Wednesday, December 12, 2007

MP's FAMILY

Dear Kittens,

Once again, I'm in desperate need of your guidance.

I'm meeting MP's lovely parents and older sister at the very end of this month and I want to buy them a "hello-I'm-the-Nerddd-and-how-are-you" gift, except I don't even know where to begin. I'm a very bad gift-giver. As a matter of fact, when it comes to giving gifts, I'm much like a man: clueless (I don't mean to generalize here. I'm sure that plenty of my male readers are awesome givers of gifts!).

The first time he met them, MP was kind enough to gift my parents with a lovely flower arrangement from Takashimaya. We cooed over it for days. I would, of course, like to present the MP family with something similarly coo-worthy; yet, it has to be something that they can easily take with them on their flight home. Should I gift each member of the family or only MP's mom? What, oh what, will be good enough for the family that raised a man as stunningly wonderful as my MP? Oh, I'm so confused!

Your assistance would be much appreciated, darlings. Thanks!

Yours,
The Nerddd

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm sure they'll love you. Good luck.

Do Mom and Sis MP wear earrings? Earrings are always nice.
Or a nice cashmere throw if you find out what colors their home is decorated in.

No suggestion for Dad MP, though. I find men hard to shop for. Maybe CDs?

Or send them a lovely flower arrangement they can enjoy before the trip?

Anonymous said...

a beautiful pashmina for them would be lovely...

Anonymous said...

pashminas were great 8 years ago.

Anonymous said...

Ohh, Pashminas are a great idea. Now we still have to come up with something for Dad MP.

Anonymous said...

thank you francesca. obviously ghoulguppa has no clue what the fashion is these days.

Anonymous said...

A lovely shawl is such a classic. They are so delightfully feminine and keep you warm.

Anonymous said...

Sorry Sasha. I take vogue magazine from August 1999 to the street vendor selling pashminas to people from Nebraska visiting NYC on the corner or 48th and 5th ave any day.

This is from the bbc a couple years ago on Pashminas.

"Nothing is more unfashionable than a fashion that's out of fashion."

ORIGINS: the pashmina - a shawl made of wool from the soft underbelly of a Himalayan goat much favoured by millions of western women in late 1990s. Officially went out of fashion in August 1999, Vogue magazine decreed, but examples are still plentiful. Taught many people the difference between cashmere and Kashmir.

EARLY EXAMPLE: in 1996, a pashmina-wearer justified the high cost (up to £500 in those days) by saying: "You can't compare them to woollen scarfs. That's like comparing purest silk to a pair of cotton underpants at Marks & Spencer." (Independent, 20 Dec 1996)

ALTERNATIVES: if not pashminas, then what garment does embody appropriate values? Presumably the desired attributes are Britishness, traditional, not likely to go out of fashion, not too flashy, something sturdy...how about a pair of cotton underpants from Marks & Spencer?

DILEMMA: fashion writer Stefanie Marsh looked back on the summer of 99, when pashminas were in their heyday: "Then came the bad news. Marks & Spencer had found out about the trend and was due to start stocking them come autumn. This was a catastrophe. M&S, as every fashionista knew, was a more accurate arbiter of trends than Vogue - anything it sold instantly lost its cachet. Pashminas became pariahs, spared only rarely to be turned into cushion covers."

Anonymous said...

but i use them as scarves to keep me warm....and they look great and are in fashion...

everyone is wearing them!

everyone!

Anonymous said...

Oh Snap. Sasha you got called out.

Anonymous said...

I am sure everyone is wearing them in Omaha.....

Anonymous said...

MP should be able to tell you what his family likes/dislikes...

He would be your best source. The weather in NYC is supposed to get crappy... Try to stay dry today.

Love you!

Cheers!

Maire said...

I think Sasha is right MP should point you in the right direction.

I don't know if its just my culture, but generally if you win over the mother you win over the family. Which means buy something which is technically for everybody, but actually will be primarily liked by the mother. So something for their house, but suitably girly. Something local would be good too, as it's both a souvenir and a gift. It should be small and not too breakable. If you were in Ireland I would suggest a local crystal paper weight, vase or clock etc. Having been in NY, albeit a long time ago, perhaps something similar from Tiffany might be the way to go. They'll wrap it up, and it will look both thoughtful and impressive.

And it saves you the hassle of looking for something particular for each person, which leaves a lot of room for error... and expense!

American Desi Redefined said...

How about a personalized wine box and a bottle of wine? If they drink. Wine lovers would definitely appreciate it, especially if you look for something that is harder for them to find.

If you don't want to go the alcoholic route then here's a great website for ideas...check it out...http://www.findgift.com/For-Who/Host-or-Hostess/

Find out from MP if his dad likes to BBQ or what his general interests are and then create a basket with him in mind and one for his mother with her in mind. I do that often and I find it goes over rather famously with the recipient. But do find out first.

My suggestion, after you find out what both of them like, make a basket combining both of their interests with a bottle of champagne (or non-alcoholic sparkling cider) and some truffles, cover in celephane with a card that you've written yourself.

Hope I was helpful : )

Anonymous said...

OOoooooH great idea Rubes...i like the personalized gift basket for 'em all....and make sure to put a pashmina in there....

;)

Anonymous said...

too bad they are flying out, flowers are the perfect gift for the mum-in-law to be

why don't you send flowers to his parents house a week before they leave, then gift mp's sister when you meet her, lots of girly gifts out there :)

Anonymous said...

ask mp what flower store is good in his parent's area, he is astute like that

Anonymous said...

I quite like Aunty Helpful Dictator's suggestion of something from Tiffany's. It's very classic NY and pretty to boot.

Anonymous said...

Get them some bling blings. After all what else are blacks good for.