Buy Your Buddy a Life-Sized Standup!
What do you get someone who has everything? Well, how about one of these life-sized standup thingies?
If you know someone who'd love to share their home with a celebrity or superhero, get 'em a life-sized standup--and watch 'em grin.
We've all seen those life-sized standups at video stores and movie theatres. You know what I'm talking about: the big cardboard cutouts representing celebrities, and movie characters, and such that stand up by themselves and look real from a distance. Some folks call them standees.
Whatever you call them, they're pretty cool, though they can be slightly unnerving when you catch a glimpse of one in a dark room. Trust me and my dry cleaner on this one, okay?
A Hunka Hunka Burnin' Love
Admittedly, you're not going to use a cardboard standup every single day the way you might an iPad or a smartphone, but it's still a fun gift, and they're always great for parties, fundraisers, and corporate events. After all, how often can you say you hung out with Edward Cullen or Darth Vader?
Better still, these cardboard people are relatively inexpensive; the mute variety goes for about $35-40 a pop. Even the talking ones aren't terrible expensive. For example, you can get a cutout of a chatty young Elvis for less than fifty bucks.
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Cardboard Critters
If the wild side appeals to you a bit more, for the same amount as Elvis, you can get a life-sized "talking" lion, tiger, or even an elephant, oh my! (We couldn't find any bears). This might be a little too realistic for the faint-of-heart, though, so do be careful, especially if you're setting up a little surprise.
If you're an amateur filmmaker or play director, these cutouts are great as "extras"...as long as none of them need to move. In fact, they're becoming common in both movies and theatre, and there are companies that rent them out by the hundreds.
Admittedly, their acting does tend to be a bit two-dimensional, but you can't have everything for $10 a day (which, by the way, is a lot less than SAG minimum for human extras). They don't eat much, either.
Reach for the Sky!
Standees are also a good way to indulge your love of a particular fictional character, hero, or celebrity without getting arrested for stalking. It's really cool to practice your laser-pistol quick draw with John Wayne or Han Solo right there in front of you. (By the way, Han did shoot first).
And if you want a politician who'll actually listen to you, this is the way to do it. He still might not get anything done, but at least he'll stand there and hear your piece. Most politicians are pretty much cardboard cutouts anyway, so for less than $50, you can't go wrong with a life-sized standup of your local Senator