Secret Santa- Woman 50's £30 limit.... Go...

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I'm at a loss what to get.

What she doesn't like:
She's doesn't appreciate smellys/ candles.
She drinks way too much so don't want anything alcoholic.
Clothes
Anything sweet like chocolate

Any ideas

@HolidayTime2021

I am 55 . If you dont know me well enough to get me a gift that I would love then please dont get me anything.

I can afford to buy anything I want myself. I dont want more tat in my life.

Most 50 year olds have all the gloves, pestles, hats, scarfs etc that they need.

If I got cashmere wrist warmers I would be contacting dignitas and putting a living will in place (that is one of my pre-determined thresholds - I have considered it at length)

Well, that's me damned.

@actiongirl1978 - equally I can't stand Oliver Bonas!

What about a nice necklace?

www.roninjewellery.co.uk/

Unless she's requested no alcohol, at 50 she gets to decide.
Many people are waking up to how cruel the cashmere trade is. M&S, Uniqlo don't use ethical cashmere and both use sweatshops, there's a reason why the owner of Uniqlo is the richest man in Japan. You don't have to be vegan etc to not want this stuff.
Expensive foodstuffs is probably the way to go.

You have said what she doesn't like. Do you know what she does like and what her hobbies are?

I like a drink but would be underwhelmed by booze for secret Santa as I can buy it myself! I have just bought my recipient (at work) a paper chase notebook and pen and hotel chocolat chocolates. Limit was £15 but this came to about £22 (would much rather overspend in this situation though!) If someone buys me Oliver Bonas earrings I think I would cry with happiness. I think jewellery is personal though so but of a risk if you don't know them well.

I’d probably just get an M&S voucher, not the most exciting I know but it’s dead acceptable and could be spent on anything she likes. If you’re not happy just doing a voucher send it with a bunch of flowers or a plant or something x

@HolidayTime2021

I am 55 . If you dont know me well enough to get me a gift that I would love then please dont get me anything.

I can afford to buy anything I want myself. I dont want more tat in my life.

Most 50 year olds have all the gloves, pestles, hats, scarfs etc that they need.

If I got cashmere wrist warmers I would be contacting dignitas and putting a living will in place (that is one of my pre-determined thresholds - I have considered it at length)

Impressive, HolidayTime2021. You’re even better at this than I am!

@HolidayTime2021

I am 55 . If you dont know me well enough to get me a gift that I would love then please dont get me anything.

I can afford to buy anything I want myself. I dont want more tat in my life.

Most 50 year olds have all the gloves, pestles, hats, scarfs etc that they need.

If I got cashmere wrist warmers I would be contacting dignitas and putting a living will in place (that is one of my pre-determined thresholds - I have considered it at length)

I’m 52 and I don’t have a pestle 😢

I don’t think you can generalise what a 50 year old women wants, we need to know her likes! I’d hate hand cream/cookbooks/cashmere/wrist warmers and coffee!

Cashmere fingerless gloves

I’m 52 and I don’t have a pestle

I bet if you were to write a list of 100 things you would like a pestle wouldn't be on there

A really beautiful vase.
A great (newly released) book - a novel; I'd hate a cooking book and my mother would throw it in the bin.
Agree with pp re Oliver Bonas jewellery. You'd need to know her style though as that's so personal.
Theatre tickets (bit tricky at £30)
Flowers (or maybe a voucher for flowers)

That's a tough call.
But I would love some kind of nice homeware.
Depends how much you know them

Decent throw & book on hygge
Or cookbook and nice dishes
Pretty overnight bag or suitcase

This could be me! I'd like a small bottle of baileys or sambucca even though I said I don't want alcohol I do
Or the shower gel of a perfume I like
Crime novels

I agree a cookery book is stupid because you can just get recipes if you google them.

@twilightcafe

Cashmere wrist warmer/fingerless gloves from Turtle Doves?

I bought a pair at the weekend. I love them but I think fingerless gloves are a bit marmite.

£30 is quite a lot for a secret Santa. It's a generous budget so whilst whatever is bought won't be tat there's as much chance of buying something someone will hate as love and £30 for a gift someone will hate seems a waste.

I'd probably stick with bland but safe - gloves or scarf but not patterned.

@AnFiadhRua

This could be me! I'd like a small bottle of baileys or sambucca even though I said I don't want alcohol I do Or the shower gel of a perfume I like Crime novels

I agree a cookery book is stupid because you can just get recipes if you google them.

You see that's the risk of Secret Santa. I would absolutely hate to get Baileys or sambucca. Perfume is too personal and bound to be wrong. I like cosy crime but hate Val Mcdermid style crime.

On the other hand I'd love to get any of Yotam Ottolenghi's books, which are quite pricey.

I love this thread- it's really funny seeing the huge differences in what would be acceptable.

This isn't really a suggestion but I did manage one year to persuade the person who organised our office Secret Santa to let the person who I had been allocated to that really and truly what I'd be happiest with was a donation to The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

If you dont know me well enough to get me a gift that I would love then please dont get me anything

^^ This. Most adults with their own money can just buy what they want when they want it, they don't want other people choosing things that they then have to wear, display or use.

If you want some sort of team bonding work exercise, just bring in drinks and snacks and have a chat and do a quiz or a game.

I'm 48 and would hate a lot of the suggestions on this thread. In a similar vein to the last post, if someone is giving £30, I'd rather have a £5 bottle of Aldi cava or a Hotel Chocolat selector pack and the rest as a donation to the rescue charity that I foster for.

Maybe do that. Everyone gets a small consumable present and a £25 donation to the charity of their choice?

No, don't make a donation on her behalf! Go to centra and get her chocolates. If she wants to make a donation she can/will andcsame for whoever got her name in SS

And im not a git, i have gone in to oxfam and bought those "fund a girls education for a year" cards but i did it. I dont want want somebody else telling me they did that for me while i stand around with my arms swinging, not sso much as a scented candle!

If near London- a voucher to get her own personalised tea blend at fortnums (including of course a caddy of what she chooses).

To whoever suggested a decent overnight bag - for £30??? Where is that possible?!

@HolidayTime2021

I’m 52 and I don’t have a pestle

I bet if you were to write a list of 100 things you would like a pestle wouldn't be on there

It’s on the Christmas list I gave my DH and DS. And I posted it on my list upthread ^*

Bet I don’t get one though 🤷‍♀️

You'll probably get pesto

Or a pessary