What can I get my DiL for Christmas?

[Gamjs]

We have as a large family decided on a secret Santa instead of all buying presents for each other this year. We plan to spend £25 - £30.
I have drawn my DIL. In the past we have given her cash. What would a thirty something year old with no children like for a present?
I had wondered about something ‘Jo ‘ but perhaps too expensive.
All suggestions appreciated. Thank you.

Thank you.

Aww. Good attitude OP!

I am in that age bracket and wouldnt want wrist warmers, can’t say i have ever met anybody that wears them or the famous fingerless gloves.
If you really don’t know her i would suggest something like a little gift box with fluffy socks, chocs and a face mask and then a £20 gift card so she can choose something she will like 😊

Blimey there are some terrible suggestions on this thread. This is DIL only present from the family so please do find out what she would really like. Might be turtle doves or mountain bike gloves. Best to find out

I'm a 30-something female and some of the suggestions on this thread are very niche (fingerless cashmere gloves and andonised wok I'm looking at you).

Rather than splashing out on a high risk punt, I would ask your son for some tips. If he's no help then I think the best idea I have seen on here is the voucher for a local spa or salon.

Really surprised at some of these horrors, I’d not want stuff like wrist warmers, or hand cream , cheap jewellery, a cook book, jigsaws , fingerless gloves or kitchen utensils. I mean really, do people like that stuff?

if you really don’t know her well enough to know I’d ask your son what she wants and if you don’t want to then go generic, lovely cashmere socks for the house, or expensive shower gel/bath foam. Something luxurious and generic and make a promise to try to know her better in 2023.

Some of the suggestions on here sum up what is awful about Christmas. The time you take sourcing nice presents for other people & the shit presents you get back that go straight to bin/recycling/charity shop.

We use a secret Santa app for our family one where we can advise our anonymous gifter of two or three ideas of what we’d like. Saves going through this. After all when the point is to save money and waste, a generic gift totally defeats the purpose.

For your money I would make up a small hamper,
M&s have pjs at £12.50
Bottle of wine £5
Sweets/chocolate £5
Boots pamper set (soap and glory) £7.50

if you really don’t know her well enough to know I’d ask your son what she wants and if you don’t want to then go generic, lovely cashmere socks for the house, or expensive shower gel/bath foam. Something luxurious and generic and make a promise to try to know her better in 2023.

This is exactly why I suggested hand cream early in the thread. Not any old crap, luxurious clarins hand cream. I would love to receive that as a gift.

A hamper full of things that cost £5 is an awful idea, straight from my DH's maximum number of gifts for the budget strategy

The thing is though, I’m a woman of the age OP is asking about and Clarins hand cream would be straight in the ‘any old crap’ pile for me. I’d slightly prefer the hamper but not much (not to mention that you need an actual hamper for a hamper which pp didn’t budget for).

Yeah I'd not give a fig about luxury hand cream either.

Haha, equally I would categorise socks, shower gel or bath foam alongside wrist warmers or hand cream.

But a cook book is a decent substantial gift – if the DIL enjoys cooking. The trouble is the OP doesn’t know, hence all the random tat suggestions: like bath foam/shower gel?!

I mean this kindly but are you in your 30s? I am and would find Clarins hand cream a very random (and not particularly well thought out) present. Luxury hand cream isn't something I would ever feel the need to own, and Clarins is a brand I associate with older women.

I do agree though that a random hamper of generic £5-£10 stuff up to the budget amount gives the impression that the kitchen sink has been thrown at the idea rather than giving the recipient any actual thought.

I think it's becoming clear that OP need to get some clues about DIL, fast!

Particularly Soap & Glory and sweets, which make me think late teens/early 20s. £5 bottle of wine makes me think getting drunk in park bushes after sixth form in 1998.

The more you say about it the more I like the sound of the hamper 😂

My niece in law is 27 but otherwise similar. She likes make-up and girly stuff but I don't know what specific brands. I just got her a personalised pink leatherish make up bag from M&S.
My thinking is:
I wear make-up - you can never have too many make up bags small enough to go in your handbags - they get tatty and covered in make-up so always useful to have a few on hand. It's not on public display so even if it's not quite your taste no-one will really see it. It's personalised so it's cute and thoughtful (ish). And even if you don't need it for make-up little zip up bags are always useful for keeping stuff in.

Packet of fags, a four-pack of Smirnoff Ice, subscription to J17 magazine and the Spice Girls x Impulse vanilla body spray, what more could you want? Maybe a Barry M glitter eyeshadow if there’s budget, or a Sherbet Dip-Dab.

Yeah, wrong age group.

Waterstones voucher?

Would take this over a Neom Candle or Clarins Hand Cream any day.

Oooo, I've bought one of my best friends this for Christmas! You can hold out hope you are her!

Is she a secondary school assistant head? If so what did she teach before that job?/what did she study at uni? Might give you a clue into her interests

Better than fingerless gloves, hand cream or bath foam. 🤷‍♀️

Hand cream is awful. First, she might not do it. I rarely do. Second, how boring. Third, a tube takes YEARS to get through so if she already has one, it’s a waste of time. Fourth, nobody under 40 buys clarins.

get her a good novel or two. She obviously reads if she is a teacher - get her a literary novel that you have enjoyed, or that is very recently published.