Quick! Secret Santa help!
 

No no, not the Cellar Secret Santa. Mr. Clod's office party Secret Santa. The party is tomorrow night, and I have accepted responsibility for picking up a Secret Santa present for his guy, since neither of us knows anything about him and I have (slightly) more room in my schedule than Mr. Clod.

He's in his mid-twenties, a computer developer of some sort, and is of Chinese descent but fully Americanized. That's all I know. Gift should be under $25, and I have to be able to go get it in person at a store tomorrow morning, preferably Target. What should I get him?

Itunes gift card?

Are those compatible with non-iPod mp3 players?

I appreciate the fungibility of gift cards, but to me they're.. ptui.

My local Target is adjacent to my local Best Buy. There they have lots of computer-y stuffs. What about some silly USB doodad? I saw a Fan, and a Light. a hula girl, a cup warmer, a usb flashdrive shaped like a dog with realistic humping action (was truly rofl)... How about an actual gadget?

A USB flash drive from your local discount store (Rite Aide ?) like this...

an assortment of fancy beers?

Yes.

USB drives are so indispensible, the company actually issues one to every employee. But a USB gadget might do the trick. I like the fancy beers option though, especially because I'm going to the grocery store tonight and I know they had some sort of "make your own six-pack of holiday beers" advertised. That would save me a trip tomorrow! I'll ask Mr. Clod if there's any evidence whether the guy drinks or not...

My ambulance fellah tells me that there are very nice cuddly blankets at the Walmart.

Since your time is short I won't recommend my go-to, which is a hand-crocheted or knitted scarf. I have a bagful of them, and rummage through it when necessary.

Some other non-sized commercial wintry item might be well received. I would veer away from obvious low-end tech gifts, as he's probably got drawersful of the stuff that he already doesn't use.

(If your store offers Anchor Christmas or Troegg's Mad Elf, go for the brewskis.)

Sams Club has nice candy/chocolate gifts. Nice thing about those, if he doesn't like the candy, he can re-gift it! Or you could go to Cost Plus World Market and make up a goody basket yourself. Hmmm...that is if you have the time. I was just there and they had a station where they would put it together for you. Or get something from Hickory Farms - guys always like sausage and cheese.

Wolf is right. I've received a couple of those warm fuzzy throws and they're lovely. Comforting. A snuggie! Who wouldn't love a snuggie? ;)

Of course, maybe you don't need those in TX.

I know I like them. I keep buying them year after year. Well not the snuggies, just the throws.

I found a USB alarm clock/hub thingy for $4 at Walmart the other day. Also found cable zippers for $14 (its like the zip straps that hold all your cables neatly) , got a small, very small screw driver for $1, got a mini sharpie marker keychain for $1 (great for writing on CDs), a can of air for $6, a few re-writeable dvds, and some screen cleaning spray. I put them all in a folding plastic storage box $2, and wrapped it up for my very techy friend.

Maybe something like that?

Most computer people I know stay up way late, and drink coffee by the gallon (or Beer) So the variety beers sond good.

At our christmas party, when people have to choose gifts from an assortment, I have found the wine, glassware and movie tickets are always the first to go. Then the solar powered gadgets, tools, beer and picnic basket style or popcorn/movie enjoying sets.

Movie packs are easy... grab a "popcorn" bowl from the $$ store, they usually are red and white and have popcorn written on them.. hard to miss. Then fill it, popcorn, popcorn flavours/salts, junior mints/m&ms, and a rental certificate from a movie store (or cheap movie)

Ice Cream kits are the same, get the old fashioned sundae/soda glasses, and fill them with sprinkles, mini treats etc... then add a certificate for a grocery store or ice cream shop, for the whipped cream, soda and ice cream.

hmmm.. hard when you know NOTHING about them. Good luck whatever you choose!

A Whirlypop!

I'm not sure where my brother got mine, but a quick google search shows them at ace hardware.

http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...lickid=prod_cs

Variety beers, novelty usb gadgets both good ideas. Regular USB gadgets and gift cards.... I'd pass on those. A small bottle of a nice whisky and a glass with a snowman etched on it? A nice wallet/billfold/whatever you call them? A pen-knife/combination tool pocket gadget thing?