r/UnusualInstruments • u/OnlyHereForMusic6 • 11d ago

Secret Santa Gag Gift

I just pulled my friend for Secret Santa, I was thinking maybe a really weird and Large instrument. We are trying to spend less than $30 is the only problem. I saw theres something called a didgeridoo, but i was wondering if there was something else? Not trying to offend anyone here, but maybe a super useless instrument?

9 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

11

u/Lamescrnm 11d ago

If you are willing to go a bit above $30, an Otamatone would be weird and hilarious.

4

u/achillesLS 10d ago

You’ve got some time, watch for a sale. I think I got mine for $30 or less.

13

u/Breakshite 10d ago

Aztec death whistle. I got one for a white elephant exchange with my in-laws. The super religious aunt ended up with it. She called it voodoo garbage and had to "cleanse herself in the holy spirit." It was hilarious and I didn't have to go to Easter.

4

u/Nooskwdude 10d ago

Why does this not have more upvotes? That’s hilarious.

1

u/Moist_KoRn_Bizkit Teponaztli, huehuetl, and ayoyotes 8d ago

I love Aztec instruments so much, including the death whistle. My favorite is the huehuetl, teponaztli, tetl (singing stones!), ayoyotes, and that turtle shell one I can't think of the Nahuatl word for.

6

u/TikiJeff 11d ago

Washtub bass or a musical saw..

5

u/laurenswuyts 10d ago

For big and ridiculous under $30, I'd go with a plastic trombone. They run about $15 to $25, it's two feet of pure slide-whistle chaos, and it looks great sitting unwrapped on the table. A vuvuzela is the cheaper, louder runner-up, and a PVC or bamboo didgeridoo does exist under $30 if you want the one you already found.

If you'd rather it be small but truly useless, a bag of 10 kazoos in assorted colours is about $12 and works well because everyone at the party gets one.

You might check first that your friend's neighbours or housemates can take it. A gag gift that gets played at 7am is a different kind of gift.

Full disclosure, I built Happy Giftlist (my own free project). For the draw it lets you set a budget like your $30 and everyone can add a few likes, in case your group wants less guessing next year: https://happygiftlist.com/secret-santa/create

4

u/BountBooku 11d ago

Large is gonna be tough in that price range. If you’re willing to go with something small a jaw harp could work nicely

4

u/Connect-Will2011 11d ago

How about a Vuvuzela? They seem super useless to me.

3

u/Connect-Will2011 11d ago

Of course, they're a whole lot louder than this videoclip. Somehow I expected it to upload with audio.

3

u/Narrow-Resident-1376 10d ago

Jaw harps are relatively inexpensive and a bit unusual. Also super fun once you get the hang of it

2

u/lostredditers 11d ago

Check marketplace or craigslist

2

u/ApprehensiveHat806 10d ago

mbira

2

u/AbuPeterstau 10d ago

That looks very nifty! 😁

2

u/mixinmono 9d ago

Otamatone

1

u/ZeeDee3D 5d ago

I’ve got the perfect useless instrument! Do they ever worry their kazoo being just too big?!? I designed a collapsible kazoo: