So, what are your best ideas for gifts?

[Onlooker]

I think we need a thread on this subject, especially for those of us who wander aimlessly through store after store, swearing at crowds, condemning materialism, and cursed to leave the story empty-handed, only to return again.

I have only one good idea for a gift, and that's because someone gave it to me last year: An Oxo smooth edge can opener.

http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=198946

(Maybe you can find it cheaper somewhere.)

It's absolutely the best can opener I ever used. It actually opens the can so you can put the lid back on, and it requires no muscle to use.