Practical answers, before you buy anything

Short, practical guides on gifts and keepsakes: first home gifts, realtor closing gifts, and what to do with children's drawings.

• First home gift ideas that actually get kept

  Fourteen first home gift ideas with real prices, sorted by how long they last: a sculpted miniature of the house, a house portrait, and the practical things people are grateful for. With timing tips.

• Realtor closing gift ideas clients actually keep

  Do realtors give closing gifts, what do they cost, what gets regifted, and which ones stay in the client's home with your name attached? A practical guide for agents, with timing.

• What to do with your kids' drawings

  A practical guide to the pile of children's drawings: a keep-or-recycle system, ten ways to save the favourites compared by cost, and how to turn one drawing into an object you keep forever.

• Gifts for boat owners that are not another mug

  Gift ideas for boat owners sorted by how long they last: a sculpted model of their own boat, custom charts and art, and the practical gear that gets used every season. With photo and timing tips.

• Classic car gift ideas for the car in the garage

  Gift ideas for classic car owners and restorers, sorted by how personal they are: a sculpted model of their actual car, commissioned art, garage gear, and what to skip. With photo and timing tips.

• Anniversary gifts for parents, past the point of more things

  Milestone anniversary gift ideas for parents who have everything: a sculpted model of the place they married, restored photographs, recorded stories, and the experiences people remember.

• Crayon Creatures alternatives: a child's drawing, made real

  Crayon Creatures wound down in 2023. Here is what it made, and every current way to turn a child's drawing into a real object, with prices: sculpture, plush, jewellery, and the do-it-yourself route.

• What a custom house replica actually costs

  Custom house replicas run from $99 to several thousand dollars, and most shops will not tell you which end you are on until you email them. Here are the real tiers, waits, and what each buys.

• What a custom model of your car actually costs

  A custom model of your specific car runs anywhere from $99 to $25,000 depending on who makes it and how. The real tiers, real waits, and the one question to ask before you pay anyone.

• Keepsakes for the boat you sold

  The boat is gone and the photos are still on your phone. Every real way to turn them into something permanent, with prices: a sculpted model, a painting, a chart, a half hull, a book.