Is the budget infinite? How about a super expensive computer with a killer graphics card that will allow you to make renders super fast? If not ok, but keep that one in mind.
You have a friend that works on Weta? You from New Zealand? Weta is like one of those studios people always want to join. It would be cool if you knew what area of 3D you are interested in, that way an Addon like Retopoflow could be a great gift, if you knew you love sculpting characters for example. Knowing which area can open up a bunch of addons gifts.
Maybe a subscription to the Blender Cloud to have access to all the Blender Animation Studio stuff from people in Amsterdam working on their open movies. They have good tutorials and you get access to all the movie files and their production pipeline.
Maybe a 3D Printer? It’s cool to learn how to model and then being able to print your creations.
