Gifting poll

[blyslv]

"Your gift is my moop."

I do like dropping off a few bottles of mixers at bars.

Here's an interesting version of reality: One year the ORG was really pushing the notion of "barter." But they had to ease up on that because the tax goons were making noise about getting their cut when things of value changed hands.

So then the Kool-Aid became "gifting" with the associated rise in trinkets and such. It's interesting and makes one think about the concept of free will.

Giving a gift is difficult. You have to know a person to understand what will make their eyes light up when you give it to them.

I don't think of organizing a theme camp or creating a peice of art as a "gift" in the same way. It's no less beauitful, it's just not a gift unless there is that personal element.

When my wife gets a trinket she is very appreciative, then she finds someone else who she thinks might be just as appreciative and gives it to them.

[Teo del Fuego]

I have a cigarette roller, filters and really awesome flavored tobacco. So, basically I gifted lung-damage. But loads of smokers and sometime smokers really appreciated the handrolled smokes. I also made a mobile mojito-bar and pedaled around handing out mojitos. I really did not want any gifts from anyone, and did not get any, except for one of those woven friendship bracelets someone insisted on tying around my wrist as I was making mojitos. That bracelet is still on the wrist and reminds me of Burning Man every day at work!

[Teo del Fuego]

}bump{

[this wuz my v. first post to ePlaya}

[PatfromOre]

I brought 2 cases of Ice cream sandwiches and gifted those out in front of my camp on Saltwater on saturday around noon last year, and everybody sure seemed to enjoy them

[accordionMan]

I'm starting early...

here's some free money to burn:


http://www.digitalartist.com/art/burningman/money.html

[thirt33n]

I brought 2 cases of Ice cream sandwiches and gifted those out in front of my camp on Saltwater on saturday around noon last year, and everybody sure seemed to enjoy them :P

...pretty sure i got one of them ice cream sammies. thanks.

i bring a few packs of clove cigarettes for anyone who digs smokey shit. they seem to go over pretty well. but i take some booze to bars that i frequent.

[mojo]

Ice ----- if i know I'm going to spend some significant time at a bar, I bring ice...

[Bling]

Hi y'all,

Resurrecting an old--but really helpful--thread. We've picked up some extra practical items as gifts--light-up stuff, mesh bags, dust masks, etc. And I do hand reading.

But my sweetie and I have put together a playlist to turn into a burn CD, and I'm not sure about the legality of distributing music we OWN for FREE to others. Anyone know if this is okay to do?

[brigitami]

I gift "Kyle Lighters" because everyone is always looking for a lighter (they tend not to MOOP). Months before bm me & my sisters spend do "craft nights" and hot glue fabric and buttons and fur and shells & stuff onto bic lighters. They are called "Kyle Lighters" because our friend Kyle (who doesn't go anymore) gifted them first.....in fact, if you have an "original kyle" lighter I know someone that would pay you $20 for it....they are very rare.

But I do also gift bars booze.....i like to bring in bottles equivalent to how much i may drink at my neighborhood bar that week. its not so much "gifting" as having them "store" my booze for me I guess.

The bartender gets a lighter. And I am always helpful and clean and polite to the bartender too. The bartender at a camp is kind of like the manager. I love our camp's main bartender-Raj-he can mix up a rockin' igloo cooler mystery cocktail when it seems as though we have absolutely no mixers left!

Think about that: GIFT YOUR LOCAL BAR SOME MIXERS MID-WEEK!

[Bling]

Decorated lighters--what an awesome idea! We had a good friend who's a graphic designer do a label for our CD, so it's personal for us (along with the song selections). But now I'll be thinking if there are things to BLING!

[brigitami]

I made ashtrays out of blank mint tins that I painted and decorated. I would gift these mint tins/ash trays/stash boxes/moop recepticles to anyone I saw smoking without an ashtray

Not only a gift given with a smile and a hug, but a hope for a cleaner playa.

I love that idea and like what was said (long long ago ha) about gifting in general.

[jella]

I'm kicking around the idea of gifting individual visene vials..too weird ??

[Bling]

Not at all, IMHO. I think it's a genius idea!

[MistressSybs]

[quote="Zoom"]the following i gifted, it was very helpful in finding Lorgasm's relocated bike.
[img]http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/4800/l ... uttcu7.jpg[/img][/quote]

that picture itself was gift enough for me... thank you. thats a cute ass!

[trystanthegypsy]

Hi y'all,

Resurrecting an old--but really helpful--thread. :D We've picked up some extra practical items as gifts--light-up stuff, mesh bags, dust masks, etc. And I do hand reading.

But my sweetie and I have put together a playlist to turn into a burn CD, and I'm not sure about the legality of distributing music we OWN for FREE to others. Anyone know if this is okay to do?

Legal? No. See: Warner Music Co. shutting down YouTube videos with copyrighted music in them.

Personally, would I care? No. At least in Canada we now pay a tax to "the record industry" (I'm not sure who in particular recieves this money) on blank cds and dvds, vastly increasing the price in comparison to a few years ago. completely backwards from most other tech! oh well I'm over cds now. only play them in my computer.

But don't get me wrong I think its a great idea! Actually the few cds I do still listen to are from festivals!

[Bling]

Thanks, TrystanttheGypsy. My sweetie and I do Civil War reenacting, and we're Gypsies there. At Burning Man, we're just folks. But we're bringing our Gypsy Wagon. Stop by and see it!

[Dad]

Gifting? Sometimes the hardest thing is recieving. At least for me. In 1988 my house burned down. I was rooming with a family of 8. Delivered office supplies for the company the mom worked for. After the fire, a major networck in Los Angeles that was a client spread word through the industry about the family. Donations flew in. Truck loads of beds, bikes for the kids, toys, clothes, kitchen stuff, and money. I was the face of the company and was regularly bringing this stuff to a temp. home. One day a group came up to me while delivering and handed me 2 envelopes full of cash. They told me the larger was for the family and one was for me. I said I would gladly take the one to the family but I couldn't except the one for me. I had my life, dogs, a job, and family and friend support beyond belief. It took a guy about the same age as me who had been through the same thing to sit me down and explain that people had done this because they wanted to and I would be disrespecting them if I didn't take it. I balled like a baby. I learned a great lesson by this. I must say that the greatest physical gift I received this last year was a great leather bracelet. The greatest gift I gave was that bracelet to someone who liked it as much if not more than me. I got to experience it for a time and it meant the world. As with the art I had done lost in the fire, my friends were all freaked out it was gone and all I could say was, "Did you see it? Did you enjoy it? Then it served it's purpose and I can always make more. Glad you enjoyed it." The greatest gift of all though at the burn was the people my wife and I sat with at times and just talked with and those who would listen about my wifes disease and the non hesitation to offer healing hands on her. Was so touching to me to see the compassion of so many. All of you, your words, presence, and thoughtfulness is the true gift. Just always be you and you are giving.

[C.f.M.]

I voted "nothing." Because if I gave them something in exchange for something that would be bartering, not gifting.

[Victorian]

At first, I was going to make a bunch of "Gifts".. but I decided not to.. kind of like the way CFM puts it.

I usually always wear tons of jewelry. On top of making "candy" necklaces and bracelets like the ravers, I take it up a notch, like fishy mentioned on this thred a page back, and also use glass beads, seashells, wooden beads, TONS and TONS of beads. They are typically random, or color schemed, or honestly, are quite beautiful.

Everytime I head to an event, I take a little extra food, drink, makeup, and these beaded necklaces and bracelets.

DO I intend on gifting it all away? NO. Do I intend on gifting some of it? Maybe. Do I intend on gifting more then I take and PLAN to gift? Probably...

Look at the "Gift" definition:

–noun 1. something given voluntarily without payment in return, as to show favor toward someone, honor an occasion, or make a gesture of assistance; present.

Don't give someone something YOU wouldn't like to receive YOURSELF.
That's just gifting because you feel you need/have to.

THat's one thing I've learned on eplaya before even stepping foot onto BRC: A Song, A Shave, A Backrub, A Trinket, Something for parched mouths, a Dance, A Hug, a Baby Wipe to someone with a little too much dust on their face.....

It's not about "Exchange" but more so a "Pay it forward"
Just because someone gifts me something this year when I go, doesn't mean I am going to feel the need to give them something in return....

But when I am going to gift a burner something at all, I will not accept something in return either. I'll ask them to gift it to someone else at a later time, who made them feel the way they have made me feel at this moment.

[Mulligan]

I gifted bic lighters last year. I bought about a dozen or so and drew the man on them and embossed it so the stuff wouldn't come off. When I saw somebody that needed a light I pulled it out of my pocket and simply said, "keep it." It was amazing to see their reaction. That reaction, was their gift back to me.

[Bounce530]

I'll stand on the nearest corner with a bag of sliced limes, a small salt shaker, a shot glass, a handle of tequila and a bag for lime rinds, and pass out shots. "you need to be shot in the face!" always a convo starter.

I'll also sit at camp on a night or two and be the safety patrol, handing out glows to darkwads (that accept them) and condoms (also glow in the dark)

During the heat of the day I'll take cooler melt from the can cooler, so theres no food contamination, and fill a mister bottle. Then ride around and ASK people if they need a cool mist, and hose them down if they want.

Also leaving pens/sharpies around the temple and the man seems to be helpful, although I'm sure some would say that is creating MOOP.

I put out a 'take something/leave something' treasure chest, and love it! The things that go first are sharpies/blank stickers/smokes/sunglasses. Nobody has ever taken any of the new wrapped eye drops that were in there, I thought that was odd. Two years ago somebody left an amazing denim vest that has 'Black Rock City- love it or leave it' stiched on the back. This past year somebody left a bunch of 'burning man 2009' gel braclets.

I love seeing the take something leave something boxes in different parts of the city and seeing how much different the items inside them are in the different parts of the city.

[Ugly Dougly]

A necklace that you make yourself is one of the most welcome of gifts.

[epic_elite]

some of the coolest people ive met, gave me nothing physically. but the memories are worth a lot more to me than a bottle of seagram's 7. Ive got pictures of us breaking down camp with some close neighbors that are personal too me, none of them gifted anything besides helping us break down camp, (thanks guys!).

as for the bottle of whiskey, can't remember the dude's name or picture his face. they didn't even stop by to address the fact that i chased thier inflatable furniture down the street and fastened it to the ground while they where away durring the storm.

they return-gifted out of percieved obligation and missed the point entirely.

[Jmeier]

ICE and if I have a bottle I know I'm not going to drink, I gift that too.

[greenthumb85]

I grew up hearing, "I hope you brought enough for the whole class", So I bring oodles of stickers! I give one to the guy giving me a drink, but I also give one to every one in the bar! The bar tender gets no special treatment! I might give 'em an extra to give to someone else, but I don't give booze or ice or any thing like that. Stickers are cheap, easy, fun, and a good way to preserve the memory, just have to remind people that it won't stick to something really dusty and we don't want M.O.O.P. flying around the playa, so take the sticker home!

I love getting stickers, patches, and buttons, all fun and easy, and people can get creative with it!

I had about 2,000 stickers made last year, and gave them all away! Well, my camp mates helped... Maybe you got one!


Get creative with your gifts, you don't have to give one to every person, and just because you get a gift, doesn't mean you have to give one... It just depends on how you want to do it! I got more enjoyment from seeing people stoked on my stickers then I got from any gift I got! Well, except for the awesome Darwin tshirt!

I'll see you on the playa, I'll be the one with stickers to give out.....