Even though it's probably too late for you to get any of these gifts for the piper on your list, I thought it would still be fun to tell you about the piping picks that made my Christmas list.
First is a really neat t-shirt that you can buy from the official site of the Proclaimers. Although I don't think that they ever incorporate bagpipes into any of their music, The Proclaimers are my favorite Scottish band. The t-shirt has Edinburgh Castle on it, and also features the St. Andrews flag:
Next up is a bagpipe tune book called Irish Tunes Old and New by acclaimed Pipe Major Terry Tully. The tune in this book that I'm particularly interested in is called "Pumpkin's Fancy":
I just think it's an awesome tune!
A couple of other tune books I wouldn't mind having are Santa's Favourite Piping Tunes:
and Privy Piping.
Both books would just be fun to have when I feel like messing around and having fun with tunes that people might recognize.
There's not really any other gear I need for either my bagpipe or my uniform. I've got a nice bagpipe case and my band just picked up the tab for nice new vests for us. The only other bagpiping thing that I would REALLY like to get is a set of smallpipes. I'm still in the very early exploratory and saving up of money stage, so I don't know what kind I would buy...or if I would go with a bellows powered set...anyone out there want to talk up their smallpipes?
At any rate, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year all!
Pipe on!