QotD: Gifted

What is the most creative gift you have ever given or received? 
Submitted by Nacwolin.

It's going to sound totally geeky, but it was tremendously appreciated.

One night, early in the first February of our marriage, my wife and I are walking through Staples, and she's looking at the pen rack (cheap, disposable roller balls and ball points). She wanted to try several, as well as get a variety of colors (she marks her calendar/to-do list in different color ink each day).

However, many of the pens she was interested in came in quantities of five or more--you couldn't just get one pen to try/in that color. So, we left.

So, I went to one of my favorite office supply stores, Spitzfaden Office Supplies, which is downtown. This is a marvelous old office supply store that I swear throws nothing away. They still have a box of slide rules somewhere. I love to go in there and browse. There, they sold pens by the piece. I gathered six or eight that either she looked at, or I thought she would like.

Alstroemeria

I made a cone out of stiff paper, and tapped the pens to the inside (so they were kinda spread out). Then, I printed a bunch of pictures of the bloom of an alstroemeria lily ("our flower'). I cut out the pictures, and taped them to the top of the pens.

I had just created the world's first "bouquet of pens."

On the morning of Valentine's Day, before we left for work, I presented it to her, and it was a hit! I think some of the "blooms" were taped to the sun visor of her car until she replaced it. And, she got to try a variety of pens.

As I said, it was kind of a geeky present, but it was very well received.