Question for the Arduino knowledgeable:

What would be a good basic set of components to get an Arduino-enthusiast-to-be? With gift-giving holidays coming up, I'd love to know what kind of hardware you would want in an ideal Arduino set for new folks.

While I am looking mostly for a basic set, I'd also be interested in hearing about the not-so-basic stuff that makes for exciting projects

Arduino Uno (Sparkfun, Adafruit, etc), don't get the fake chinese ones on eBay with bad regulators!

Resistors:
220
1,000 (1k)
10,000 (10k)

LCD Screen:
http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/LiquidCrystal
Purchase:
http://www.sureelectronics.net/goods.php?id=957
http://www.sparkfun.com/products/255
(both are the same, Sure will tack on $1-2 shipping/item, make sure you get 5V screens!)

Couple of potentiometers
Servo
Piezo element
Breadboard
Breadboard wires (Adafruit)
Maybe a shield or two? (pricey)

Of course you could just buy the kit, Sparkfun and other online resellers sell something comparable - you can build it for much cheaper and all the other resources are free online (paper things, etc)

Awesome, thank you!

(anyone else with input is still highly encouraged to add your 2 cents!)

This is waaay after christmas, but i just joined the forum and couldn't help myself.

I got a starter kit from eBay that included the Dueillm., a LED display, wires, LEDs, speaker, buttons, and breadboard. I was very pleased with the starter kit. The only thing it lacked was a variety of resistors. It only came with one type (which is only helpful for a small number of projects). Luckily, they're not too expensive and available at Radioshack.

I also purchased the Make book on Intro to Arduinos. This book doesn't have anything that the website doesn't, but I wanted a physical book to read for once.