What to get a 38yo friend who has everything?

[soupforbrains]

I am very stuck on what to buy for one of my best friends. I am on a very very tight budget for christmas this year and am making beeswax lip balms, chocolates and baked goods for a lot of my friends and family.

My best Friend earns a LOT more than me and also has next to no financial responsibilities (single, no rent/mortgage, no kids etc) so he has a lot of disposable income and generally just buys himself anything he wants. I know that the cost of the gift is not important to him, but as he always gets me something lovely I really want to get him something which he will like but I'm totally stuck.

My crafting skills are not very high aside from baking, and he doesn't really have a sweet tooth and won't use lipbalm either. He doesn't have any particular hobbies but enjoys films and PS4 games. He does read quite a lot but is into quite specific fantasy sub-genre books and not being into them myself I wouldn't know where to start with buying him books.

I can't buy him wine or a couple of bottles of anything alcoholic because he has a drinking problem which i am supporting him through.

Please help! any and all suggestions welcome!

Calendar?
Diary?
Pen?
Potted plant?
All should be fairly inexpensive.

Could you make him savoury snacks if he hasn't got a sweet tooth?

Why not buy some cinema vouchers or a restaurant or cafe voucher and a small diary with a note saying let’s set a date to get together?

H uses his phone/tech for all things organisation so he wouldn't use a calendar diary or pen.

I will have a think about a plant, he does look after his garden but that is more to maintain the garden as is (due to his late mother's efforts) than becuase he likes plants at all.

He does like cheese so I will do some research and see if I am able to bake some cheese nibbles or something. My usual baking repertoire is firmly in the sweet realm rather than savoury so I don't know if I have the capability but there is no harm in trying! Thank you.

Could you get hold of a free-for-whatever-use image from one of his fantasy books/films/games and edit it and print onto canvas or postcard or put in a little frame?

@Star2015 cinema vouchers is something I have thought about, but it felt a bit feeble as my maximum budget is about £20 and our only cinema is a Vue which costs almost £15 for an adult ticket.

The diary idea is sweet but we see each other every weekend anywya and he wouldn't actually use a diary.

Framed pic of you both at a memorable time?

@Ylfa you might just be a genius!

He loves dragons especially so I am sure even if I can't find an exact image to use myself I should be able to find a nice piece of dragon art.
Thank you thank you thank you!

@BuzzShitbagBobbly That is a lovely idea too however there exist almost no photos of us together because I have hated my physical appearance for a very long time. (am now well into a weight loss program and hopefully that will change in future)

if he loves cheese you could do him a cheese hamper with some unusual varieties - or I bet you could find a "cheese of the month" subscription.

How long ago did his mother die? Perhaps a nice framed picture of him with her.

This recipe is delicious: www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/jan/03/chilli-almond-biscuits-recipe
Fairly expensive ingredients and you need to eat them quite quickly after baking - but you can make the dough in advance and freeze until you’re ready to bake.
I would love a gift bag of these that someone had taken the time to make for me! I would imagine he’s aware that he’s difficult to buy for and if he’s a lovely friend then he won’t be assessing the financial value of your gift but the thought behind it.

If it were my best friend, I'd request we don't swap gifts this year.

A cheese hamper would become very pricey very quickly I think? but I will look into it. Cheese Clubs are FAR above my budget too.

His mother died just over a year ago. She was a bit like me in that she didn't like herself in photographs so there aren't many of her, he already has what he considers the only nice photo of them both in a frame so not sure I can improve on that.

@thatwasMauijustmessingaround I would, but last year he said how much he loves having me and my son to buy things for at christmas because he doesn't really have anyone else :(

@SunnySomer sadly he doesn't like nuts but if you have any other cheesy recipe recomendations I'd love them!

At this point I am leaning towards a piece of framed dragon art of some sort and some baked cheesey 'things'.

@soupforbrains aw you both sound lovely!

Ooh, I’d just do this recipe without the nuts then! They just give it some texture! And maybe include in the gift some deli Wensleydale wrapped in waxed paper? (As opposed to supermarket cheese)?

Just say that you would prefer not to exchange gifts this year.

Soooo many posters on here - I'm generalising now, not having a pop at you OP - saying that they are on a very tight budget (monthly cheese subscription - really?) and then agonising over buying a gift for the niece of the now deceased, next door neighbours' cousin once removed whom they have never met.

i have a friend loves dragons too, has multiple dragon tatoos, house full of dragon suncatcher etc so just do a google or similar for dragon gifts you'll find loads of ideas, years ago i got them a birthday gift of a dragon colour changing mug , real novelty item but they loved it so much so they asked me where i got it so they could get a second for work..

@soupforbrains you’re very very welcome! pixabay.com might have something for you - all free and free for personal or commercial use - and you could do something with it in PicsArt (app, might not be free) or similar to personalise

EG

What about a potted succulent? Around the £10 mark, classy and also low maintenance.

Look at Little Botanicals. 10% off with newsletter. Also available in store John Lewis if you want to avoid postage.

thelittlebotanical.com/

Why don't you

• buy a really nice piece of cheese from a farmers' market or deli or Waitrose

-Make some savoury crackers to go with

Possibly also you could make some chutney or take come grapes or apricots/walnuts and set up a lovely cheeseboard for you to share?

Re Palavah's idea, some years back I went to the deli counter and asked for "bite size" portions of as many cheeses and meats as they had.

(I went at a quiet time, obviously!)

The wrapped every one up in greaseproof paper and string and presented in a little basket. Recipient LOVED it!

Schleich do some cool beautifully detailed model dragons and Lego Ninjago do some lego dragons. Kiddie stuff but if I were into dragons as an adult I would think it was an interesting and fun present!

Make you own mini cheese hamper, Aldi/lidl do a fab selection of cheeses, or M&S/Morrisons have taster blocks that aren't too bad.
Pop in some oat cakes/crackers, dates, honey, chutneys (Morrisons do mini ones) etc and a small bottle of something.

Just remember to advise him to put in fridge if all wrapped up (and he isn't aware of contents)....I'm speaking from experience here!!