I have a gift idea for the person who has everything.

13 years ago

Recently I took a break from admiring my fingernails to celebrate my son-in-law's birthday. I'd had a hard time thinking of a present to give him, as he has a lot of "toys" and seems to have everything else he needs.

Since he just acquired a new sports car, someone suggested I get him a t-shirt and/or hat to go with it. While looking for those on eBay, I ran across people selling vintage advertising. There, in one of the ads, was his car! And there, in another ad, was the 1973 version of the car, both in the right color.

So I bought both, and picked up a couple of frames (on sale) at Michael's. The gift was a huge hit! He really was so pleased. I'm told he's going to hang them in his office.

I'm thinking this idea has all sorts of applications. Those sellers of vintage advertising offer ads on quite a variety of subjects. It isn't too early to start thinking about Christmas! (Uh-oh.......I can see some of you throwing tomatoes at me for that last line.) :-)

PS: In case you're straining your eyes (as I am), the ad on the right reads "Mmmmm........forbidden fruit."

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Comments (19)

carol_in_california
13 years ago
What a great idea!
maire_cate
13 years ago
That really is a clever idea. I don't know if he uses stationery or not but you could take some photos of his car when he's not around and then make some note cards for him. Now if only you could put the car on the back deck of his home you could have a great shot of the lake in the background. Wait until late September and you could get all those gorgeous fall leaves in there too.

When we sold our 1964 1/2 Mustang I took a photo and made an ornament for the tree.
I had forgotten all about that until you posted this.

Maire
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DH and I have this discussion every year because he gives gifts to his department of 8-9 people who work under him and he is stumped almost every year. Often, he gifts gift cards to restaurants. One year we had gone to Italy so he gave everyone handmade-paper notepads from Florence along with the gift card. Sometimes it will be a joke gift along with a gift card. Their department is pretty friendly and close-knit, so he has also given gift cards specific to each person's interests -- like one for REI for the hiker/outdoorsy type. One year his dept. was all women so he gave them gift cards for a day spa near the office. Oh, and he has given books before -- a book that he read that was somehow meaningful -- along with a GC. His boss has give him/us: a crystal clock (totally not my style), fancy wine bottle opener, hmm, can't remember what else. And DH's staff has given him a lot of restaurant gift cards, which we both enjoy! One year when the company was smaller, the head of the company gave everyone these arty glass paperweights by Josh Simpson, which was cool. I think most people could incorporate something like this into their decor, or simply use it on their desk at work. Here is a link that might be useful: Small Planets
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I have three of these brothers. Christmas is always a fun time. (Not.) Does he have Netflix or Hulu Plus? You can give him several months of streaming video, if he likes to watch TV. A "luxury" brand of something he uses often? Like gourmet coffee or chocolate or nachos? If he has a favorite movie or TV show, something related to that? I knitted one brother a Doctor Who scarf last year and he loved it. Even though he's not into gadgets, what about one of those emergency radios? The ones with a flashlight and charging port, that run on batteries but can also be hand-cranked. Nearly everyone has power outages at some point, and needs some emergency gear. Two places I've found good gifts for my brothers: Restoration Hardware and ThinkGeek. Check out RH's gift section--look at the stocking stuffers. There are a lot of ideas there. ThinkGeek does have a lot of techy stuff, but there's some useful home gadgets there as well. In addition to a cat hammock that my cats just love. (Would he like a gift for the cats?) It's a good place for outside-the-box gifts. Granted, he is probably not going to want the Zombie Apocalypse Garden Gnomes, but they have a lot of iPhone and iPad accessories, desk/office stuff, and a lot of things related to coffee and bacon, which a lot of guys seem to like.
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alisande
Original Author
13 years ago
Maire, my original idea for his gift was to take a picture of his car and then buy one of those software programs like Topaz that let you create effects--like those semi-surreal automobile with shinier-than-shiny bodies. (I wanted Topaz anyway, so my motive was partly selfish.)

But my daughter parked the car at a supermarket, where it sustained serious damage from a shopping cart. So when it came time to photograph the car, the car was in the shop. Maybe next year.......
Jodi_SoCal
13 years ago
Oh my, I laughed so hard at your fingernail comment Susan, co-workers wanted in on the joke. LOL

Great idea Susan! My son works for Audi. I should go out looking for some classic and high-end Audi pics for him. Last year I did a stylized monotone collage of his face, a high-end Audi and him looking through the Audi rings. Bought a frame at Michael's (on sale :-) and gave it to him for Christmas.

Jodi-
nicole__
13 years ago
Your soooooooooo thoughtful alisande.....wonderful idea.

I purchased a new BMW when I was a youngster, my brother who is 12 years older was wishing he had one & feeling left out.....so I bought him a radio controlled Porsche 911!!!!
lydia1959
13 years ago
Those look great! I can see why he loves them.

I've framed a few old ads myself. I've framed a lot of post cards too. I gave my Mom a couple framed vintage postcards that were of the dude ranch that she used to take my brother and me to swim when we were kids. I think I gave Gabby a framed double decker outhouse postcard in a swap too. She had her bathroom done in an outhouse motif. I like collecting old postcards from the town I live in now and have a lot of them framed. Some I put in the floating glass frame so guests can flip them over to read what was written on the back.
murraysmom Zone 6a OH
13 years ago
I had a '71 yellow volkswagon bug that I got brand new. My brother gave me a real blueprint of the car that he mounted on poster board. That was really neat and your gift reminded me of that. I think I still have that after all these years.
casey_nfld
13 years ago
That is a brilliant idea!!!
Georgysmom
13 years ago
Great idea! Isn't it wonderful when someone really enjoys the gift you gave. Every now and then we just hit on the perfect gift and it's such a good feeling.
maire_cate
13 years ago
Oh your poor daughter - she must feel awful about the shopping cart damage. It's terrible when you can't even park your car safely in the parking lot.

My previous car was hit while parked at the supermarket too and of course the driver took off. I hope the car only needs some paint and not a dent removed.
glenda_al
13 years ago
amazing your family is SOOO privileged
ronf_gw
13 years ago
Great idea! My birthday is coming up in a couple months.

Ron
ruthieg__tx
13 years ago
For my husbands birthday, he received from DD and SIL a framed photograph of his radio tower against the background of a beautiful sunset. It was probably the gift that he liked the best and the easiest to do and cheapest one of all. He proudly displays it in his office too.
alisande
Original Author
13 years ago
Ruthie, I was thinking of you when I posted because something like this would be great for a ham. But your idea is even better.

Ron, where's Bigbaby when you need her?

Glenda, I assume you mean my family is SOOO privileged to have me. Yup, I'll agree with that. :-)
jannie
13 years ago
Great idea! When my daughters graduated high school (one year apart) I bought the expensive "senior pictures" packages, stuck some in frames and gave to their Grandparents for Christmas. More meaningful than an item of clothing.
alisande
Original Author
13 years ago
Ruthie, I meant to mention another gift I bought for my son the ham radio operator. One year I collected vintage QSL cards on eBay, mostly from the WWII era, and gave them to him in an album for Christmas. I added to the collection the following year.
dotmom
13 years ago
what a great idea!!! This is an idea I'll file in the back of my mind for the B'days of my Bro-in-law, who restores 1950's era Buicks and Son-in-law who has an old (I don't know what year) Pontiac firebird.
hgl_gaylemarie
13 years ago
That's cool! How could he not like it.
liz
13 years ago
Well...which one does he have? The one on the left or the one on the right...I'll take them both...an old beau had one like the left...what a blast to drive and ride in!!

I too spit on the screen at your comment about the nails...LOL

Great gift and I bet he finds the perfect spot to hang them!!

I have a gift idea for the person who has everything.

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