N and I have a tradition. I give him one gift for each of the 8 days of Chanukah. I like to give him a mix of fun and semi practical and expensive and not. My philosophy on gift giving is to get the person something they would not buy for themselves. Whether that is because of cost, originality of gift, difficulty in finding item, etc. Most of the gifts tie in to a fandom or geekiness that N has or that we share. Without further ado, here is the breakdown and explanation for 2016’s Chanukah gifts.

• Night #1 – Tiny Epic Defenders

Tiny Epic games are created by Gamelyn Games and started with Tiny Epic Kingdoms. The games are small, cute and fun, they have great theming and vary in game mechanic and storyline. Each game started out as a Kickstarter and they have all done quite well so far, they just finished a Kickstarter campaign for their newest game, Tiny Epic Quest. N and I have played many of the Tiny Epic games with our small gaming group but until now did not own any of them. I chose this one, Tiny Epic Defenders, which is the second game that Gamelyn released, since it is rated the best for 2 players.

• Night #2 – Bedside Carafe

N is a huge water drinker, where I dislike plain water usually and will almost always choose a flavored beverage, N will guzzle glass after glass of cold water with pleasure. We often get quite dry at night and frequently want water but usually forget to bring up a water bottle. So when I saw the idea of a bedside carafe on another blog’s gift listing I had to get for N. After some research I settled on this one, which was not too expensive but was rated well.

• Night #3 – Skinny Wallet

N has a tendency to overstuff his wallet. While usually he is fine with the resulting super fat bulging wallet, it can get in the way at times such as on vacation, when N may wear shorts or Jeans, or when exercising. So I found this very highly rated super skinny wallet that can hold up to 20 credit cards without becoming fat.

• Night #4 – Lego Pineapple

N is a huge fan of the tv show Psych, which ran from 2006-2014, and after watching it together, he has shared that fandom with me. One of the cool things about Psych is that in every episode somewhere, is  a pineapple. There is even a website devoted to listing where in each episode the pineapple can be found. Due to this, it is common for N and me to gleefully shout to each other, “Found the Pineapple!” We do this not only when we are watching the show but when we are in a supermarket, etc. So I wanted to give N a Psych nod, and give him something fun and silly for his desk at work, so I bought him this Lego Pineapple.

• Night #5 – Legendary Encounters: A Firefly Deck Building Game

N is also a huge fan of the tv show Firefly, which was sadly canceled after only one season. Due to popular demand, a movie was later released called Serenity. I had not watched the tv show before marrying N but had watched the movie several times. I have previously purchased N a different Firefly game for Chanukah several years ago but we can’t usually play that one as it takes a long time. So I was very excited when I heard that the really highly rated game series Legendary Encounters was coming out with a Firefly game.

• Night #6 – Decanter

N enjoys a nice bottle of wine, usually over a holiday or Shabbos. His one issue is that often the wine does not have enough time to breathe, so he has been on the lookout for a nice decanter. So I got him one.

• Night #7 – Calendar

This one has become an annual gift. I make a calendar from Shutterfly for N every year, combing pictures of his family, my family and us, in the calendar are all of the family birthdays, anniversaries and Jewish holidays. All birthdays and anniversaries are accompanied by pictures of the family member.

• Night #8 – Disney Poster Framed

I saw this poster months ago and fell in love. As huge Disney fans I knew that I had to get this for our Disney wall. I purchased the poster and then a frame and gave the poster to N already framed.

• Day #9 – Bonus Gift – Star Trek Ship

Sadly, this too has become an annual gift. For the past 3 years I have bought this for N, every year it breaks before we reach the next Chanukah. I keep trying…

 

So that’s all of it. A mix of fun and practical that will hopefully add some good times and enjoyment to our year, 2017. Happy New Year everyone, may it be a great one!!