Ask Lemmy

This year, I decided to have a little fun by pranking my father with a "high-tech" Christmas gift. I wrapped up an old, broken remote control, paired it with a random manual for a smart home system, and wrote a letter claiming it was the newest device to control everything in the house with just his voice.

He spent a good 15 minutes trying to figure out how it worked, yelling commands at the remote like “Turn on the lights!” and “Start the coffee maker!” while the family tried not to burst out laughing.

Eventually, I let him in on the joke that in 1998, the Undertaker threw Mankind off Hell in a Cell, and he plummeted sixteen feet through an announcer’s table.

I put a bunch of ARBG inside the retrofitted Dell Optiplex computer I gave my brother in law lol, he’s gonna use it for playing old games so it’s a fitting meme. Also installed a low profile graphics card (a GT 1030, could’ve gone for an RX 6400 but it costs 4X what I paid for the machine lol), some more RAM, a second SSD for storage. But the most important part is the ARBG 80mm case fan and 2X LED strips!

The classic, wrap paper into a large box shape (use a large box as a template if it helps but remove before sealing) then put a small gift inside. Very gently place it where it won't get smashed, preferably after all the other presents have been placed or way at the back. Someone goes to grab it on Christmas morning and the box collapses under the slightest pressure.

So I don't care much for presents myself and I knew I won't get much if anything. So when I prepared the gifts for the children and the wife I also made two for me, in one I put in a orange and in the other one a banana. The family was surprised and we had a big lough about it and then I ate both :D

My mom is giving a Ouija board in the white elephant, and the person that opens it and loses it first will find it (an identical one) in their backseat when they leave like its haunting them.

Have a huge extended family. Reached out to as many as I could to offer to pay for the publication of 1 extra "family xmas" card of their family's Xmas cards they were guna send out anyway. The 1 extra card I paid for each had me as a +1 in their family Xmas portrait to send to my mom as a prank. I'm a single 37y/o dude who has never bought a xmas tree much less sent out Xmas cards. Started the adventure in the fall. Traveled to 3 states visiting cousins abroad.

The first card that arrived to my parents made it all worth it. It was one with my closest of age cousin and his new minime addition to the family. So my mom thought it was such a well thought out and loving joke that I visited them and did their xmas card portrait with them. Then the next one came and the next and the next and the next and the next...

I'm not say I batted a thousand but I got a very respectable industry share of the 20 something 1st cousins and 49 total 1st cousins and once removed 1st cousins (kids of my 1st cousins). It made my family's holiday season. My mom was in tears laughing telling our Texas relatives what I did. Between that and the retropie I made for my dad, I'm not guna lie, I fucking killed it this year.

I bought my mom a years worth of flowers every month in advance and every note will read “Merry Christmas Mom” every month

Last year I got my buddy who's into cars for secret Santa. Along with his real gift, I got him a gag blinker fluid bottle and filled it with fireball lol

Puzzle box inside a ammo crate sealed with a variety of nuts inside a foot locker locked with a key i mixed in with 80 others. took a few hours :)

• Got my dad a bunch of Japanese woodworking tools for Christmas, in the interest of getting him to commit to a retirement hobby
• im a staunch atheist
• im wrapping two of the saws together in the shape of a crucifix and I’m going to talk about having found the good word of our lord jebus cripes

My son insisted on a gift for Dirty Santa that was in a box encased in 8 more boxes, each wrapped beautifully. Apparently it was the first gift chosen, so everyone had to sit and watch each box be unwrapped.

My sister in law has a rough time asking for things for herself. She loves her dog. I got her a few dog things; toys, treats, and each one accompanied by a super cheesy dog pun.

I usually wrap up the presents inside a box, which I wrap up, which I wrap up, which I wrap up...

Basically recursive present wrapping

We were going to bring a rotisserie chicken in a gift box for a white elephant gift exchange, but worried about it going bad.

Wrap a box with a bow and everything, but fill with paper trash. Empty solo cup, toilet paper roll, ramen wrapper, etc