Some of this is just for fun and part of it is because my son has been asking me for my Christmas list this year. Problem is, I never have any ideas. Well… not true. I do have ideas. But it’s stuff that is too expensive or too niche and has to be found in good condition on the used market at a good price. Which is a lot of work. Or it’s stuff I don’t want very much and would probably make a horrible gift. lol
Rather than just a Christmas list for 2020, I figured I would just make this a master list of everything I want. From the mundane to the ridiculously expensive.
By doing it here I can mix and match retailers, rather than just having say… an Amazon wish list. Because they don’t sell Ferraris on Amazon. Go figure.
So here goes, my master list of things I want.
| Key:
White: Things I plan to eventually buy for myself or would happily accept as a gift. In Green: Things I’m not excited about and may or may not ever buy for myself, but wouldn’t mind getting them as a gift. In Red: Things I’m not excited about and may or may not ever buy for myself, but don’t want as a gift. So please don’t buy them for me.
Started: 2020-11-25 |
1. Polk Audio T50 Loudspeakers ($79 each – two of them needed for a pair – so $158 total) (changed mind 2021-11-22)
Best Buy or Amazon
2. Polk Audio T30 Center Channel Speaker ($69 – only one needed) (changed mind 2021-11-22)
Best Buy or Amazon
3. Polk Audio PSW10 Subwoofer ($117 – only one needed) (changed mind 2021-11-22)
Best Buy or Amazon for $109
4. Polk Audio T15 Bookshelf (surround sound) Speakers ($59 for a pair – only one pair needed) (Gifted on X-mas 2020)
Best Buy or Amazon
Ultimately I want to get the whole set of Polk T series speakers and subwoofer to replace all my home theater speakers that are nearly 28 years old.
This is my reasonable affordable choice. And probably the best choice for me considering my budget. Otherwise if I had more money to spend I would get a full set of Klipsch at just over two or three times the price. After consideration I have decided that for the time being I would keep my existing setup including the Polk T15 I received for Christmas last year. This is mostly out of nostalgia. I’ve had my current Pioneer/KLH front end since the early 1990s and I’m generally still very pleased with the way it sounds. Over the years I have consistently swapped out my rear(surrounds) with various brands/models since the original KLH speakers I got with my front center KLH were just never very good. Eventually I lost one anyway and then threw the other out during a move from house to apartment. I’ve used my Kenwood bookshelf speakers then, Klipsch pro media speakers and then now the Polk T15. I was pretty happy with the Klipsch as rear (surrounds) but after getting the bigger Polk I have repurposed the Klipsch back on my computer desk. (striked out original and added new comment on 2021-11-22)
5. Fifty Used Minidiscs from Japan ($93)
Ebay
I’ve wanted a lot of used minidiscs from Japan for years, but this is probably not the best gift idea since it will likely take months to ship. But again this is a master list that will stay up for years and be updated and recycled for every Christmas. So maybe eventually I’ll splurge and buy them myself or get them as a gift.
6. Acid Purple replacement pads for my Grado SR60 Headphones ($20) (Gifted on X-mas 2020)
Amazon
I just got some new blue pads I paid only $5 for, so I don’t need these right now (especially at four times the price). But I thought the color was unique and cool. Also they may or may not be more comfortable than the blue pads which are not very comfortable. Who knows.
7. Orange Timex Watch Band ($10)
Amazon (Gifted on X-mas 2021)
I’ve had this watch band on my Amazon Christmas lists for the past three years. I just think it’s kind of a fun color.
So the positive is that I finally got this after years of having it on my list, but the sad thing is I don’t really care for it. I like the color but the band is doubled up on one side making it thicker and uneven and it has bigger, thicker, and heavier loops which are matte finished metal and don’t match my chrome finished watch face. These are all things you can see in the picture but I just needed to get it in person and wear it to see it just doesn’t work for me as well as I was hoping it would. But I still have it and will probably rotate it in and out on occasion anyway. Maybe if I can get a matte finished metal watch face that works better with it. We’ll see. Still glad I got it though. But if only it was like the fatigue green one that came with my watch. That one is just a single strip band with smaller (thinner) chrome loops and with three less metal loops. Less heavy.
8. Lord of the Rings Trilogy 4K UHD Blu-ray Steelbook Set ($120 )
Best Buy
9. The Hobbit Trilogy 4K UHD Blu-ray Steelbook Set ($120)
Best Buy
I don’t want them as a gift. This is one of those examples of a disappointing gift. So I’ve crossed them out.
I have these movies on two other formats already and have seen them so many times there is nothing exciting about getting them as a gift.
The only reason they are on this list is because I would like to eventually pick them up at a reasonable price. Probably used and definitely in the steelbook collection like this. Please don’t spend $120 buying me one of these sets.
I decided I don’t really want the steelbook versions of the Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit 4K movies anymore. If anything the cheaper regular 4K extended editions would be fine.
8.(Updated) The Lord of the Rings: Motion Picture Trilogy (Extended & Theatrical)(4K Ultra HD + Digital) $69-$89 (depending on sale)
Amazon or Best Buy (I decided to take this off the list since they are available digitally anyway and that’s fine. Maybe if I (or you) find a good quality used copy for cheap on disc one day I’ll get those – 2022-10-22)
10. Plaid Flannel Shirts (size extra large)
I don’t even know where to find these, anywhere and everywhere I guess. Color can vary. I’m not that picky. (Got some for X-mas 2021 and probably have enough, but more is always fine. 2022-10-22)
11. Red Wing Iron Ranger Copper Color Boots ($330 or less – size 13)
Amazon
Again, too expensive for Christmas. But I’m throwing everything on this list. These are aspirational boots for me. I’d even take a used pair in good shape.
12. Street Fight V Champion Edition PS4 ($20)
Best Buy or Amazon (Gifted on X-mas 2021)
13. DualShock 4 Controller ($65 – Glacier White or Steel Black)
Best Buy or Amazon (Gifted on X-mas 2021 although not official Sony dualshock controller)
The extra PS4 controller is only for Street Fighter V otherwise it wouldn’t be used often. So, something to keep in mind.
14. Various 4K UHD Blu-ray Movies
Alien 40th Anniversary 4K ($9.99 Black Friday special) – Best Buy (added 2021-11-22)
Alita: Battle Angel 4K+3D ($9.99 Black Friday special) – Best Buy (added 2021-11-22) Bought 2021-11-27
Whatever else you think I might like.
15. Dior Sauvage
I kind of want some, but kinda don’t. The price is way too high. But eventually I’d like to get a small bottle if they ever release smaller bottles.
16. Timex Weekender Watch ($42)
Amazon (Gifted on X-mas 2021 by M and then also the same one a bit later by G. Double (repeat) gift. G took it back or said he would – or maybe he would keep it himself he said – and was supposed to replace it with something else but must have forgotten. lol! No big deal.)
I already have a Timex Weekender and like it, this is just a different color variation with a chronograph.
17. Panasonic 20mm f1.7 lens ($267)
Amazon
18. Canon EOS R6 camera kit with 24-104 f4 ($3600)
Amazon
19. Sony FX6 Camera w/24-105mm lens ($7200)
Amazon
20. Billy Bookcase IKEA (Black Brown color – $80) We just don’t have room for this so I’m removing it
IKEA
21. Tori Amos Under the Pink Vinyl (Bought myself 2021-08-22)
Amazon
22. Playstation 5 with Disc Drive ($500)
Best Buy or Amazon
23. Any working Minidisc Players or Recorders – portable or component (Used prices vary – I prefer Sony, they seem to work the best)
Ebay
24. Ryobi Electric Battery Planer ($79) I don’t really desire this (striked out on 2021-11-22 – I need this for one project, my desk, and that’s it, so I don’t really want it. I’ll probably just buy a new flat butcher block piece of wood for my desk at some point. – See number 42)
Home Depot
25. Sony Discman with MP3 playback (Used prices vary) (Bought myself summer of 2021 used Sony without MP3 playback)
Ebay
25. Videomaker Magazine Print Subscription (1 Year – $30)
Videomaker store
26. American Cinematographer Print + Digital Subscription (1 year – $30)
ASCMAG Store (Gifted on my birthday in 2022 – but subscriptions need renewing each year so I won’t cross this out)
27. Dress Shirts – Slim Fit Stretch (size 16.5 neck 36/37 length) – Prefer solid colors like black, grey, white, purple, electric blue or green
Amazon or Kohls or Macys or wherever
28. Silk Ties
Amazon or wherever
29. Memory Foam Pillow ($11-$25)
Big Lots or Amazon or Amazon (2) or Target
30. Velvet Plush Blanket Queen/King Size ($20) or Queen Size Sherpa Blanket (taken off – have too many blankets as is 2021-10-13)
Big Lots
31. Feelworld 5.5 Inch Video Monitor ($99)
Amazon
Below added 2021-10-13
32. Vinyl Records ($various):
Nirvana – Unplugged ($25) Target (Purple colored) (Bought myself in 2022)
Peter Gabriel – US ($25) Amazon (Gifted on X-mas 2021 by M)
Pentatonix – A Pentatonix Christmas (Deluxe Edition – White Vinyl – 2xLP) (used – Mint or Near Mint please) ($20+) Discogs
Tori Amos – Ocean to Ocean (Blue Vinyl preorder) ($35) Official Store or Center Stage Classical
Queen – Greatest Hits Vol 1 ($35) Target (Ruby Red colored) or Walmart (Red and White colored) (Bought myself 2022-01-06 Walmart & still haven’t opened 2022-10-22)
Queen – Greatest Hits Vol 2 ($35) Target (Blue colored)
Gladiator – Soundtrack ($45) Amazon (this is so expensive :( – wish I could find it cheaper. Maybe they will reissue it when the sequel comes out)
33. Blank Blu-ray discs BD-R ($21 for 50 at Amazon)
Microcenter Windata (25 pack) $18 or Microcenter Verbatim (25 pack) $25 or Amazon Plexdisc (50 pack) $21 (Gifted on X-mas 2021 by M – Plexdisc – still haven’t opened 2022-10-22)
34. Sony NP-F970 Generic Replacement Batteries ($36 – two pack)
Amazon
35. Foster Grant +1.25 or +1.50 Magnification Multi Focus (Troy style) reading glasses ($31)
Kroger (Bought myself in summer of 2022 although 1.0 multifocal Brydon style, not Troy style. Also got some horn-rimmed 1.5 readers from Home Depot this year)
36. Neewer 660 LED Bi-color Two-Pack Lights ($97-$105 on sale)
Amazon
37. iPhone 13 Pro 256GB (or higher) Unlocked any color ($1100)
Apple store (I’m not going to cross this out because I would still take one of these easily (I’m still using my 8+), but just noting that the iPhone 14 Pro is out this year 2022-10-22)
Below added 2021-11-22
38. Blu-ray Cases (30+) ($0.75 each plus tax and shipping)
Castopia.com (Bought myself some DVD boxes from Microcenter this year (2022) they didn’t have Blu-ray cases, those are becoming hard to find. I guess I’m ok with DVD cases. They seem to be made better than most Blu-ray cases anyway. But i’m going to leave this one and not cross it out because I’m not against Blu-ray cases if someone finds some.)
39. Apple USB-C Digital A/V MultiPort Adapter ($63.99 currently) – Two are needed, one would do.
Amazon (Bought one myself in early 2022 from Microcenter. Wouldn’t mind another but it’s not necessary I do have another HDMI to USB-C adapter it’s just not Apple brand and doesn’t have the USB-A and USB-C plugs)
40. Maglite replacement LED bulbs ($15.99) – Two pack for three cell D battery Maglites
Amazon
41. D size batteries ($whatever) – 6 needed in total – not picky on brand
Amazon or wherever
42. Butcher Block Wood Desktop(countertop). 1.5″ thick (unfinished)
5′ (foot) x 30″ (inches) Beech – Home Depot – $229
Anything with the same dimensions so long as it’s a hardwood
Below added 2022-10-22
43. Phoenix Stix – Performance style juggling sticks ($68 + tax and shipping)
Phoenix Stix Website
In the order form notes section specify the color – either solid Fatigue Green or solid Electric Blue or Electric Blue with white or silver splatter paint or if they won’t do custom colors, I would like either their blue or purple set. (surprise me)
44. Used Video Cameras (price varies)
Ebay, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, Garage Sales, Flea Markets, etc.
I’m fascinated by full sized VHS or S-VHS camcorders from the late 1980s or 1990s. Panasonic always made decent stuff. Like the AG-188, AG-450, AG-455, AG-456, AG-180 or whatever. Some people list them without the dashes and just spaces instead. But I’m flexible, doesn’t need to be Panasonic, could be a Sharp consumer style camera. Just so long as it takes a full sized VHS or S-VHS tape.
I’m also fascinated by MiniDVD camcorders from the 2000s era. Pretty much anything Sony would work here, but again I’m flexible. I could use some MiniDVD-R discs to go with it.
I’m flexible on these things as far as make and model. Just so long as they work and have a power adapter or battery charger. Some way to power them. Working batteries aren’t necessary as I can probably find those. But they are alway nice to have. Definitely a wall plug if they don’t have a working battery.
Don’t buy anything “Untested” because that really means it’s broken.
45. Pajama Pants or sets (price varies)
The kind that tapper in at the bottom with elastic. I’ve got another of the straight open leg kind already. I’m kind of preferring the tapped elastic kind since they stay where you put them, mostly. The fleece or flannel or cotton fabric. I don’t know if it matters. I think any would work for me.
46. External Hard Drives (price varies)
I can always use more Hard Drives. They are very useful to me and I always need more as time goes on. Microcenter and Best Buy usually have the best prices and you usually need to compare them since one or the other usually has a better price for a certain capacity. I prefer Western Digital and these days I prefer the larger external drives that plug into the wall themselves and not just run off USB power. Anything 4TB or larger in capacity would be great. I don’t usually go for anything fancy, just whatever is the best price. I don’t need any extra features.
47. GoPro Hero 5 Black Batteries ($25 but price varies depending on set)
Amazon
GoPro Hero 5 Black batteries – 3 pack with charger or whatever. They also sell two packs and four packs and stuff. The off brand batteries are fine so long as they say they work with the Hero 5 Black.
Below added 2022-11-19
48. Blank Dual Layer 50GB Blu-ray discs BD-R DL ($42 for 25 at Amazon)
These are to help me back up video projects that are too large to fit on one 25GB single layer BD-R disc.
I’m also still happy to receive single layer BD-R 25GB discs despite crossing them out above (#33).
Amazon
49. Apple Wireless Magic Keyboard (Renewed) ($33.80)
I now use two computers and my old Apple keyboard is partially broken. Certain keys stopped working this year (2022) and so I could use another. I’ve had this one since 2010.
I considered asking for the new rechargeable Apple Magic Keyboard that is $94 and I would be happy with that as well, but I found that Amazon sells the old model like I already have and like that uses AA batteries. It’s refurbished (renewed) and sells for about a third the price of the new model.
Amazon (renewed)
50. Apple TV+ Yearly subscription ($69)
They raised the price from $4.99 to $6.99 a month and so I’m cancelling in November of 2022 despite there being plenty of good shows I watch on there every year. But I’m a cheapskate. Still, it would be nice to have a year membership.
Apple Gift Card is how I would redeem this subscription.
51. Disney Plus subscription ($80)
We’ve had a Disney Plus subscriptions for the last year or so. While I like it, they are also raising their prices from $7.99 a month to $10.99 a month for the ad-free version. So I will be cancelling that in December of 2022. But if you buy a yearly subscription before November 28th 2022 you can get it for $80.
Note: I read that you can’t gift these to existing subscribers. I don’t know how true that is. Took this off since it’s a limited time offer and will maybe just buy it myself.
Disney online store
Notes for myself (any anyone else who might be reading):
Anywhere that says “Gifted X-mas 2021” that note was added and item crossed out on 2022-10-22.
Can’t really think of anything new to add that I want for Christmas this year other than a set of Phoenix Stix at added at #43.
Blank Minidiscs from Japan with J-pop on them is still a wish list item I haven’t gotten yet.
I’m kind of fascinated with Laserdiscs this year, but I don’t have a player or any discs and I don’t expect people to find me a working player as they go for 300-500 these days and who knows how they would hold up in shipping. Plus it’s a very minor fascination. It’s not worth the cost of space and if I had the spare cash myself I probably would spend it more wisely somewhere else. But I figured I would make a note of this for my future self so i knew that 2022-10-22 I was going through a minor Laserdisc fascination period. But hey if anyone runs across one of those MUSE Hi-Vision Laserdisc players and decoders in good working order and some movies, I’ll definitely take those. lol.
I guess even if someone found a cheap working regular Laserdisc player locally at a garage sale or something, pick it up for me. Worse case scenario I could play with it for a while and resell it if I didn’t decide to keep it. But no going and spending hundreds of dollars please.
2022-11-19 – Changed Dior Sauvage from red to green.
2022-11-19 Changed crossed out items to black to improve readability of items still desired.