I do all of my butchering work with my Buck Knife (mainly for dressing stuff but it is a fantastic all-around knife), filet knife (a couple of Rapalas), and bone saw. Not saying I'm really good at it, but I get the job done. I'd add to the list sharpening tools. I have a diamond hone set for all of my knives and chisels and love it. You can have your blades professionally done but I just prefer being able to get them razor sharp myself. The Buck... <a class="postlink" href="http://www.buckknives.com/index.cfm?event=product.detail&productID=3089" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.buckknives.com/index.cfm?eve ... uctID=3089</a>
Little did you know that you would be internet cool for this toy 10-30 years later (I have no idea how old you are and am unwilling to assume the 69 in your name is your birth year)
I still have my Mr. T. thermos from when I was a kid. Honestly. It taught me that too much bling can interfere with your crime-fighting duties.
My grandma got us boxes of Crackerjacks one year. That were full of cockroaches. She also gave us a crocheted duck that you filled with candy. You squeezed it so the candy popped out...of its butt. Poopduck was actually one of the better presents. Off-brand Kleenex was also a favorite of hers. And just to round out the redneck in this post, the best present she ever gave my brothers and I was a shitload of .22 ammunition.
Worst gift: monogrammed towel/skirt...for men. In tuxedo black. Something like this: Not big enough to be a towel, not gay enough to be a skirt and completely useless as anything else. Best gift: I got a rattlesnake's tail (rattler) keychain with a single key on it. The key was to a go-kart. Hell was unleashed. This year, I'll be sending Korean swag home. My parents are cool with just about anything, so some abalone pottery and decorative nonsense it is. My sister is getting a gift card to Toys/Babies R Us. I have no fucking clue what to buy the girlfriend and it's quite a pain in the ass, because she feels obligated to take whatever trinkets she gets with her to other countries. I've done lingerie and jewelry and gotten away with it, but this year I'm proper fucked. I'm honestly considering...theater tickets (God dammit).
Focus: I'd say I was the most excited about a Christmas gift back when we got the SNES. The worst is probably now when my brother (let's be honest, his wife not him. He doesn’t' give a shit). Sends me clothes that are too big and never would wear. Alt Focus: For about 5 years now my immediate family hasn't done Christmas gifts. We are all of the same opinion that if we want something, we will go get it ourselves. We all hate shopping so it works out well. Although this year I'm thinking I should get the girl something special since she's turning 30 a few days before Christmas. before christmas.
My dad gave me this book one Christmas: The worst part was it was only $6 retail, so I couldn't even exchange it for something good... Runner-up was one of these things. Metal pocket notebook. Really...not useful.
I am getting my wife an Android based notepad computer (fuck yo' ipad) for her "big gift". The kids... No idea yet for big stuff, but my son is getting kid sized tools for his toolbox that he's building at Cub Scouts. As far as $750... Hell, I don't know. My wife's birthday was just 11/12, our anniversary is 11/29, and my birthday is 12/4. Despite the fact that I repeatedly say, "Get me nothing", my wife refuses to listen. It's an expensive 6 or 7 weeks though.
January is our rough financial month. In addition to the credit card bills for Christmas spending, we also get hit with auto insurance premiums on 3 cars (now with two teen drivers), HOA annual dues, annual timeshare maintenance fee, and both my wife's and my birthdays. I really need to start betting college football again.
That is why me and the wife put our car insurance for both of the cars in the summer, just to split up the bills.
We pay the car insurance in two payments, January and July, but with two teens on the policy, it's still a big nut.
Best single gift I've ever received was a custom-built PC from my Dad several years ago. He bought the case and all the internals and assembled them. The case was very nice and included a multi-mode display that showed everything from time to various internal temps. Best year overall last year, was my first year getting all "adult*"/necessity items. *Not fun/kinky adult, would be weird coming from blood relations and all. Worst gift ever? Token weird aunt gave me some pocket Tomagatchi (spelling?) computer toy when I was 11 or so. One of those egg-sized things with two buttons that prompts you to feed/sleep/bathe/fuck it every so many times a day. I don't think I ever even put batteries in it. Other focus: This year I can't afford much. Everyone I usually gift has either not given me a list or refuses to, and in all cases except one I can't think of anything useful or needed. Probably going to give younger brother Halo4 and some finger cots for laughs. I guess the best gift I'm giving is a late one, but my parents will be glad to see me finally start college. My grandmother will be thrilled to live to see it too. Soo yeah....good on me for getting on what I should have done five years ago. Take that you Black Friday obsessers!
<a class="postlink" href="http://imgur.com/a/j8zMZ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://imgur.com/a/j8zMZ</a> Christmas won, bitches.
El husband has talked about maybe getting me a tablet if he can get a deal on one during black Friday. I'd like the 10" google nexus but we'll see. It drives me up a friggin wall because he says that he doesn't want anything. He buys all his electronics and gadgets as he wants them so there is nothing leftover for Christmas. The thing he'd REALLY like is a rifle, but he's said that it would be pretty pointless out here since there is no where to shoot one. I really want to get him one because I know he would totally jizz himself, but he's right...he would have no where to shoot. Ideas?
Find a range, make an appointment and go with him. Shooting with my girl was fun as hell, she had a good time and you can find a good rifle for a range for a decent price. Look for something in a .22 caliber, because the ammo's cheap, a good starter rifle shouldn't cost very much and when it starts collecting dust, it's easy to sell. Just don't go all tacti-cool on it, and it'll be a good gift for him and an awesome Saturday for the two of you.
.22LR rifles can be taken to local gun ranges as well. Some have a preference and may not allow you to use higher powered rifle ammo.
1. Foment a squirrel infestation in your neighborhood. Tell nobody. 2. Buy husband rifle. 3. ???? 4. Profit.
Focus: The best presents I've ever gotten have come from my parents. My laptop (6 years old and still clinging to life), a new set of tires (no more hydroplaning!), and the BEST messenger bag ever. Turns out my dad has excellent taste in bags and purses, which is pretty surprising given that he rocks the 56-year-old-computer-engineer style complete with Hawaiian shirts and super-thick glasses. The worst presents I got came from my mom's evil stepmother. She used to just buy 5 of whatever toy and that's what all 5 grandkids got. They were usually creepy little dolls, but one year it was an off-brand bumble ball that made awful cackling noises when you played with it. I'm pretty sure it made my little sister cry. Alt-Focus: I won't be spending nearly $750 this year because I am broke as hell. It almost makes it more fun though, because you have to put more thought into a $30 gift to make it not suck. I'm having a little trouble coming up with ideas for Boyfriend, though, because I've always given him silly handmade gifts for Christmas and birthdays in addition to real presents, and I feel like I need to keep that up. There was a dinosaur scarf I knitted, a zombie mug, a matching hat for the scarf, and pillowcases that I embroidered with words that you would all make fun of me for, but I don't know what to do this year. I also don't have a huge amount of time to put into making something, so hopefully I'll find some inspiration soon.
Nowadays I usually just get money from my mother, because most of the things I need are related to my education or some technical gadgets she doesn't really know/understand so she can't really buy it for me. I think the best gift I ever received was a model railroading, when I was 10 or so. I played with it for a long time and it wasn't completely set up, so I could build all the little model houses and do the wiring of the little lights, I did all of it with my dad and it was fun. The worst present I ever got where reeeeeally old sweets. It all tasted kind of funny and I think it actually made me throw up. Yep, I know, nothing much to complain about here. Alt-Focus Since my family doesn't have that much to do with one another I just have to get my mother something, which is hard enough. I don't really think about what I will get someone, I usually just take my time and go through all the shops and wait for the inspiration fairy to hit me. So far it works really well when you have a limited budget but still want to get something personal for someone, because most of the time I see something and it reminds me of the person and in this manner I usually collect some pieces that are all in all not that expensive but still make for a great present.