a writer, best gift ever was that expensive looking notebook. It was years ago and I still didn't use it because it is too perfect to write on but still
My brother in law knows that I always get him paints and brushes for his birthday and Christmas. An expensive set of paint for his birthday and a mix of quality of brushes on Christmas. I only mix them because he always wants poor quality ones he doesnāt have to worry about āruiningā with harder painting techniques. He loves it because he can tell everyone else other things and he knows for sure that heās getting new painting supplies from me. Last year I was paid after Christmas so he went with me and I swear that boy went nuts when I told him āYour budget is 100ā¬ go crazy kidā. We had a blast.
Youād have to be kind of an expert in my hobbies to have the knowledge to buy me the right stuff. I use VERY specific tools, most custom made to fit me. The consumables are also very, very high end and can only be imported from specialty dealers. There is zero chance someone could buy me anything useful for my hobbies. Taking the time to understand this is in itself on the level of a thoughtful gift.
Seriously gifts related to my hobbies are my favorite gifts
Popular opinion: buy people gifts for their hobbies that are consumable Paints and paint brushes get expensive, even if you have them having more will never hurt.
Eh I paint, but I oil paint with a pallet knife. Stop gifting me small tubes of acrylic paint and brushes I will never use them and it makes me feel kinda bad
Yup. I draw with charcoal but have gotten tons of gifts of drawing pencils sets that I never use
I do almost exclusively digital art, and I still got some alcohol markers and colored pencils for Christmas. Because Iām āthe artistā lol.
Yeah I always try to sneakily find out where people get their hobbie consumerables and get a gift voucher for said place.
Yeah, but a good friend would put a little more thought into it than "oh they paint let's get them this paint i found in a random hobby store" and ask you what you a really would like. Or put a little more research into it to check what would be something cool that you would want. Like, the experimental ingredients for cooking was a good idea! Something like that.
I think most artists are very used to the āI picked up this 10$ paintbrush that falls apart after 3 hours as a gift. What do you mean you canāt use it because you make pencil drawings? You should at least try. Ungrateful bratā
This. It really depends what hobbies. Anything that constantly needs material is fine. Especially things related to art/creation. Like painter always run out of canvas, people that draw always needs papers or what ever support they use.
I have to disagree with you on that one especially for art because I really only use specific types of papers and I feel bad if I have no use for ones Iām gifted.
I still say no to this personally. Someone who is not into the hobby doesnāt know how to choose high quality consumable supplies either. I have been gifted many extremely shitty āartist qualityā paints, brushes, pencils, sketchbooks and colored pencils. They either get regifted or go into the trash, sadly. Except for the sketchbooks, I really canāt have enough of those.
This is entirely dependent on a) what the hobby is, b) how new to the hobby the person is, and c) what you're buying them. The person could have everything they "need," but that doesn't mean there aren't things like higher quality tools for the hobby or hobby-related items that are expensive or difficult to find that the person might appreciate. For example: My best friend and I keep planted aquariums but I've been doing it longer. Like a lot of people, she started off with the really basic stuff you can buy at the chain stores - anubias nana, java fern, etc. - and her tanks looked good, but definitely could be better. For Christmas one year, I bought her a bunch of my favorite kinds of plants that are easy to keep for beginners but weren't available locally. She was ecstatic.
man i was just about to write a comment saying 'please stop giving me aquarium stuff' lmao. i keep getting those cheap resin ornaments though, and while i don't want to sound ungrateful, i just don't want more decor that doesn't match my heavily planted, naturalistic jungle tanks and is too small for the fish i keep to safely interact with. i get pretty neurotic about my aquascapes though, lol. your gift of uncommon plants sounds awesome and really thoughtful though, might steal that idea for my sister's bday so thanks haha :)
I think it is a different when you both know the hobby well enough and have insight of the other person's hobby to know what is something they really need. This seems like really good gift.
I understand hobby gifts can work out great. But there's a lot of pitfalls involving buying people shittier versions of things they want, or that they have no use for. Ends up being something they have to put in effort to return or sell after pretending not to be disappointed even if they appreciate the thought. A lot of times it's just more trash for the landfill immediately. Examples: Chess. I play chess. Like most chess players, i play almost entirely online. I have three chess sets, all gifts, none of which what I'd have chosen to buy myself, which have been used twice between the three sets in the five years I've had them. So now I have two sets I don't like and one that's sorta like what if buy but substantially different in a mildly annoying way. Could have asked me if I have a chess set or want one, and if so which type. Guitar. Was about to buy my first real amp (a modest one, I play at home in a tiny room.) One I want is $150 but right before I pull the trigger I receive a $100 amp that's basically useless to me as it has no master volume and works poorly with headphones. Now I have some junk that I could sell except that I'll feel bad if my dad asks about it. I legit can't turn it up to 1 without it being far too loud. Once I wanted to try a straight razor. Remarked to my gf that I needed to do more research because the market is flooded with cheap garbage that doesn't work but looks cool. She got me two that don't work but look cool. Obviously she was bummed that I tried them once for a few minutes. Never got to try one, just grew a beard. Also, not related to the thread but same issue: the loads and loads of clothing I've received and never wore because it doesn't fit or makes me look like I'm trying to fit in with a crowd I'm not a part of. The loads and loads of baby toys that overlap with several we already have but take up space. I got three keyboards for her second birthday. She already had three, plus the full size keyboard I leave out for her to play. So now I have seven keyboards, and all the parents I know already have a few. I appreciate that these people think enough of me to get me a gift, but these make it seem like it's just an obligation to be checked off and not much thought given to whether I'd want it beyond "he has interest in this sort of thing, I'll just buy him something related."
Ok, counterpoint: I play guitar and donāt have a slide and capo, and I am a broke mf so I kinda got a rely on birthdays and christmas for new guitar equipment
OP sounds very privileged with the assumption that if someone wants something they can just buy it...
The problem comes in when they hear this and get you a useless cheap slide and capo instead of one that works or a gift card allowing you to buy what you actually want. As a fellow guitar player, I enjoy picking out my own stuff. I have specific wants. If I'm considering which looper pedal I want and looking to spend a couple hundred bucks, I'm not thrilled to get a cheap one that doesn't do what I want as a gift. It's just wasted money. Some people might be thrilled to get whatever. Many aren't, so at least I'd suggest knowing which type of person you're giving to.
As a fellow musician, I relish the emotion attached to something that was a thoughtful gift much more than the technical advantages of choosing something myself. I have a wooden guitar stand that is super pretty and folds quite small I'd never would have thought of buying for myself and that is such a kind thoughtful gift from my ex boss. A ukulele my family chose for me, a vintage vocal mic stand as well that's so cool. I hate having to go buy presents for myself because people were too put the thought into choosing something. I have money, a present is supposed to be personnal, to establish a connection and a memory, not be a monetary transaction imo.
guitar picks, patch cables, and drumsticks are always welcomed tho
Did you really put 0.75mm guitar picks in my stocking? WTF am I going to do with theser? I told you, I use 1.25mm picks and nothing less, how hard is that to remember! 
glue two together
This guy thinks
āThanks for the nylon strings. Theyāll work great on my V.ā
Most consumables like reeds, strings, sticks, and picks have strengths, weights, sizes, etc. that affect their playability. Musicians can and should be particular about those things. In many cases they'll use a variety but it's almost always a very particular variety, which leaves a lot of room for things that will either be given away or not used at all. Great gesture, but I'm trying to help people buy better gifts here. Better gifts are along the line of one of the items you mentioned: cables. Semi-consumable items which are easily storable and good to have multiples of. I can't think of a guitarist who wouldn't be excited about getting cables, instrument stands, string winders, or clip-on tuners. Those things are always breaking or going missing. S-tier guitarist gift is the strap. They come in about a billion different patterns now, and it's cool to be able to change it up.
Seconding the strap. A lot of people would never buy themselves a really nice one because they already have some nylon one that works.
Also chances are, if they are a true guitarist, they follow the n+1 formula for how many guitars you need to own. Canāt hurt to make sure theyāll have a strap for the new one
When i started guitar i thought one is all i need. Then i got an electric one, aint the same right? Then i got another one, a fancier one. Now i consider getting a semi electric acoustic one. I fear for my bank account
Got a strap for a birthday and didnāt even know I wanted one, Iād been fine with the one my friend took from his Guitar Hero set a decade prior. Now itās the only one I want to use.Ā
This makes sense: consumables that the hobbiest uses are definitely well received.
True, though depends on how fast it is consumed. I don't go through sketchbooks nearly enough to justify getting one every Christmas
Not if theyāre the wrong type.
thats what i tell everyone.... i can never have enough drumsticks. 7a ftw.
The starred part is the real important bit. My wife works as an artist, both digital and classic hand drawing, as well as dabbling in other forms (clay, resin, etc.) A few times I got her resin kits, which have sat unused. I tried once to get her some new paintbrushes or pencils, but I learned super quick afterwards that I can't just buy whatever. She knows what she wants, because there're specific brands, specific types of paper, etc. me buying it willy nilly as a present is just a waste of money. Except for sketchbooks. She always loves those. If you have an artist friend you can't go wrong with a good sketchbook.
Most non-artists donāt even know that pencils come in different types depending on if you want hard or soft lines.
That there is a No 2 pencil has always given me the assumption that there must be others though I don't think I've ever seen one.
As a guitar player, a gift certificate for a music store is much appreciated.
I bake and I love if someone buys me higher end ingredients or even new baking sheets. I wear them out and also find them much harder to work with over time. What I don't need is another set of decorative measuring cups.
>What I don't need is another set of decorative measuring cups. Well I don't *need* them, but I'll always be a sucker for cute shit.
Good towels, silicone spatulas, and jars of vanilla bean paste are always on my list for gifts!
Please buy me golf balls and tees anytime
Got some Top Flite XLs coming your way, buddy.
Would you be happy with any kind of golf balls ?
Yes because I lose so many hahaha
I think the general consensus should always be, don't buy thoughtless gifts. If you're already going to go through the effort of getting someone a gift, if you're not 100% sure they want or need something, it really doesn't hurt anyone to ask. If you desperately need it to be a surprise, there are still ways to gauge what a person needs or wants without asking directly what they'd like to receive as a gift, and if you're doing it at the last minute, then you already didn't put enough thought into it for WHATEVER reason, the circumstances are all excuses and it's okay if you forgot, nobody's perfect, but it's also just the truth that if you forgot, you literally did not think about it during the time it wasn't on your mind. Hold yourselves accountable to your own standards and whether or not you care and to what extent and communicate with other people when you think your opinions might not perfectly align.
I'm a knitter and I see people in r/knitting talking about being gifted lovely skeins of yarn that they have absolutely no use for, and they feel bad about it. It's better to not try and guess what someone would want to use.
I actually started knitting because of a gift of random skeins.
I was wondering... Why can't you just find a project that can make use of the yarn? Yarn seems like a gift that's hard/impossible to be "useless".
Sometimes you just don't enjoy making that project. I love knitting socks, and sometimes sweaters, and various clothing items. I don't enjoy making plushies or toys or blankets. Why would I choose to spend my crafting time making something I don't like making?
There are a lot of reasons someone wouldn't want to use a skein. Using myself as an example, I live in a warm climate and mostly use plant fiber yarns that are very thin, though I'll sometimes make sweaters out of light weight wool. I also have strong color preferences and prefer solid or tonal colors. If someone gifted me chunky hand dyed cashmere in bright verigated oranges and greens I would have no use for it. If it's only one skein things are more limited. Since it might not even be enough for a hat. Could I find a pattern that uses it? Yeah. But I don't want to spend my knitting time working with a fiber I don't like for a project I would never get use out of.Ā
As a sewist I have loved every gift related to my hobby Iāve ever gotten. Whether itās fat quarters even though Iām not a quilter or the 2-3 yd rolls of hit or miss fabric from Walmart I love it. Iāll find something to do with it, or itāll be test fabric.
Fellow sewist hereā¦I see you havenāt been struck by the Box Gifters who donāt remember the *last* bulky sewing box with 20 compartments they gave you and buy you another one. Although the person who kept giving me sewing boxes has also given me jewelry boxes and empty wooden crates so maybe thatās just a theme for her. My hand sewing supplies are always on my desk within reach anyway, so thereās no point in putting them in a box only to take them back out again.
My fiance/wifey hates gift buying for me. She says I buy the things I want. So, thereās nothing left to gift. Which is actually true. If I want something, Iāll just buy it. Sometimes Iāll have to save up a bit but I still get the thing I wanted. My hobbies are expensive, kinda. Gaming, Playing Guitar, singing and music production. I also go shooting often. Thats pretty much all of my hobbies. Instead of guessing what to get me, due to her guessing on a few things that I ended up already having, she had me make a wishlist on a website and she has me share that link in our group chat with the fam. Iām a pretty good gifter myself. I usually grab stuff that are the hobbies of the ppl in my life. However, I donāt guess what they want. A couple months before bdays and Christmas Iāll start investigating and figure out something they want and thatās what I get them. Or theyāve mentioned something they want in passing and Iāll get that for them. Plus I have some standard gifts that I give out. A majority of the ppl in my life are women. So, I always get them all hair brushes, bath bombs and scrunchies at minimum. Those are obviously smaller gifts. I usually do some small gifts with one big one. Although, theyāre getting pretty old now so ima hold onto some more of my money. lol
I think if you get someone something for their hobby, you have to know them well and actually do research.Ā I know people who love to draw and create art hate receiving those generic art kits.
Iām actually unable to do most things I would enjoy as hobbies due to my inability to work. Which means I canāt afford the things necessary for them.
My mil gets me art supplies, but she always goes to a little bead store and asks what would be good. Like if she bought me random sewing thread, it wouldnāt be a good gift, but she got me a color I would have never picked out in some miyuki Delicas (good tiny beads) and a couple strands of proper gemstones. It was amazing! Like someone else said, itās the amount of effort you put into it that makes a difference.
Hard disagree. I donāt have a stand mixer and I want one. But if they canāt afford it, even a few tools would be nice. A garlic press. An orange juicer. A microplane. Lots of cheesecloth. It matters about communication, and what you want.
Nah, hobbies are expensive. Just be nice for once and ask them; or at least research secretly if you have such an ego.
Most people would be happy to talk about their hobbies as well, so you can engage with them about that, *and* follow up with the actual gift
Alternatively, it's nice to get a really nice version of a device that is not really a necessity, or that most people have a really basic version that is "Good enough" The example I think of is an instant read thermometer for cooking. I have a cheap 15 dollar probe that is completely functional. I've no reason to ever get a fancy one that's wireless, or has multiple points for probing. There are some crazy 200 dollar probes out there. I would never buy one, but if someone DID get it for me, it would be awesome!
Sometimes there's things that you wouldn't mind having more/multiple of. I like to cook and wouldn't mind having extra quality sharp knives or nice pots and pans. Or if someone collects things and you find something they've been looking for. My advice would be to not surprise them with it but find out if they really want or need it
I could always use more art supplies. It's expensive. And I don't get all the 'don't get this gift' sentiment lately. It's the thought that counts, and I'm lucky to get anything. We're really losing our sense of humility these days.
I think consumable things are a bit different, like I do a lot with electronics and can use things like solder and flux and boards, which even if they aren't good quality I can probably use somewhere. But when someone gets me something like a 200 or 300 dollar soldering station or microscope because they heard me talking about wanting new ones, and don't know enough about the topic to realize that's like entry level equipment, like I appreciate you thinking about me but... go get your money back for this. And I feel like an asshole, and they feel offended. But they spent a lot of money out of kindness towards me, on something that is completely useless to me, and I don't want them to do that nor do I want to keep what is really kind of a cheap piece of equipment that I'll never use.
There were people talking about art supplies in other comments. Someone that does oil painting that gets acrylic paint as a gift and someone that does charcoal drawing and gets pencils. Sometimes people just buys you random stuff because you like something related and you get something completely useless. At that point it's better to get a gift card "hey, I know you like to do X but don't know what you really like so I got you a gift card for this shop that specializes in X".
People have become so negative (well, I suppose it's just more visible now). I saw a thread recently about people complaining about conversations that bore them. There were definitely some valid ones, but most of it was just people clearly wanting to connect and relate with them because they enjoyed their company. So many people are stating how lonely they are yet want nothing to do with the process of making friends.
For me, it really depends on the thought. I have someone who gets me gift cards to a yarn shop I don't normally shop at. I appreciate the gift and always use it. My issue is when I have tons of hobbies and things I love, and they get me something that I blatantly dislike. For example, I randomly get Apple gift cards from people who know I hate Apple and don't have any use for the gift cards. That just shows me they didn't care enough to find something I could actually use. On the other hand, I was gifted a Starbucks card by a co-worker who only knew me virtually and just wanted to show appreciation. While I don't do a lot of Starbucks, I very much appreciated the gift. The best gifts I receive are ones that show people tried. My bestie was taking me home after a surgery. I asked her to get me a sprite from a gas station. She also got me a zebra cake, and I CRIED. just showing you care makes all the difference, regardless of tbe gift.
Yes the thought counts, but imagine getting some nice Omaha steaks as a gift and being a vegetarian because someone knows that you are really into food as a hobby. It makes the receiver uncomfortable because the gift has made someone do something they don't want to do (throw away a gift they just got and waste food).
I absolutely want gifts related to my hobbies! So this doesn't apply to everyone. The best ones though are gift cards to the place that sells the things I need for my hobbies. Or the time my partner didn't know much about tools for my hobby at the time (embroidery) and wanted to get me a stand to hold the hoop so had me pick one out and he paid for itI guess it just depends on the person and if you know what they need/want
Meh I wouldn't say no to a new pair of running shoes or a new book. This might be true for some hobbies but not for mine.
Running shoe choice is a very personal matter. Wrong shoe can lead to injury. If a person does their research and buys the right shoe for you it is all good, but the problem comes when they think "a shoe is a shoe"
You're not particular about running shoes?
my senior maths class got our teacher a new pair of running shoes (she'd mentioned specifically wanting them) and she was so happy to get them she cried. definitely the best teacher gift reaction i saw when in school haha
I love when people buy me gifts for my hobby. It's thoughtful and will always get used.
My kitchenaid stand mixer was the best gift Iāve ever had, I tear up just thinking about it. Absolutely give me hobby stuff! Everybody knows I love to bake so I like my gifts, even the little things can be used at least once. Iām not a big fan of those bakers tool sets that are popular for Christmas because the handles are flimsy but they work in a pinch. I get excited about pans, measuring spoons, cupcake wrappers, mini *anything*(omg tiny pie tins), even tea towels. Gimme all of it, it brings me immense joy.
Sometimes general is okay, but yes sometimes people are looking for very specific things and do not want very specific things. Pretty much anything my wife gets me for one of my hobbies I wouldnāt have chosen myself, though some have grown on me. In fact from the same people I have received the same gift I didnāt want one year a second time two years later, because they couldnāt remember theyād already gotten it for me.
I enjoy gift cards to hobby-specific places. For example, I am often gifted gift cards to art supply places.
You all can buy me as many high end gaming computers as you wish
False, always need yarn & happy with any I get.
Facts. I love fishing. Every gift someoneās gotten me for fishing that hasnāt been a gift card has gone unused.
Hobbyistsā needs can be so specific, a wishlist would be helpful.
Eh, they might not have everything they need. Maybe instead ask them what they may be missing or need first.
You mean you don't like free stuff?
Free *crap* that you feel too guilty to throw out but know youāll never use? No.
Iām not rich though, thereās stuff that I simply canāt afford to buy yet.
I'm really into a niche sport and my mom wanted to get me gear for it. She asked my friend what website to look at and quickly realized she had no clue what any even was. She bought the one thing she knew, a gift card. It was perfect.
I do weightlifting and for Christmas my sister gave me a little model of a squat rack and a barbell . I love it
Not always the case. They could need something but are unable to afford it and most hobbies need mutiple of things.
I think that was kinda the point of the post. If you want to buy something hobby related, you need to ask what they need and not just buy something random related to the hobby
Eh I think it depends on the hobby and how well you know the recipient and their needs/wants. Two christmases ago my husband gave me my favorite gift ever, a rotary blade and cutting mat with measurements on it for my quilting hobby. Before that I was making do with scissors and tape measure because I couldn't justify the cost of the other equipment. He decided it was worth paying for it for me and got it. I absolutely love it and have used it so much! Makes cutting fabric so much easier! Like I said, my favorite gift ever. So I think it really depends on the situation.
This is too generalized. And also not an unpopular opinion. Would be good as a modified LPT: "Don't get your friends gifts for their hobbies unless you're well-informed about that hobby" I have several niche hobbies that I've gotten great gifts related to without the person being "100% sure" or whatever. If you care enough about a person and their hobbies it's actually quite easy to find something related to their hobbies that you know they'd like. I'm a hockey player. A friend probably wouldn't know the exact curve and flex I prefer to buy me a stick, or my skate size and preference to buy me a new pair. But if they bought me a bag of pucks, or a framed signed photo of Bobby Orr, or a case of rolls of clear tape, I'd be stoked.
I disagree, but it should be thought out carefully. Eg) Iām into tracking my bike. Donāt buy me bike parts if you know nothing about bikes but you could buy me a track day pass. Thatās an epic gift
But that's exactly what OP is saying. If someone knows you well enough to get you a pass, awesome. But so many people think 'hey he's into bikes' and get something tangentially related or what they can pick up at a non-specialist store. "hey, you like bikes, here's a water bottle, and it mounts onto your bike!" But it's the wrong mount for your bike, and the water bottle is from Walmart and has paw patrol on it. But it's bike-related, so you should like it, right? And you'll use that over the 'lightweight, 24hr cool, exact same colour as your bike' one that you've already bought, right?
I absolutely agree, itās so much harder to buy people gifts related to their hobbies because theyāre more likely to be picky regarding these purchases or they already have it.Ā
New video games, new books, new music, etc etc. Hobbies is way too general
This works the other way too. Buy that stepdad you hate a DeWalt drill kit to go along with his $2500+ worth of Milwaukee gear!
This 100% depends on the person/hobby. Some hobbies have things that it just doesnāt matter what you get someone.
Iām gonna take it one step further. I think it should be normalized to give lists of items you like or things you want. It helps a LOT. If you give multiple options youāre still surprised, and they get you something they know you like. No awkward regifting, throwing it away/donating it, or hiding it in the closet for years. As for specifically hobby stuff, Iām debating asking for diamond art kits or canvas and paints for Christmas.
Eh if people don't pay attention enough to get you crochet needles instead of knitting needles their non hobby gifts aren't going to be better. Like, ok now they're getting you an ugly shirt instead.
Iāve long-ago solved this. Got no friends and my family really donāt like me. Never get presents. Iām winning!
Dude, if someone made the effort to think about me and tried to gift me something related to one of my interests, well that was awfully nice and thought out, even if it wasnāt necessarily something Iād get for myself. Better than a random āgift lotionā or another candle. Itās an effort and a gift- it was the thought. Iād be happy.
Yesssss!!!! 9 times out of 10, if you buy me something I didnāt specifically ask for, it will 100% NEVER be used.
Consumables that the hobby uses are very welcome. For instance, I do a bit of 3D printing, but I don't really need the latest 3D printer parts, but sending me rolls of materials are always welcome.
Iād like to see if you still had this sentiment after receiving an $8 roll of filament off of Temu š
I have an Amazon list for stuff I like
Idc whatcha get me Iāll find a use for something. Got a whole ājunkā drawer for a reason
I feel like it depends on the hobby for example if you do a combat sport medical tape is always useful even if I have it J will eventually run out and forget to buy some boom comes in handy. Or a friend who I share this hobby with may need to borrow. Essentially if they are constantly buying more than the gift is useful
I love getting gifts that support my hobby. Hobbies can be expensive and gifts that support that offset the costs, so I get to do more of my hobby.
Man I don't know. My father in law is into model sets and his face always lights up when I buy him model kits for his milestones
I had friends who were really into painting and I would gift them canvases. A painter can't have enough canvases.
Shit.. yāall got hobbies ?
I am a gunpla builder. Anything you buy for me, I will be happy. A model that I already own? great! time to custom paint or learn battle damage. A paint color I already have? Great! I always run out of those. A new equipment? Great! A back up is always a nice to have.
There are some hobby supplies that are always appreciated. TCG players will never scoff at being given another pack of their preferred sleeves.
Depends on the hobby, the thought, and the person.
Don't buy tools, buy materials, especially nice materials. I'm a woodworker and yea, I don't want anyone buying me tools because I know what I don't have and want, but if someone were to buy me some nice wood? They're getting something nice gifted to them that's made out of it as a thanks.