Crazy Ideas

Updated on July 13, 2008
D.C. asks from Surprise, AZ
32 answers

Hello, I am looking for ideas to get the potholder back to my sister. A LITTLE BACKGROUND HISTORY. My sister is a teacher and so she always gets little gifts that she will never use. One year for my birthday she gives me a huge sack with lots indiviidually wrapped presents. The presents were all of her little gifts from her students that she has collected through the years. It was hilarious to say the least. Well I managed to sneak each item back into her house and into drawers and cupboards. Took her a long time to find them all. Well we have this one item , a homemade potholder, that we have been getting to each other for the past 5 years. I have mailed it to her, put it into her pillow case, jacket pockets, etc etc etc. We went to the spa one day and she arranged for the cashier to hand it to me with my change......that one was great. I followed it with tying it to her car while she shopped in Kohls. I asked her if she got it and she swore that she didn't and that someone must have stolen it. We were bummed. Well, that was in February and here it is, July, and I got a package from Kohls lost property. It said that the this item was picked up by someone and brought back into the store and after looking at the parking lot video tapes it revealed my liscense number and they enclosed the potholder. She of course made up the whole thing and it was hilarious...Kohls letter head and everything. I can't believe that I have thought for 4 months that the game was over when she has had it all along. So now that you have read the whole thing, I am looking for creative ways to get it back to her. Something real funny and out of the norm. PLEASE HELP....I need to out-do her. Thank you in advance

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So What Happened?

Wow, thank you for all the great ideas. I wrote them all down for future. I am going to try to get someone to serve her with legal papers and give her the potholder. If I can't get that together I will get her principal to give it to her as a first day of school welcome back gift. I really love the pedicure idea and the dentist idea. She just went to the dentist last week....so I can't do that one. Thanks again for all the help.

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L.S.

answers from Phoenix on

Instead of a singing telegram, do a singing "potholder"gram. Create a cute little tune and have the deliverer hand her the potholder filled with goodies.

Good luck.

L.

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K.O.

answers from Flagstaff on

Bake her a two layer cake for her birthday or another special occassion, before you frost the cake, put the pot holder between the 2 layers, might be a little messy. Or the next time you visit, roll it up and place it in a roll of toilet paper that may be in a closet or cabinet in her bathroom.

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L.C.

answers from Flagstaff on

just before a cake is "done" you can insert items without "damage". Bake her a cake complete with its own potholder!

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T.A.

answers from Phoenix on

Ha ha how fun! Is she planning a vacation anywhere any time soon? You could talk to someone at the front desk and have it displayed somewhere in the room or in the sheets with turn-down service... you could put it above her visor in her car so it falls down when she puts the visor down, you could take pictures of it in random places and then put together a scrap book - maybe have it hanging in the background in different places and get your picture taken together without her knowing, if she has children you could turn it into something special for them (i.e. blaknie or doll clothes), put it in her purse, mailbox, delivered with a pizza, have someone page her at the store (follow her so she doesn't know you are there) and they can give it to her either out right or in a box or something...

hope one of those helps! Have fun!

1 mom found this helpful

L.H.

answers from Albuquerque on

Hey D.!
Wow, that is so clever and fun!!! It's great to see that you have such a wonderful relationship with your sister. She really did great with that Kohl's thing. LOL. My first immediate idea was like another on here already. It would be great if you could get a policeman to give it to her instead of a ticket. That would just be PRICELESS. If you have a friend that's a cop it would be easier, but maybe you could go to a precinct and bring homemade cookies and offer to make a donation or something. Good luck!

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D.W.

answers from Albuquerque on

How about going back to the beginning..... have one of her students give it to her for a 'welcome' back to school gift. Or wait until the holidays again and have a student do the same thing. She wouldn't expect it from a student.

If you have a friend who sells pampered chef or partylite - you could have them ship it to here with a gift item from you.

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L.R.

answers from Tucson on

My Twin sister and I do the same thing... we have this silver ball (OLD) that we put small odds and ends into :-) Trying to come up with silly things to put into that ball gets hard to do, after many years, and coming up with ways to get it to her becomes even harder!!
ANYWAYS... How about having it added to some of her "needing graded" paperwork? But, that is only after nothing really good coming to mind and you just want to rid of it quickly!
Do you have a friend in another Country...send it to them and have them ship it to her...plain brown paper wrapping and the return addy could say something silly (like Girls Party Supplies) or looking like Offical Government documents :-)
if you have a friend that is a police officer...have her pulled over and instead of a ticket she will get that potholder :-)
My sister hates me ;-) It sure is FUN!!!
Good luck!!!

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S.L.

answers from Albuquerque on

You guys are hilarious! Is there any situation you could create or "add to" that would allow you to somehow "serve" her with court papers? Like maybe they have a really crabby neighbor who rags on them about something, or some other wierd thing where she could be led to believe that she really could possibly be served? You could make up a really official looking thick envelope and have someone serve her, maybe a friend of a friend, someone she wouldn't recognize. Or for that matter, maybe you could get someone to make an official delivery that she has to sign for - know anyone who has some kind of delivery outfit?

Good luck!

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A.P.

answers from Phoenix on

Oh my gosh! This is something my family would totally do! You have enough ideas here to top your sister for years!

What about having a "Sunday family dinner" and giving everybody some leftovers to take home. You could put the potholder in a plastic baggy, and put it at the bottom of her leftovers!

If you can roll it up really tight, put it in a plastic baggy, roll it up real tight and put it in her: shampoo bottle, conditioner, dishsoap. Teachers always have big industrial size bottles of hand sanitizer......

Keep up the fun and keep us updated!

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D.W.

answers from Phoenix on

This sounds like a great game!!!

How about making a two-or more-layer cake, just that you cut a section out of the middle of the lowest tier and add the potholder in a wooden(?) box into the void. Then frost and decorate the layers together and give her a fantastic birthday cake!

Let us know what you did in the end : )

D.

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S.H.

answers from Phoenix on

Oh-- this should be fun. LOL
I think if you guys went out to eat at dinner & when you ordered food- arrange for her dinner to have the potholder on a plate.
Or it is kind of almost done but different. Have her pick up an item from the post office stating too big to deliver to her house.

Order a singing telegram that has the potholder given to her.

You rent a costume (your choice) & you (or someone you know or can hire) give her the "box of roses" with the red ribbon on it- or just have someone drop it the box off at work/home.

Hand her a pot & she will ask why & say "Well- you will ned it so you can hold the pot with YOUR pot holder!" LOL

Whatever holiday is next that you celebrate with her to give her a gift..do the infamous Big box unwrapped to find a smaller box unwrapped etc etc to end up with a manilla envelope with it inside.

You can go many many ways with this one & it is not intended for someone that could end up not thinking it was a joke so needing to use your discretion on how far you can go with your sister is important!
Having a prank call (best if not from you BEST if male voice)from a collection agency or a law firm regarding-ex: card not in her name,bill not received,car accident involving her car & they are suing her for it, etc. Get to the point of that you will be sending her the documents & "proof" in the mail via XXX (read suggested below) & verify her address (like you already had it..LOL)& stating that she needs to be watching for it.
Using a $3 3 day "envelope" from FedEx or DSL or postoffice- address the outside label with the(PLEASE use fake) collection agency or attorney's office & inside is the INFAMOUS potholder with a note saying "HOLD ON TO YOUR POT HOLDER" or whatever.

In a grocery store or mall or etc. Have them make a annoncement for her to come to them & have them give it to her stating it was "found". You actually being there or not. LOL

Good luck. Updates would be fun! =)

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A.M.

answers from Phoenix on

OK - this is the funniest game ever...you two are great! It sounds like she lives in town...what if you guys went out for a really nice dinner - a place where they tell you that "this plate is REALLY hot" and they just happen to be using THE potholder. Or maybe you could get someone at Nordstrom to play along and get them to put it in a case for you. You just happen to be walking through the store and stop to show your sister a really cool scarf and voila...the potholder. Whatever you do let us know, this letter made my day. A.

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M.J.

answers from Tucson on

What a great game. It sounds like something our family has been doing. Gma always put leftovers in butter containers so my hubbie needed butter and he looked in all of them till the last one he found butter. He was getting furious when his sister comes in and says I cant believe its not butter. We all had a great laugh. So for our first 3 years of marriage he got butter for christmas, easter, and his birthday. They made songs and poems about it.

You could slip in in her fridge in an empty butter container.

We did something similat with my FIL where he got mad that the boys threw out his green scrubbie pad and got a new one from under the sink. You can get these 4 for a $1 and we bought a bunch. So every other Christmas package he opened was green scrubbies.

He got such a kick out of it. Then went to put his presents in the back of his truck to find it strewn with more scrubbies. So he got with my MIL and for the next Christmas she made ornaments out of it.

You could make an ornament for your sister that looks like the potholder and give that to her for Christmas one year.

Everyone has such great ideas. I love the scrapbook one, and the police officer one. Have fun and I hope this keeps going for many years. If you want any ideas on how to make your own ornament contact me.

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L.W.

answers from Phoenix on

Hi D.!
That is so funny!!! I don't have any ideas right now but it is so awesome that you have such a great relationship...

Let us all know the outcome.
It sounds so fun!!!

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S.M.

answers from Phoenix on

I dont really have an idea but, that is so funny. Not sure if she is with someone but, What if her and her husband go out to eat and you know where and have the waitress hand it to her with her menu. The husband would have to kinda be in on it. Maybe you guys go to the movie and and have it in her seat waiting for her??? Not sure on that one. That is really cute though that you guys are doing that.

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S.D.

answers from Las Cruces on

Your story made me laugh out loud! When I was a kid my mom and another friend exchanged a can of Menudo (don't even ask if you don't know what it is!) for many years. We found the can in a variety of places in our house, camper, backyard, you name it. Just have fun with the game is my advice, don't worry about out-doing her, the memories of this is what's so great.

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D.D.

answers from Phoenix on

Hi D., What a fun game to play with your sister. I love it! So my idea is buy her t-shirt maybe a dark colored one hopefully she would wear. Tape the pot holder to the inside of the shirt and hopefully it will fall off into her washer and she will find it there. I would probably only use one piece of scotch tape so it doesn't make a mess incase it goes through the dryer. It might not even work, probably reaching on that one. Well I hope you get some great ideas. Good luck and I will be watching to see what other people come up with for you. D.

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D.D.

answers from Phoenix on

How fun! You could have her principal give it to her with the year's employee manual or whatever at the beginning of the school year. It depends on how much of a sense of humor her principal has. You could also have it delivered with flowers that you send her, or find a way to get it to one of her students who can then give it to her for her birthday/Christmas/etc. (I am a teacher and I would DEFINITELY be shocked if one of my students gave me something that I gave away!) If she's married, you could have her husband give it to her as an anniversary present. I love things like this! Good luck with it.

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V.H.

answers from Tucson on

Why don't you pick another little kid in her class room, speak to their parents, and have them re-gift it either for her birthday or Christmas.

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C.S.

answers from Phoenix on

What a fun game you have going! I am envious, wish I could have such fun with my family! I havent thought of anything, but will keep thinking!

Ok, now I read all the other suggestions, so many cute ones! The one idea of sending her flowers, I like that one, one of the flowers could be the potholder if it can be scrunched up or folded so that it would resemble a flower, mounted on a stick with floral tape, etc and inserted in the bouquet!

Thanks for a good laugh today!

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K.W.

answers from Phoenix on

I am not so creative so I have no advice, just wanted to say it sounds like a ton of fun. I enjoyed reading your story thanks.Good luck.

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K.E.

answers from Phoenix on

You could bake her a cake two layer cake and put it in the middle after you baked it - just
frost it and she will never know it is there. Course it will need to be washed after that.
You and your sister sound like you have lots of fun!
K.

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K.N.

answers from Las Cruces on

Hmmm... a trained carrier pigeon was the first thing that came to mind! lol! Thanks for sharing your fun.

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S.L.

answers from Phoenix on

This is so fun! I may have to start something like that with one of my girlfriends.

How about rolling it up in a tortilla, burrito style? You could always get a Taco Bell paper wrapper to make it look even more authentic. . . .

Have fun!

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J.R.

answers from Tucson on

This is so cute - you just reminded me why the world is such an awesome place. I think you should put it in your 6 month old's diaper, then ask her to change the diaper for you!

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H.L.

answers from Albuquerque on

Have you tried taking her out to dinner and ordering a bottle of wine and having the waiter bring the bottle to the table wrapped in the potholder. Or having them bring her plate to the table and use the pot holder to place it on the table. This sounds like a fun game good luck

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C.M.

answers from Las Cruces on

Hello D.. How crazy this all sounds, but so terribly funny too. We have one of these things in our family too. It started years ago. It involved a pair of humongous floral mens shorts and a cowboy hat with donkey ears as well as a rubber rat. Well we havent seen any of those items in years now, so who knows if they are done with it or whom will strike next. Maybe this sounds cheesy, but could you make it like it came from some exotic place or some such? It doesnt realy top her or outdo her, but would be kinda nice. Sorry I dont have any better ideas as of now. Good luck to you.

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M.C.

answers from Tucson on

I would go to a sporting event or someplace where they are having a drawing. Get the people with the drawing involved and have her win it back.

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H.K.

answers from Phoenix on

It sounds like you have gotten MANY great iedas...
Please be sure to let us know what you decided to do!
I HAVE to hear how this turns out!

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M.B.

answers from Albuquerque on

What about taking her out to dinner and having it served as her dinner?? You could also take her shopping and have the customer service desk call her to the desk and have them give it to her.

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C.M.

answers from Albuquerque on

this is awesome!!

inside a dvd case at the rental store
go for a pedicure together and have the tech "dry" her feet with it
have her dental hygienist clip it around her neck instead of that paper thing
put it inside a box of pads/tampons so she won't find it for a month
layer it inside her linen closet with her washcloths

I can't wait to see what other people come up with.

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C.H.

answers from Phoenix on

Many good ideas aready listed her.

My mom and her best friend from high school have been doing this same thing for the past 30 years with a glass chicken.

How about getting a box of ziplock bags, (what ever brand she uses), and opening up the side flap,take out some bags and put the potholder in there under a few. Make sure you glue the flap closed well. Put it in a loaf of her bread a few slices deep. Hallow out the center and stuff it in!
Stuff it in a pair shoes she won't wear till winter.

Have fun!

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