Gift idea?
Trying to figure out something to give my brother-in-law's partner for Christmas. We're already giving her a bar of oofy handmade soap and a surprise ball with lottery tickets and stickers inside it, but as we're giving those same things to other people, we'd kind of like something that reads "This is for you" rather than "We got you the same stuff as other people because we weren't considering you as a separate individual." If you know what I mean.
It's also our first Christmas all together, as she's got a new job that actually allows her weekends off, and all of us are heading down to the in-laws* the weekend after Christmas for Christmas. :)
Anyway. It's hard because we don't know her that well--although we live in the same metroplex, it's an hour to their house so we only see each other a few times a year. She's an interior designer of sorts--her job is for a building company, and it's her duty to help people who are getting a house built for them to not make terrible, clashing choices in counters, backsplashes, floors, and paint.
Any ideas? We got her a scarf last year, but I expect it wasn't to her taste as I've never seen her wearing it. (I am OK with this!) Also, she's pretty good at assembling gifts that are sort of traditional, for want of a better word. She has given us (for the wedding) a wicker basket with monogrammed towels in it, and for Christmas, a set of nesting casserole dishes that she acid-etched with Toby's last name** and a recipe for artichoke dip, and a dish towel, and for another Christmas, a bottle of wine, with a small book on wine and an icicle-looking thing that you freeze and stick into an open bottle of wine to keep it cold.
* And I am interested to see if there will be any discrepancy between the stuff she gets from my parents-in-law and what I get, as I noticed a distinct uptick in the quality and number of presents I got when I graduated from Live-In Girlfriend to Wife. I find this hilarious. :D
** I don't think she's realized that I haven't taken Toby's last name, but my mother-in-law hasn't realized either. I'm happy being "Mrs Hislastname" socially and "Ms. Mylastname" professionally, if it bothers them.
It's also our first Christmas all together, as she's got a new job that actually allows her weekends off, and all of us are heading down to the in-laws* the weekend after Christmas for Christmas. :)
Anyway. It's hard because we don't know her that well--although we live in the same metroplex, it's an hour to their house so we only see each other a few times a year. She's an interior designer of sorts--her job is for a building company, and it's her duty to help people who are getting a house built for them to not make terrible, clashing choices in counters, backsplashes, floors, and paint.
Any ideas? We got her a scarf last year, but I expect it wasn't to her taste as I've never seen her wearing it. (I am OK with this!) Also, she's pretty good at assembling gifts that are sort of traditional, for want of a better word. She has given us (for the wedding) a wicker basket with monogrammed towels in it, and for Christmas, a set of nesting casserole dishes that she acid-etched with Toby's last name** and a recipe for artichoke dip, and a dish towel, and for another Christmas, a bottle of wine, with a small book on wine and an icicle-looking thing that you freeze and stick into an open bottle of wine to keep it cold.
* And I am interested to see if there will be any discrepancy between the stuff she gets from my parents-in-law and what I get, as I noticed a distinct uptick in the quality and number of presents I got when I graduated from Live-In Girlfriend to Wife. I find this hilarious. :D
** I don't think she's realized that I haven't taken Toby's last name, but my mother-in-law hasn't realized either. I'm happy being "Mrs Hislastname" socially and "Ms. Mylastname" professionally, if it bothers them.
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I admit I am bad at traditionalist gifts, though.
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I'd have bought her another one after hearing that if it weren't that we already got her different gifts!
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I admit when in doubt I go with something not too large and easy to regift in case they feel it's not for them, but then I am a cynic. :-p
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If she cooks, kitchen items like nice unusual trivets (that are still functional) are good too.
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They were a hit, but anything with photos of her boys is pretty much guaranteed to be a hit. XD
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A nice glass pitcher or a pretty cutting board, especially one of those cutting boards handmade from multiple different colors of wood.
Those are my go-to presents for people whom I don't know but who seem at least a bit domestic (and I would say she's very domestic, given what she's given you two). They're the sort of thing that it doesn't matter if the person has one already.
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For example, this time of year they carry mulling spices which work wonderfully with Martinelli's Apple Cider. So we've given a gift of that, plus some sort of christmass-y tea infuser, plus maybe some mugs, etc., before.
WS is good for fancy culinary gifts, but they can get expensive quickly.
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???
I have no idea on costs- but they might have cute ideas, regardless :)
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