What makes a good gift?

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 1:45 pm

A smiladon is a mammal from the Pliestocene, not a dinosaur from the mesozoic.

This message brought to you by the Department of Zoological Corrections

yellowdog · Post by **yellowdog** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 10:12 pm

I stand corrected. It is a Dimetrodon. Which, get this, is not a dinosaur, but a pelycosaur! Now that everything we need to know is on the 'net, all we need our brains for is drugs and sex.

phil · Post by **phil** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:12 pm

> ... 5 years that dinosaur has lived on the dashboard of my truck,
> reminding me of Burning Man, making me smile, and reminding
> me every day ...

:-) Yeah, I have happy souvenirs like that.

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:44 pm

coquelicot wrote:2009 will be the first time that I go to Burning Man, and I've been thinking a lot about the whole gift economy...namely, I want to bring and give good gifts.

As a knitter, I've thought about making a whole slew of useful (and pretty!) knitted things, but I've come across a couple of questions.

Do people anticipate gifting and actually bring items with the intention of giving them away? Or is gifting supposed to be more of a spontaneous thing, so that you give away some possession that you did not originally intend to part with?

And mostly, do you guys think that people would appreciate knitted gifts? I'm not talking about cheesy, itchy sweaters with a picture of a cat on it, but nice little things like cashmere socks or silk scarves.

For me, the best gifts to date have been either simple ones, often hand made, or ones of experience such as an art installation or mobile art piece that touches you and then moves on. Simple physical reminders and even just the memories of ephemeral momentsâ€¦ those are the best ones.

I think your knitted items would be great. I love the pieces that are a touchstone for me to link directly back with someone (And I think a knitted picture of a kitty would be perfect). I have a small aluminum cat made by a good friend that sits on my bookshelf keeping watch over things.

Use your skillset and give it from the heart when you feel moved and it wonâ€™t be wrong.

sunn · Post by **sunn** » Sun Mar 01, 2009 9:47 am

The unexpected: one of those wonderful burning man moments...someone gifts you something you needed without you even asking:
1. dust masks (thanks Canadian neighbor guy (brings it over when I'm struggling during dust storm and my scarf is falling down! Can't believe I forgot my masks with my asthma...so appreciated it!)
2. Kisses/hugs (best ever was from a couple that made me stop in my tracks they were so beautiful and tell them so...they gifted me with them...yum)
3. Poem a guy wrote for me at our bar last year (one of my treasures...thank you...)

Any small random act of kindness...

scotto · Post by **scotto** » Sun Mar 01, 2009 9:55 am

sunn wrote:The unexpected: one of those wonderful burning man moments...someone gifts you something you needed without you even asking...

A Snowcone in the middle of the open Playa...

Daddy-O · Post by **Daddy-O** » Tue Mar 03, 2009 8:58 am

One of my gifts last year was to clean up moop that was made up largely of useless gifts. Lesson learned; be sure your gift is useful and not plastic junk from China. Smiles are always nice.

geospyder · Post by **geospyder** » Thu Mar 26, 2009 9:24 pm

This will be my first year. Doing lots of reading and was toying with a couple ideas for gifting. One is small flashlights for those at night without any light. Another is the little liquor filled bottle shaped chocolates - frozen. The big question is quantity?

Post by **AntiM** » Fri Mar 27, 2009 9:13 am

The little flashlights sound good, I've done that.

The chocolates? Maybe, but the foil wrapping would be MOOP. And if the person took one to eat later, they'd have a melty mess. Perhaps a small amount to hand out to camp visitors?

MozyBonz · Post by **MozyBonz** » Fri Mar 27, 2009 10:37 am

I gave out compressed towels in 08.

I like these.

Compressed Bamboo Towel
Incredible compressed towel expands from a 2" disk to a full 12" x 20" with 3 tablespoons of water or less.

Makes a thoughtful, endlessly useful gift!

Compact, convenient and totally portable. Great for the outdoor enthusiast - camping, backpacking, cycling, golfing, - any sport (a gym bag staple), travelling, emergencies (keep a couple in your glove box), baby cleanups, wiping down the dog, the uses are endless.

Cool down, clean up, rinse and repeat.

Reusable, antibacterial 100% eco-friendly bamboo.

Fully compostable - breaks down in about 2 months.

There are other compressed towels out there, but they are not composed of amazing, hypoallergenic, absorbent, baby safe bamboo fiber!

Banded 10 pack.

peachandpapa · Post by **peachandpapa** » Fri Mar 27, 2009 11:00 am

Blinkies are always a favorite. Our MV -- Peach's Verdant Box -- hands out hundreds of blinkies every year. Whenever we see a Burner wandering the Playa at night without any lights, they are gifted blinky rings. Actually, the best gifts we give and receive is offering rides on our MV. Meeting Burners out on the Playa rocks!

geospyder · Post by **geospyder** » Fri Mar 27, 2009 1:01 pm

AntiM wrote:The little flashlights sound good, I've done that.

The chocolates? Maybe, but the foil wrapping would be MOOP. And if the person took one to eat later, they'd have a melty mess. Perhaps a small amount to hand out to camp visitors?

MOOP and goop - chocolates are out.

peachandpapa wrote:Blinkies are always a favorite. Our MV -- Peach's Verdant Box -- hands out hundreds of blinkies every year. Whenever we see a Burner wandering the Playa at night without any lights, they are gifted blinky rings. Actually, the best gifts we give and receive is offering rides on our MV. Meeting Burners out on the Playa rocks!

I had an idea what blinkies were but Googled it anyway - wow. Long way from the chemical glow in the dark necklace.

BTW - just received my ticket and my first gift - an Atomic FireBall in the same package. Why did I wait 65 years to do this?

Artemis · Post by **Artemis** » Fri Mar 27, 2009 1:06 pm

geospyder wrote:Why did I wait 65 years to do this?

Oooh, you figured out the quotes. Excellent. You can change the default settings in your profile so that code and smilies and stuff are always enabled.

So why did you wait? Cuz you weren't ready till now.

Welcome e-home.

Playa Tom · Post by **Playa Tom** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 5:18 pm

Several years ago there as a burner giving out warm moist towels at the porta potties one morning.
Last year my neighbor gave us popsicles on a hot afternoon.
I cleaned windshields of cars leaving BRC last year.

The best gifts are those which can be used and are from the heart.

Post by **Sham** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 5:07 pm

I am a big fan of necklaces at Burning Man. I have gotten many with cool BM symbols on them that I really love.

I just came across tiny 1gig thumb drives for a few bucks each and I intend to buy 20-30 of them to paint and add the BM logo. Then, I am going to add a few nice videos as well as 25 special photos that I want to share. The entire episode of Malcolm in the Middle fits as does the Discovery Channel special on BM.

I envision that I will give these out to first timers as well as kids I talk to. I also have some nice laser cut necklaces that are always appreciated. I am not very artistic as far as paint and brush, but I can design things for production.

I intend to paint over the logo and add funky stuff.

blysse · Post by **blysse** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:34 am

Painters' dust masks shpritzed with lavender essential oil so they mask the Porta Potty scents.

Grilled cheeze sandwiches late at night

Crispy bacon almost any time

A copy of "The Secret" DVD

A pewter Burning Man pendant that has been hanging from my rearview mirror ever since my first Burn in 06.

A blinkie ring on Burn Night

An animal cracker with a fun letter of the alphabet dripped onto it

A slice of berry pie baked in a solar oven, served piping hot right onto my hand

Rebar stakes

Help patching my tent when it was gutted by a fly-away dome in a dust storm

Green herbal therapy when it was most appreciated, i.e. I was in the process of freaking out over something inconsequential

A bottle of imodium when it was absolutely needed

A pedicure

********************
BRC Blysse
No longer with Silicon Village

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:29 pm

blysse wrote:Painters' dust masks shpritzed with lavender essential oil so they mask the Porta Potty scents.

Just realize that some people don't like scents.

Like so much else, one burner's bacon is another burner's poisen.

geospyder · Post by **geospyder** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 12:56 pm

Just snagged a couple hundred each sample (purse) size of Purell hand sanitizer and Glysomed hand lotion. Now to steal some of my wife's yarn to make neck hangers for them.

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