While I agree with you in principle (people should do their own thinking if they want gifts to be genuine), I thought I would go ahead and see how well Gemini can advise someone on choosing a gift for you.
The advice seems very good. What do you think? A donation to EFF or an open source project, a rare book, or handcrafted headphones seem like a good start for someone who can't afford anything extravagant.
Yeah, that was a little joke I slipped in, but OTOH, I've seen headphone kits that used 3D printed parts and it's not difficult to imagine someone replacing the 3D printed parts with handcrafted wood.
And at the same time it's a not uncommon activity especially around university physics labs to wind various purpose-built magnets and transformers with exotic shapes.
https://gemini.google.com/share/88b694a09a89
The advice seems very good. What do you think? A donation to EFF or an open source project, a rare book, or handcrafted headphones seem like a good start for someone who can't afford anything extravagant.