Need Idea For Christmas Gift

[angelsmom10]

We have a huge dilemma in our house.
 
Our youngest DD (in all probability) will be engaged before the end of the year.  Her (soon to be) fiance' is in the Navy (just started in July) and we are tryi8ng to figure out a gift for him.  She has no idea what to get him and we don't know what to get him.  
 
He already has a DVD, CD players.  Has all the movies he wanted also.  He really doesn't need clothes, so we are just at our wits end.
 
DD really wants something nice/serious.  On the other hand, we are kinda open.  
 
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  He will be home for his first leave on the 19th (Dec) and returns just after the 1st.  
 
 

[Miss-Teri]

Does he have a digital camera?  They have really come down on price, and quality has come up.  The ones I got for my girls for Christmas this year are MUCH better than mine from a couple of years ago!  

[birol]

A nice cell phone with lots of features and digital camera type of thingie ?

[B-flat]

A nice  recently made photograph of DD so he can carry in billfold, small toiletries, or other small items he can take with him. Hey, has anyone asked him what he wantsor needs???

[angelsmom10]

A nice cell phone with lots of features and digital camera type of thingie ?

This is a funny story.  He just switched cell phones this past month.  The month before his cell phone bill was OVER $500, just to DD.  He now has all over minutes and free nights and weekends.
 
I have thought about the digital camera and am going to start checking prices.  The whole family is on a tight budget, so we'll have to see.
 
I had thought about getting pics of him and DD alone and separate and making a collage to give from us.  I'd like to get a good pic of them when he gets home and put in the center.

[labontefan]

A digital camera is a great idea! They're small, so they're easy to pack. And if he's going to be stationed somewhere away, he can email pix back to DD.

I'll put in another plug for my employer here   :

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/ProdGroup.asp?c=8&s=0&cc=01&g=11310

The Olympus Stylus 400 and the Sony DSC-U60 are weatherproof/waterproof (weather resistant and water resistant is probably more accurate) which might be handy for a guy in the Navy. If those are out of the budget, the Olympus D-390 is at a great price.

Here's a good place to do some research also:

http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/learningcenter/home/digitalcameras.html

Happy shopping!

[aw738]

I have the Olympus D-380 and it's an ok camera. It is small and easy to store, which might be good on a ship with not so much room. Not too expenceive either.

[Gone-Camping]

When I joined the Navy, the one thing I needed but could never get enough of was phone cards. Times have changed, and now we have Cell phones, and the Cell phone with the anytime minutes sounds like that has taken care of itself.

So the digital camera would probably be a good bet too, but without a computer or some way of downloading the pictures, it may not do him any good, so make sure if you do go that route, he's got a way to down load the pictures. Somehow I think the Navy computers aren't supposed to be used for that kind of stuff.
 
If that is the case, a nice 35mm camera may serve the same purpose. Yes, it would be better not to have to buy film and pay for processing, but unless he's got a laptop or something, the digital camera may not be a viable option.

[brainpause]

Here's a different idea:

Unless he already works in a control room or whatever they call it, and if he is doing some off shore time, a GPS unit would be pretty cool. He could have a map of the area and be able to get a pretty good idea of where he is.

Larry