(Part 2) Best products from r/secretsanta

Guillotine is fantastic. My friends always ask for that one at game night :)

Timeline has become a new favorite to pull out in-between longer games. We're all in our mid-twenties and enjoy trying to remember our high school history and science classes but I think this would be a good game for Redditors that are looking for games to play with their kids as well. There are a few alternate decks--you can mix and match; they're not true "expansions." Bonus: it comes in a very attractive, small, metal tin and is very portable!

Citadels is another card game that can be played with 2-7 players (though it's honestly better with at least 4). First person to build up their medieval-themed city ends the game, however, all players then count points for their city landmarks (so the biggest city is not necessarily the winning city.) It gets a little madcap as you change "profession" (each with their own special ability) every round but I really enjoy it.

For the Redditor with a darker sense of humor, get Gloom ! The creator actually came up with the idea for the game because his wife didn't like being "mean" to other players in games. In this game, you have 4 spooky families that you literally have to kill with kindness! It's quirky and another one that gets asked for fairly frequently at game nights. It's best with 4 players but there are expansion packs available to gain new families and fit more players in.

Wits and Wagers is a trivia game that isn't, where everyone gets a white board and a marker and has to write either a number or date according to the trivia question on the card (how many feet tall is the Statue of Liberty, etc.) Then you arrange the boards and bet with chips on which one you think is correct--the closest answer wins, everyone is dealt chips, and it goes on for 7 rounds in total. Highly recommended!

As someone who looks forward to having the occasional quiet night in with my boyfriend, I find that there are a lot of games that say they can be 2 player but aren't actually any good with any fewer than 3 or 4 players. Lost Cities is a very good 2 player only game where you're playing as much against yourself as the other player. The Amazon reviews are all more or less indifferent or negative so I had put off buying it but after playing it during a visit with a friend, I knew I had to have it. Mr. Jack , though pricier at $30.47 is another very good 2 player only game of cat and mouse. (I haven't tried the pocket version, which is less expensive, but it seems to have favorable reviews.)

OP has a great list so I hope it's "the more the merrier" with my additions (not trying to step on any toes!)

There are a lot of really cool camping things! I'll be back to edit this post on my computer with some things that we like / are unique /cool

EDIT - these are things that we use that we love. These things all range in price, so hopefully you can find one or two to fit whatever budget you have.

• Collapsible Coffee Dripper : They can use this to make REAL coffee on the trail. They just have to heat water!
  
• Portable camping grill : This takes a little time to set up, but it's a very compact grill and makes it easy to cook food or even just balance your mess kit
  
• Nonstick camping mess kit : A nonstick kit is much easier to clean than a stainless steel one IMO. this set has a kettle, utensil, and scrubber which is awesome.
  
• Camp Suds : An environmentally safe soap so they can clean their gear but preserve the trail!
  
• Dry sacks : Dry sacks are just what they sound like... waterproof bags that keep your stuff dry. They can also double as a pillow if you stuff clothes in them!
  
• Portable camping stove : This little guy connects to a small fuel canister and gives you a nice little stove. These are great for heating water / soup as they provide a better heat source than a fire you'd build.
  
• Food dehydrator : This is not something they'd take camping, but it can really help them to save money on meals. If they are backpacking, they likely won't want to carry around cans of food and won't be able to carry around ingredients that would go bad. The dehydrator allows them to make their own backpacking meals that they will reconstitute with water.
  
• Pocket bellows : allows you to stoke the fire without having to get your face super close. Also this lets you target a small area.
  
• LED light bulb ; This does require a portable battery but it's really great to have this little guy. We use it in the tent at night or when we're hanging out but need a little light to chop food/etc.
  
• Pocket chain saw : Cut big pieces of wood! It takes some muscle, but it really does work and it's a lot smaller than a hatchet or actual chain saw..
  
• Literally the best backpacking chair : when you're backpacking, you have to carry EVERYTHING with you. So that means that stuff has to be light and small. These chairs are great, because (for chairs) they tick off both of those boxes. They have a back! And they are big enough to actually sit on!
  
  Other general items that are useful: Climbing/heavy duty carabiners (to clip stuff to other stuff. you can even get locking ones); water filters (if you get a Lifestraw, I recommend the water bottle. The actual Lifestraw is an interesting idea, but we've found in practice it's a little awkward); hammocks with nice straps; base layers; battery-operated lights of any kind (especially ones that clip or are hands-free); a set of waterproof cards (to pass the time on a break); nice, wicking socks; hiking poles; a camping knife.
  
  I haven't tried Cairn (the camping sub box) but they always look interesting.
  

My first sewing machine was a $50 Brother machine I bought on Black Friday about 8 years ago from Walmart, it's the same machine they have every year and it's still going just fine. I've taught 2 kids how to sew on it so it's very user friendly and super simple. If budget is a big issue then it's a good one to get.

If you can go a little higher in price I suggest this one It's around $125 on Amazon. It's also a Brother and again very user friendly but I love it because there's the option to not use the foot pedal and being able to push a button is so much nicer to me. It comes with a ton of stitches, some that are great for quilting and if I remember correctly it comes with a quilting foot also. I have this machine and I've used it pretty much daily and it still works great. It's not what I'd call super sturdy but I did have it in the back seat one time and had to slam on the brakes so it went flying into the back of the seat and into the floor and the only damage was the little metal part that the thread goes through was bent. I just pulled it back into place an it was like nothing happened so it can take some punishment.
There are a lot more higher end options that you can always upgrade too but for budget simplicity these both would be good options.

When I had the chance to upgrade I decided that since my machine was still going great after 3 years I'd just keep it and move on to other things I wanted like a serger and embroidery machine instead of upgrading the sewing machine.

When you do get around to the quilt, don't shy away from using a quilt shop to do the actual quilting part. I did for the longest time and did the quilting myself on the sewing machine or by hand and it worked okay but I finally bit the bullet and discovered a local quilt shop that takes the pieced top, adds the batting and back fabric and quilts it all together and adds the binding and it was like $30 for a twin size quilt. It's so worth and the fun part is piecing together the top anyways.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I love my gadgets so I'm always happy to talk about them.

First off, I got what looks to be some great books from my match. I got Perdido Street Station, Hyperion, The Sparrow, The Little Country, and American Gods. I have never read nor heard of these titles, but I'm excited to start reading them.

Now for the best part. My match sent me an original manuscript for a novel they wrote. How awesome is that? They also included a short story (a side story to the novel) that includes me as a character. I can honestly say that this is one of the best things I've ever received! I think I'll start with the novel first.

http://imgur.com/xVFbm

*update: Thanks for all of the encouraging posts! It seems that I really struck gold on this exchange. I sent a little reddit gold love to my SS for the wonderful gift. It's such a great collection that I feel like the books I sent to my match are woefully inadequate.

Any idea if they are more into casual hiking/car camping vs multi day backpacking and more backcountry type trips?

• A new nalgene is ALWAYS an appropriate gift for an outdoorsperson regardless of the extent of their outdoor travels.
  
  
• This is personally my favorite camping/hiking/backpacking/boating chair and one of my favorite reasonably priced outdoor products (actually mine is a slightly different local brand, but this one should be directly comparable).
  
  
• A good pair of wool socks is another great gift idea (assuming they aren't allergic to wool).
  
  
• If they are in a cold weather climate these are my favorite warmest pair of gloves. I worked outdoors five winters with them and love them.
  
  
• A touch more expensive but this wool hat is my favorite hat to wear outdoors in the winter and I also used this thing outdoors for 5 winters.
  
  
• The $10-15 energizer headlamps that they sell in Walmart are actually my preferred headlamps over the more expensive outdoor brands.
  
  
• Stuff sacks and dry bags are also good basic ideas.
  
  Most of these things should be pretty safe no matter what kind of outdoors person they are even if they already have some of those items.
  
  
• My FAVORITE item though, that I'm saving for last, is this awesome solar powered, color changing light. I've taken this thing backpacking and car camping, used it when the power was out, had it out in rain and cold, and it is one of my favorite products.