I need Christmas gift ideas for myself, what do you all want?

[COcheesehead]

Won’t that result in a black hole or something?

You end up with something you’d never thought you’d get.

 

[gcgang]

Mont Blanc StarWalker Extreme Rollerball. $535

I don't write with a pen all the time, but when I do....

https://www.montblanc.com/en-us/col...ker/111514-StarWalker-Extreme-Rollerball.html

 

[Scuba]

I would like a BMW convertible.....oh, wait! I just got one two months ago. Maybe a set of OEM floor mats for it?

What model? How do you like it? We’ve always owned Japanese cars but I’m sure DH would love to have a BMW.

 

[dirt_dobber]

some nicely figured walnut lumber for various woodworking projects

 

[COcheesehead]

I would like a BMW convertible.....oh, wait! I just got one two months ago. Maybe a set of OEM floor mats for it?

I got OEM mats direct from a dealer on eBay for a fraction of what the local guy wanted to charge me. FYI.

 

[Winemaker]

They obviously have several distribution centers around the US. You have to select your destination state before you can even select what to order. That really helps with the shipping. No way it would get here overnight otherwise.

This is the wine snob coming out of me so take it for what it is worth.

When purchasing wine from these type of establishments, you have no idea of how the wine was stored prior to your purchase. It could have sat on a dock in the sun for 6 hours, or in an hot/cold warehouse/boxcar/trailer for days/weeks/months/years before shipped to you. You may not be able to tell the difference, but there is a difference.

Also, watch the labels from some of these outfits. Sometimes, they have been relabeled from other wineries and only change the front label, knowing that educated wine drinkers don't buy from them, and bargain hunters wouldn't catch the slipup, I mean deceipt. My sister bought a case or two from some of these outfits, trying to "educate" herself and she surely got an education.

A direct ship from the winery is best, their name is on the bottle.

 

[Chuckanut]

When purchasing wine from these type of establishments, you have no idea of how the wine was stored prior to your purchase. It could have sat on a dock in the sun for 6 hours, or in an hot/cold warehouse/boxcar/trailer for days/weeks/months/years before shipped to you. You may not be able to tell the difference, but there is a difference.

Also, watch the labels from some of these outfits. Sometimes, they have been relabeled from other wineries and only change the front label, knowing that educated wine drinkers don't buy from them, and bargain hunters wouldn't catch the slipup, I mean deceipt. My sister bought a case or two from some of these outfits, trying to "educate" herself and she surely got an education.

Thanks for the tips. I ordered 6 bottles and will put them to my two tests: (1) Either I enjoy drinking them or I don't. And, (2) Would I bring this bottle to dinner at a good friend's house.

 

[deserat]

Can someone recommend a specific brand of seriously nice high quality socks? Sounds like a good idea here for stocking stuffers for all the men in the fam.

Darn tough socks

https://darntough.com
https://www.amazon.com/darn-tough-socks/

 

[Winemaker]

Thanks for the tips. I ordered 6 bottles and will put them to my two tests: (1) Either I enjoy drinking them or I don't. And, (2) Would I bring this bottle to dinner at a good friend's house.

Those are my tests also. I also place more importance on (1).

The difficulty in the future is that is "same" bottle of wine may not be the same as the original wine you drank.

 

[pb4uski]

This is the wine snob coming out of me so take it for what it is worth.

When purchasing wine from these type of establishments, you have no idea of how the wine was stored prior to your purchase. It could have sat on a dock in the sun for 6 hours, or in an hot/cold warehouse/boxcar/trailer for days/weeks/months/years before shipped to you. You may not be able to tell the difference, but there is a difference. ....

A direct ship from the winery is best, their name is on the bottle.

Other than direct ship wouldn't that be true of any wine you buy? from a store or a wholesaler or retailer? Even with direct shiit could sit out in the dock in the sun for 6 hours while in transit.

 

[RAE]

Other than direct ship wouldn't that be true of any wine you buy? from a store or a wholesaler or retailer? Even with direct ship could sit out in the dock in the sun for 6 hours while in transit.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I have purchased wine direct from the winery before, but that generally costs a lot more than buying from an outfit like wine.com. And I almost never see free shipping deals when you order direct either. I understand that you generally get what you pay for, but I have ordered a fair amount of wine from wine.com, and I can't say I have been unhappy with what I got. Now, there are online outfits that offer 15 bottles of "fine wines from all over the world" for $69.95, and I would be skeptical of those places. But hey, some folks probably think that wine is just great, and that's okay too.

 

[Chuckanut]

Those are my tests also. I also place more importance on (1).

The difficulty in the future is that is "same" bottle of wine may not be the same as the original wine you drank.

I agree. Usually, I buy a bottle, taste it within a week and if it is really good, I go back and pick up anywhere from six to 12 more bottles. When I run out, it's time to [-]drink[/-] test more wine to find a replacement.

FWIW, I rarely buy wine and have it shipped to me. My three favorite wine stores are all a short driving distance - Trader Joes, Costco and a local wine specialty store.

Back to the subject of gift ideas - if the person enjoys wine how about a membership in a local wine club?

 

[audreyh1]

This is the wine snob coming out of me so take it for what it is worth.

When purchasing wine from these type of establishments, you have no idea of how the wine was stored prior to your purchase. It could have sat on a dock in the sun for 6 hours, or in an hot/cold warehouse/boxcar/trailer for days/weeks/months/years before shipped to you. You may not be able to tell the difference, but there is a difference.

Also, watch the labels from some of these outfits. Sometimes, they have been relabeled from other wineries and only change the front label, knowing that educated wine drinkers don't buy from them, and bargain hunters wouldn't catch the slipup, I mean deceipt. My sister bought a case or two from some of these outfits, trying to "educate" herself and she surely got an education.

A direct ship from the winery is best, their name is on the bottle.

Yes - I have to be concerned about how the wine is handled. I reviewed enough about this operation to conclude that they were serious and careful about handling wine properly.

It's the same situation as when buying your wine from any retail store. You have to decide whether the store and their distributors handle wine properly during transit. I buy most of my wine locally from Costco. That company takes wine seriously, and so far I have not had any bad experiences with anything I have bought in their store over many years.

Other than direct ship wouldn't that be true of any wine you buy? from a store or a wholesaler or retailer? Even with direct shiit could sit out in the dock in the sun for 6 hours while in transit.

I only order wine between Thanksgiving and the end of February, because otherwise the daytime temps are just too darn hot here and I won't take the risk.

I'll ultimately find out when I taste what I ordered. I sampled all of them when I was at the winery 2500 miles away!

 

[Scuba]

Getting back to Christmas gifts, I’m adding Apple Watch straps to my list. Getting a Series 4 :dance

 

[audreyh1]

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I have purchased wine direct from the winery before, but that generally costs a lot more than buying from an outfit like wine.com. And I almost never see free shipping deals when you order direct either. I understand that you generally get what you pay for, but I have ordered a fair amount of wine from wine.com, and I can't say I have been unhappy with what I got. Now, there are online outfits that offer 15 bottles of "fine wines from all over the world" for $69.95, and I would be skeptical of those places. But hey, some folks probably think that wine is just great, and that's okay too.

I am quite impressed with the wine.com operation so far. My wine came from Houston, that's why I got it overnight. Saturday delivery was a plus as is the option to select the delivery day. The packaging was excellent - we'll save the inside wine carton trays for potential reuse. They provided additional labels for recording what we bought - nice for a wine connoisseur/collector. We'll see how it tastes soon!

 

[Winemaker]

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I have purchased wine direct from the winery before, but that generally costs a lot more than buying from an outfit like wine.com. And I almost never see free shipping deals when you order direct either. I understand that you generally get what you pay for, but I have ordered a fair amount of wine from wine.com, and I can't say I have been unhappy with what I got. Now, there are online outfits that offer 15 bottles of "fine wines from all over the world" for $69.95, and I would be skeptical of those places. But hey, some folks probably think that wine is just great, and that's okay too.

See post #19 for 1 cent shipping. No affiliation, other than we both make good wines.

 

[HF63]

I just purchased my first Smart Phone, an Apple 6+. Now the only reason that I purchased a NEW PHONE for myself is that I am gifting my OLD FLIPPHONE to my parents as a Xmas gift.

I bought them a line on my monthly service and it would give me piece of mind if they had a cell phone with them when they travelled. For the parents, an OLD flip phone is smart for them to carry.

I

My mom just turn 73 and learning to use my son's old galaxy 3. When she is ready I have an old S5 waiting for her.

 

[aja8888]

What model? How do you like it? We’ve always owned Japanese cars but I’m sure DH would love to have a BMW.

Older model: 325 Ci (e46 generation) with 112,000 miles on it. Silver with back leather interior and its optioned as a sport model. Garage kept by a friend for years. It's in mint condition. I'm an auto enthusiast and have restored a few antique cars over the years. This is just my summer play toy.

Unless you can do a bit of maintenance or repair on your own, I wouldn't recommend buying an older BMW. However, they are great machines and a lot of fun to drive and own.

 

[aja8888]

I got OEM mats direct from a dealer on eBay for a fraction of what the local guy wanted to charge me. FYI.

Thanks for the tip! I'll search eBay to see what I find.

 

[Winemaker]

Other than direct ship wouldn't that be true of any wine you buy? from a store or a wholesaler or retailer? Even with direct shiit could sit out in the dock in the sun for 6 hours while in transit.

Absolutely correct.

The thread is about Christmas presents for ourselves; I do not purchase wine in a retail store for those reasons. Again, I called my self a wine snob as others might, but I'm just an educated wine consumer/maker.

As Audrey mentioned, she only buys wine in the cooler months, like myself. And they are usually new releases, so if they laid around in a warehouse, it was inside a properly seasoned French Oak barrel.

 

[Winemaker]

I agree. Usually, I buy a bottle, taste it within a week and if it is really good, I go back and pick up anywhere from six to 12 more bottles. When I run out, it's time to [-]drink[/-] test more wine to find a replacement.

FWIW, I rarely buy wine and have it shipped to me. My three favorite wine stores are all a short driving distance - Trader Joes, Costco and a local wine specialty store.

Back to the subject of gift ideas - if the person enjoys wine how about a membership in a local wine club?

There are quite a few ways to enjoy wine through a wine club. Check with the American Wine Society for a local/nearby chapter, dues are inexpensive for the national club. If there is a local winery and you enjoy their wines, you can join their club for a modest fee. The winery where I help out has a club for $45/year. Discounts on wine, a few "experimental" wines, coupons and perks for other merchants, etc. Also, if you might be interested in taking up wine making as a hobby, several of the wine/beer supply stores have wine/beer making clubs also. Our local club, of which I am a member, alternate monthly meetings between wine making/tasting and and wine discussions/topics/tasting.

There are also clubs that, although there are wineries and vineyards as members, promote and "specialize" in certain varietals. The Rhone Rangers, promote Rhone varieties, have events and tastings year round. ZAP, the Zinfandel Advocates and Producers, promote Zinfandel and I attend several of their events. I plan vacation trips around their events.

 

[Chuckanut]

The Rocketbook mini reusable notebook.

https://getrocketbook.com

 

[calmloki]

Older model: 325 Ci (e46 generation) with 112,000 miles on it. Silver with back leather interior and its optioned as a sport model. Garage kept by a friend for years. It's in mint condition. I'm an auto enthusiast and have restored a few antique cars over the years. This is just my summer play toy.

Unless you can do a bit of maintenance or repair on your own, I wouldn't recommend buying an older BMW. However, they are great machines and a lot of fun to drive and own.

Depending what you want the mats for I highly recommend Maxpider 3D. Got a set for our Mazda CX5 and they fit perfectly, weigh little, hold a lot of slop and have a nice hook-and-loop sort of grip to the back. Way more impressed with them than the top name rubber mats. A friend with a 2014 diesel BMW 3 series wagon got a set and the fit wasn't perfect - the diesel has a little extra bump in the driver's side floorboard back by the tunnel/seat the gas wagon doesn't have. He's pleased though. If I hadn't been gifted rubber mats for my 2008 328it I'd get the Maxpider.

 

[aja8888]

Depending what you want the mats for I highly recommend Maxpider 3D. Got a set for our Mazda CX5 and they fit perfectly, weigh little, hold a lot of slop and have a nice hook-and-loop sort of grip to the back. Way more impressed with them than the top name rubber mats. A friend with a 2014 diesel BMW 3 series wagon got a set and the fit wasn't perfect - the diesel has a little extra bump in the driver's side floorboard back by the tunnel/seat the gas wagon doesn't have. He's pleased though. If I hadn't been gifted rubber mats for my 2008 328it I'd get the Maxpider.

Thanks, I'll check those out.

 

[Scuba]

Older model: 325 Ci (e46 generation) with 112,000 miles on it. Silver with back leather interior and its optioned as a sport model. Garage kept by a friend for years. It's in mint condition. I'm an auto enthusiast and have restored a few antique cars over the years. This is just my summer play toy.



Unless you can do a bit of maintenance or repair on your own, I wouldn't recommend buying an older BMW. However, they are great machines and a lot of fun to drive and own.

Thanks. We don’t maintain our own cars, and the concern re maintenance costs is why DH bought a Toyota Solara in 2007 rather than a BMW. Now that we’ve RE’d, we put far fewer miles on our cars, and I was thinking about a new BMW for his 60th. I’m sure he’d love it, but I don’t want a maintenance nightmare. The Toyota is not that fun to drive, but it’s been very reliable. DH likes convertibles and the Solara is also very roomy for a convertible.