Ideas Please - Birthday Present

[Ali]

It's my eldest son's 26th birthday next week and I'm after inspiration for something to make/sew for him. He's creative, musical and owns his own house (lives alone) .... I've previously made him cushions and artwork. So, any suggestions please?

[razz]

Guys are a challenge at that age or any age really. Is he a cook who can use some new and fun ingredients for a change in menu?

[Float On]

Does he have a yard? Does he landscape?

You could always ask if he had a wish list of things for the house.

[morning girl]

Not something to make,but my granddaughters birthday is tomorrow; I'm giving her theater tickets to a show she wants to see. I don't like to give people stuff. I try to give them experiences that they would enjoy

[Ali]

Thanks all - he's not really into cooking or gardening ..... I've offered to pay for an evening or college course. I ha e got him a couple of other things I know he wanted but I really wanted to make him something too. I'll have to go look on Pinterest :-)

[Zoe Girl]

you can quickly sew an old t-shirt into a reusable grocery sack, i love this project. if you have any old t-shirts or go to goodwill and find some he would have liked when he was younger. there are directions on pinterest

[Tussiemussies]

Too bad you don't have a lot of old jeans on hand...you could make him a denim rag quilt for his bed...I heard they are heavy and really warm.....

[Ali]

Tussiemussies, I do have some that I am planning to make into a quilt but unfortunately that's not his sot of thing. im going to wade through my fabric stash later and look for inspiration :-)

[Ali]

Zoe Girl ... Neat idea, again not really his thing but if I called it a storage bag that might work!

[Tussiemussies]

Does he have any hobbies/what does he like to do in his free time?

[Ali]

Tussiemussies, he plays guitar, computer games and goes to the gym. I bought him a plectrum punch a few years ago and I thought about making him a plectrum holder maybe ... I went shopping at the weekend and found him a guitar shaped spatula and a "meal in a mug" cookbook. We've talked about an evening course he could take up so I'm hopeful he will find something suitable and I will pay for that (I always give him cash as well as gifts). He's sooooooo difficult ....

[KayLR]

If he's a gym guy, I've made a string bag to take my gym clothes in..http://sewing.about.com/od/freeprojects/ss/stringbackpack.htm
That's one pattern, but you can probably Google more.

[Tussiemussies]

Hi again! Just wondering if he likes to wear the "in-style" gym clothing? If so you can find out what brand he likes and get him a pair of shorts, pants or shirt?

What type of computer games does he like?

Chris

[Tammy]

Movie passes?

[Ali]

Great ideas ladies .... Thanks :-) I shall head out to look for gym clothes later and maybe rustle up a bag. Movie passes not really an option, but a great idea for another birthday that's coming up ....

[ToomuchStuff]

Ironic to me, it seems. We are on a site about trying to live simply, and I am seeing this from the birthday perspective, the other direction (son whose mom has been bugging me for a list). I finally gave her a dvd list, of some Amazon had on sale, that I wouldn't buy until I found cheap, otherwise (buy few, miss the old rental stores). But as a son, I would rather ask if I needed something and not feel like I was having junk piled up on me, only to go into a garage sale/donate/etc. pile.

[Ali]

Thank you for your insight. I've asked him what he wants and, I think if you read through this thread, you could see we've discussed college courses and that I'm trying to be thoughtful and buy or make him meaningful gifts.

[Gardenarian]

Cookies are usually well-received, in my experience. :)

[Ali]

Ah Gardenarian, what an excellent idea. Homemade peanut butter cookies would go down a treat. We'd planned to make cupcakes with popping candy in the icing and it would be great for him to have cookies to take home too :-)