Thoughts on surprising friend with a Saber?

[Sempra Diem]

A good friend of mine was looking in to getting a saber of his own a little while ago. We went back and forth for a couple days on what hilt he wanted, blade colour, and so on. He came across a couple options he really liked, but unfortunately wasn't able to get it as he was hit with some unexpected bills. But with his birthday coming up I decided to surprise him with his very first saber!

I wanted to gift it to him properly and be creative about it, as I genuinely believe he has no idea it's coming. Does anyone have any good experiences in a similar scenario that they have done/received? I've been drawing a blank on what to do and would love some help! All stories are welcome!

[Malik Thanewulf]

So I recently gifted a good friend a Dark Standard Issue v3  Battle Saber with vertical stripes. I found a weathered wine bottle box at Hobby Lobby. I distressed it a bit more.  Then I lined the inside with some dark blue velvet. I used a wood burning kit and burned the sith symbol on the cover. When I gave it to him, I told him he was worthy of being my Apprentice...for now. It went over pretty well. Sharing this just to give you some ideas.

[Saso Is-kor]

As Malik mentioned, the gift box method is probably the most common and there are a ton of ways to customize it if you have the tools. If you type in "lightsaber box" into Google you'll get about a million ways that people have gifted sabers. Most of them are pretty slick.

[Sempra Diem]

So I recently gifted a good friend a Dark Standard Issue v3  Battle Saber with vertical stripes. I found a weathered wine bottle box at Hobby Lobby. I distressed it a bit more.  Then I lined the inside with some dark blue velvet. I used a wood burning kit and burned the sith symbol on the cover. When I gave it to him, I told him he was worthy of being my Apprentice...for now. It went over pretty well. Sharing this just to give you some ideas.

Ouuu I like that a lot actually. I'll take a look on Amazon and see what I can find. I just submitted the order today so I have some time before I actually give it to him. Thank you Malik!

[Infinit01]

So I gifted a friend a saber but told him that I wanted him to "co-host" a saber un-boxing video which had his saber with it's exact build that he wanted. I re-opened the box in search of his saber first, marked it so that I knew which one to "randomly" give him and re-sealed the box until it was time for our un-boxing video. I then set up for the video, pulled the first one for myself since I knew the second was his, hand him his, and started to talk about the "mystery box sabers" until it was his turn. The look on his face was priceless once he opened it and realized that the saber was to his exact specs.  He had no words for a few minutes, I was just happy that I was able to help a friend out.

[Sempra Diem]

So I gifted a friend a saber but told him that I wanted him to "co-host" a saber un-boxing video which had his saber with it's exact build that he wanted. I re-opened the box in search of his saber first, marked it so that I knew which one to "randomly" give him and re-sealed the box until it was time for our un-boxing video. I then set up for the video, pulled the first one for myself since I knew the second was his, hand him his, and started to talk about the "mystery box sabers" until it was his turn. The look on his face was priceless once he opened it and realized that the saber was to his exact specs.  He had no words for a few minutes, I was just happy that I was able to help a friend out.

Wow Infinit that's awesome! Such a clever idea to gift it to him. I'm sure he was thrilled. I only got my first saber a little while ago and when I showed my friend he was so intrigued and he instantly starting looking at sabers for himself, so I can only hope he will be just as excited as your friend was!

[Malik Thanewulf]

Anyone even remotely interested in Star Wars will want his/her own saber. There's nothing like unwrapping this really awesome looking saber. After the initial shock wears off, what's the next thing you do?? Hit that av switch. Obsidian sound blasting from the pommel as the blade springs to life... I feel the same every time I ignite a saber for the 1st time. You know what I'm talking about. Sharing that with a friend.  You have to do it at least once.

[Sempra Diem]

Anyone even remotely interested in Star Wars will want his/her own saber. There's nothing like unwrapping this really awesome looking saber. After the initial shock wears off, what's the next thing you do?? Hit that av switch. Obsidian sound blasting from the pommel as the blade springs to life... I feel the same every time I ignite a saber for the 1st time. You know what I'm talking about. Sharing that with a friend.  You have to do it at least once.

Couldn't have said it better myself. I know how I felt when I lit mine up for the first time. And sharing that with a friend is a wonderful experience I'm sure. Really looking forward to it!

[Infinit01]

Wow Infinit that's awesome! Such a clever idea to gift it to him. I'm sure he was thrilled. I only got my first saber a little while ago and when I showed my friend he was so intrigued and he instantly starting looking at sabers for himself, so I can only hope he will be just as excited as your friend was!

Thanks, Sempra Diem.  I got the idea of gifting the saber thanks to another member in this forum who was clearing out his collection for new sabers.  I wanted to pay it forward and figured since another friend was also a Star Wars fan and geeked out each time I showed him a new saber, I'd gift him a saber a well. I hope this gives you some motivation to find the idea that works for you

[Moderator Nightwing]

I started dating a girl a while ago at the beginning of September.  We had clicked on our mutual admiration for Star Wars and I had explained/showed her my saber collection and she thought it was cool and mentioned that she thought it would be cool to have one of her own one day.  So naturally for her birthday at the end of September I bought her a saber.  It was a risky move so early in the relationship, but she loved it and we are now married.

I also gave the groomsmen at my wedding all lightsabers (courtesy of Ultrasabers).

I think its a great gesture, but I would caution against going too crazy with spending.  Obviously I don't know what your finances are or the nature of your friendship.  But it would suck to gift a $200 saber to have it not be as appreciated as you hoped.  Maybe start with a more basic stunt saber to start, and then when his finances stabilize, you can walk him though the process for a upgraded saber.
Like I said, I don't know your situation, just my $0.02.

But overall, I think its a great gesture and I'm assuming will be very well received.

[Sempra Diem]

I started dating a girl a while ago at the beginning of September.  We had clicked on our mutual admiration for Star Wars and I had explained/showed her my saber collection and she thought it was cool and mentioned that she thought it would be cool to have one of her own one day.  So naturally for her birthday at the end of September I bought her a saber.  It was a risky move so early in the relationship, but she loved it and we are now married.

I also gave the groomsmen at my wedding all lightsabers (courtesy of Ultrasabers).

I think its a great gesture, but I would caution against going too crazy with spending.  Obviously I don't know what your finances are or the nature of your friendship.  But it would suck to gift a $200 saber to have it not be as appreciated as you hoped.  Maybe start with a more basic stunt saber to start, and then when his finances stabilize, you can walk him though the process for a upgraded saber.
Like I said, I don't know your situation, just my $0.02.

But overall, I think its a great gesture and I'm assuming will be very well received.

Well congratulations! A mutual admiration for Star Wars is certainly a strong foundation and I wish you both the best!

I definitely thought hard about what to get him and wanted to be sure he would enjoy it, because as you said sabers certainly aren't cheap, especially with sound. Wouldn't be great to drop all that cash and have it be underwhelming haha. But, we have both been huge Star Wars fans for a long time and always go to the premieres together and such. So I am very confident that he'll enjoy it and it'll be worth every penny!

[Infinit01]

I look forward to seeing what you'll do to surprise him. Any ideas so far after hearing about what we've done?

[Sempra Diem]

I look forward to seeing what you'll do to surprise him. Any ideas so far after hearing about what we've done?

I looked on Amazon and found a blank, wooden wine gift box. Comes with the straw stuff inside so the saber will rest nicely on it. I'm going to paint the symbol for the Rebel Alliance and/or the Jedi Order on the front of the box along with his initials and give it to him like that. And then of course the blade and all other accessories after the surprise. Really looking forward to it. Thank you all for all of your help!

[Infinit01]

Sounds like a plan! I look forward to hearing about his reaction unless you're going to film it then, I look forward to seeing the video

[BatMike90]

I looked on Amazon and found a blank, wooden wine gift box. Comes with the straw stuff inside so the saber will rest nicely on it. I'm going to paint the symbol for the Rebel Alliance and/or the Jedi Order on the front of the box along with his initials and give it to him like that. And then of course the blade and all other accessories after the surprise. Really looking forward to it. Thank you all for all of your help!

I like this idea.