Sometimes it is merely the thought that counts. One doesn't have to go into hock to shower someone with attention and material love. And often a truly creative and witty gag gift can go a long way. Now don't get me wrong diamonds and fancy vacations are fabulous but so are small, even "cheap" gestures. We can all use a good backscratcher. Or a heavy duty flashlight. And new pairs of socks and underwear are imperative. And who amongst us wouldn't love a 'Golden Girls' chia pet?
Redditor u/salawm wanted to know what gifts some of us would except when money isn't the objective by asking.... What is the cheapest gift you'd love to receive?
Soiled Love....
GiphyTrue story; I gave my wife dirt for our 10th wedding anniversary.
My wife and I tried to see who could give each other the cheapest anniversary gift. I called up a friend of mine, that went to the exact location we were married, and dug up a small jar of dirt and mailed it to me. I spent about $3 at Hobby Lobby on a tiny jar and some ribbon.
I won. CalmEnthusiasm
Risk it All!
I'd love to just spend time with friends and play a full game of Risk. I'm at the point now where I don't really want things... I'd just rather spend time with people. AlexanderTox
RISKis only worth it if everyone is at the same playing level or on the same page. Imagine strategy like chess with multiple people. If one person gets it way more than the rest it's no fun for anyone. SuSpence11
Pickle Tickle...
A pickle wedge.
My wife came home from work one day and announces "I have a pickle for you if you'd like it." She saved the pickle wedge from her sandwich because she knew I liked them.
I'd marry her again if I could. superredmenace
Fidget Addiction....
My son (eight) fell victim to the fidget spinner craze this spring. So of course, I bought him one, because it's $5 and why the heck not? Anyway, Mother's Day rolled around, and he was so upset because he didn't have any money to get me a present. So he went into his room and wrapped up his fidget spinner (at the time, his most prized possession) and gave it to me.
I hugged him and thanked him immensely, and then asked if maybe we could just share it, since it's no fun playing by yourself. So he was happy too, and I didn't take his favorite toy. Fast forward a few months and we now have eight fidget spinners between us, because it's become this little inside thing where we buy each other one whenever we get a chance. SoraxvDingy
Handwritten....
GiphyA handwritten letter telling me how much i impacted a student. I get a couple a year and they are always my favorite thing. jamin342
Lifes Go-to...
When you're sick and someone shows up with an aluminum casserole pan with comfort food. I don't even care what's inside--mac and cheese, shepherd's pie, hot dish, tuna noodle, lasagna, enchiladas, scalloped potatoes, or just some cheesy grits. A little note with good tidings and the baking instructions. It fills your house with a wonderful smell and fills your belly with hot food made by a human. That is how to make a friend forever.
Next time you hear that someone's having a crappy time at life, thoughts and prayers be damned, send them casseroles! It's like a giant billboard-sized message to someone that tells them that they matter and are cared for. CurlSagan
The Ole Standard....
Socks are always great. Seems like all my socks gets holes on them all the time. MeesterChicken
I have found that in terms of quality and durability, there is a big gap between cheap socks and expensive socks. Reddit
Sturdy socks: 'Gold Toe' socks are made with re-enforced toes so that they don't wear out too soon. The socks became popular during the Great Depression when money was tight but customers had a hard time telling them apart from other socks on display. Gold thread was added to the toes to help make them stand out. IndyScent
Those eyes....
For an anniversary, I woke up and my boyfriend threw a plushy owl on my face. Out of literally nowhere. He isn't very good with gifts or anniversaries, and we hadn't at all planned on buying something for each other. Realizing that he must've just seen that little plushy, thought about me (I love owls) and bought it for me was just the sweetest thing ever. I love that man so much. KimToq
Safe Home....
12$ cash from an old Australian couple to get home. The bus company wouldn't split my 25$ ticket between the 13$ I had cash and the 19$ I had on my debit card, they were behind me in line. I never even got their names. Not that they are ever going to read this, but thank you. EconomyViolinist
Sponsored by Pepsi....
Giphyi got a bottle of pepsi my little brother knew i was low when i was asleep so when he went shopping he snagged me one made my day. Ithasbegunagain
Hold ME!
A hug. They're the greatest things on the planet. UnPhayzable
A sincere hug is even better. My crush gave me one about 4 weeks ago and it makes me feel warm and fuzzy. It also helps me sleep. (I have trouble sleeping due to anxiety, not because I am kinda creepy lol.) HappyGoLuckyFox
A Correspondence...
A hand written letter or postcard, like, actually in the mail. MorasEscritoras
Love is in the Air....
For my son to say "I love you" for the first time. He's very good at hugging and kissing, so I know he does, but he hasn't really gotten around to learning the phrase yet (too busy talking about everything else, I suppose). I just can't wait to hear him say it. He's my favorite person in the world. Rainbowcoloredpoop
Time after Time...
Time. There's never enough time to do everything that's needed let alone relax. ThisHandIsMyHand
Rock With You...
GiphyAs silly as it sounds I really love rocks (and also crystals fossils). I'm always happy when someone finds a neat rock (and occasionally fossils) to give to me, I'm also the easiest person to shop for if you're going off on vacation cause I just ask for rocks. Once my friend brought me back a bunch of dead coral from vacation thinking it was just rocks which was also really cool! artificialn0cturne
You Gotta eat!
I love getting food, it´s my favorite gift. A chocolate, a bag of chips, a beer ... that makes me genuinely happy, specially if you can share with the person that gave it to you. feto_ingeniero
Being Nailed!
Someone mentioned back scratches. YES.
My wife will simply not scratch my back the way I want for fear of hurting me, and I cannot convince her to do it harder or longer, despite the fact that whenever she does give me a bit of a scratch, I moan as if Heather Brooke is working her magic.
I'm not that physically fragile, love! Dig those nails in and WORK IT. xenobuzz
That's my Ice Cream!
GiphyBen n Jerry's Ice cream. Some limited edition flavor. loganlogwood
A couple months ago I grabbed a few pints of B&J pumpkin cheesecake right before I figured they'd stop stocking it. A couple weeks ago I went to get my last pint out of the freezer and it was gone. Turns out my sister ate it. I was crushed. IcarianSkies
Love is in the Air..
Love. wildadragon
Thank you for going through and responding to all of the love ones saying "I love you" I noticed your name on an earlier one, and on this one too. Just wanted to thank you. QuitePugly
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"What’s the most amazing thing about the universe?"
Our Brains Are Like The Milky Way
"A single human brain has as many neurons as there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy."
"Around 100 billion."
"Source: a neuroscientist filled with useless facts about the brain."- Afferent_Input
Where Our Deep Uncertainty Comes From
"This is one I thought about recently."
"I believe that Carl Sagan said that we, sentient entities, are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
"With this in mind, when we think about the end of our universe, whether it be through a big shrink, big cooling, or what have you, we get apprehensive."
"We probably will never see this end, many of us will be dead."
"Yet, we still get a cold fear in our hearts."
"We are also a way for the cosmos to fear it's demise."- TheClassyEngineer
A Little Perspective
"If you were on a planet 65 million light years away from Earth and had a really good telescope, you could see the dinosaurs."- Swimmergent
lisa simpson space GIFGiphyWhat Got Us Where We Are
"That every single random event since the dawn of creation."
"The birth and death of stars, planets and galaxies, the very genesis of life has led to you being here right now to ask this question."- Jesus_marley
There's Another World Out There...
"Imagine being transported to a parallel universe that was almost identical to our own."
"Somewhere out in the vastness of that universe, there is a tiny planet."
"This much is true in both universes."
"On this planet, there is a beach, and on that beach, there is a small stone."
"Once again, both universes are alike in this regard."
"Beneath that stone, however, there are several million grains of sand, and while they are all are in precisely the same location in each universe, one of them, a tiny speck of particularly clear quartz, hewn from a larger whole millions of years before, has a single atom that is positioned a fraction of a femtometer differently than its twin in the mirror dimension."
"You may think that such an insignificant difference would label these two universes as being functionally identical, and you would be right."
"In fact, they are so similar that the multiverse has long since combined them into one reality."
"That single atom in that tiny speck of sand on that lonesome beach on a distant planet merely occupies two spaces at once, seeming to an outside observer to vibrate back and forth at a predictable rate."
"That every atom in existence seems to do the same is probably a coincidence."- RamsesThePigeon
Loop Space GIF by xponentialdesignGiphySpeaks For Itself
"That it exists."- phillipsd001
The Age Old Question...
"It must be true that either it didn't exist, then it did."
"Or it has always existed."- realFraaErasmas
What Makes Our Brain Work...
"That somehow all the particles accumulated in a specific way and in specific quantities to give you conscious thought."- Sphyrwa
Stars Glow GIF by Erica AndersonGiphyThe Inevitable End...
That whatever our problems are, big or small, it won’t matter in 1,000,000 years (worst being a nuclear war or something). - Reddit
There are countless things about the universe no one will ever know.
But mysterious and, sometimes, unsettling as it may be, there's something oddly wonderful about the unending exploration and study to learn what is out there.
And all the discoveries we have yet to make.
"What fictional character's death still hits you hard no matter how many times you watch it?"
Dear, Noble Artax
"I have to say the death of Artax, the boy's horse, in 'The Neverending Story'."
"Watching him sink into that swamp was pretty awful."- powderkegpitbull
Bubba of Forest Gump
"'Bubba was my best good friend'."
"'And even I know that ain't something you can find just around the corner'."
"'Bubba was going to be a shrimping boat captain, but instead, he died right there by that river in Vietnam'."- FlyingVI
Stoick The Vast
"Stoick the Vast, chief of Berk, Hiccup's father, from 'How to Train Your Dragon'."- Waldo_007
how to train your dragon animation GIF by Universal KidsGiphyThe Iron Giant
"The Iron Giant."- roo719
Noble Canine Companion
"Fry’s dog from Futurama."
"Another testimony to the fact that animators can be true storytellers, who don’t always need words to get their point across."
"The changing of seasons as the dog sits and waits in front of the pizza shop."
"Waits and waits for Fry, who never returns."
"No dialogue."
"Just the absence of the dog, eventually."
"Ugh."
"Gut wrenching."- iwokwuplikwthis
Animated GIFGiphySweet Ofelia
"The little girl from Pan's Labyrinth."
"In fact I just started crying even thinking about it"- choppcy088
Beloved Dr. Greene
"Mark Greene on ER."
"20 years later and I've never watched that episode without bawling like a baby."- LadyGreyIcedTea
A Hero's Death
"Wally West in 'Young Justice'."
"It’s been about a decade and I’m still mad about it."- Remarkable-Duck-2306
Video Game Laughing GIF by DCGiphyA Heartbreaking Escape
"When Brooks hangs himself in 'The Shawshank Redemption'."- Horror-School-6713
As the saying goes, those we love never truly leave us.
In the case of fictional characters in film and television, however, they are literally preserved for eternity.
Paving the way for new generations to be devastated and traumatized by their deaths.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/