I've done the breakfast gift basket, too. They loved it.
I've received the dog for a gift. I was seriously not pleased. I made the person who gave it to me take it back from whence it came from. At the time I was living 45 miles away from my work and was working roughly 10 hours a day. So that would have been 12 hours the dog would have been locked in a house. That's not fair to them.
I would have been ecstatic to receive a vacuum cleaner! Now, a used vacuum cleaner? Not so pleased. True story, people.
What about a year subscription to Weight Watchers? True story also.
Used sheets (yep, true story)
Lotion when the person who gave it to you knows you don't use lotion.
A power strip
A book on regaining your faith
Food storage
A car wash gift certificate...for a drive-thru car wash...the cheap kind
A ped-egg
Geez...my family is really bad at gift giving!