Last minute gift help please!

[Clarity]

I really need some suggestions for a gift for my employee. We're "work friends" and she's filling in for me while I'm on maternity leave. I've done gift cards for her in the past but am trying to avoid that this time. I'm totally drawing a blank this year - inspiration just never hit. Any ideas? Thanks SO MUCH!

[WatchingThemGrow]

How much $$$?

[Clarity]

I'd like to keep it under $50.00. Thx!

[WatchingThemGrow]

Personally, I'd love someone to send a housekeeper to my house for 2.5 hours for that amount. I'm the worst at buying gifts for others, so I'll let the others chime in.

-a sheet set from Sam's or Costco?
-a bunch of new kitchen towels from Williams-Sonoma (friends and family 20% off through 24th)
-anything with a gift receipt...

[JTsMom]

Can you tell us anything about her as far as interests/hobbies/etc go?

[Tondi G]

A GC to a local restaurant, GC or Gift pack for a local movie theater, some nice eatable basket, GC to Starbucks,

these seem kind of impersonal but I would totally appreciate an evening out on someone else!

[Clarity]

Ummm, she's 30, has a 16 month old ds with another ds on the way. She reads novels, golfs, and she has the house keeper (but that was a nice suggestion). She cooks but don't recall it being a passion. I'd get something kid/pregnancy related but I just got bday things for her son, she did new baby gifts for me so I was thinking something non child related. Except...would you think a subscription to Family Fun might be nice? I want that, but would you?

[WatchingThemGrow]

with DC that young and a job, I doubt (maybe wrongly) she has time/energy to do "family fun" kind of stuff. What about a Dream Dinners/prepared meals kinda thing you can do together? I bet you could get a couple meal package to do together, then toss in the freezer.

[bubbaray]

Originally Posted by WatchingThemGrow

with DC that young and a job, I doubt (maybe wrongly) she has time/energy to do "family fun" kind of stuff.

I WOTH FT and Family Fun and similar magazines always make me sad. Not that I ever attempted any of the projects when I was a SAHM on 2 separate year-long mat leaves, LOL.

What about something useful but for her (not her as a mom) like a Klean Kanteen (in pink!). And, to pair with it nicely, something NOT good for her like chocolate??

If someone gave me that, I might think I'd died and gone to heaven, LOL.

You could get her a bunch of golf stuff, but will she have time to golf with 2 kids and WOTH??? I certainly don't.

But, if you can talk to her DH, ask what her fave brand of balls are, what hand she wears her glove on. Get her her fave balls and a nice glove and a gift receipt. Maybe add in the pink KK I mentioned above. You could do the whole gift in pink actually -- pink balls, pink glove, pink KK. Throw in a pink golf towel. Other nice golf things (but harder to buy as gifts) are visors & socks, but people can be kinda picky about those.

[Clarity]

That's a good idea too (you're not bad at this at all!) But... I was trying to avoid gifts with an obvious pricepoint if that makes sense. I don' t want it to be obvious how much I spent on her. It gets a bit tit-for-tat and I don't want that. Takes some of the fun out of it!