In 1988, I married into a family where the patriarch (my FIL is now deceased, but his stepsons have assumed the responsibility) gives each family member a new silver dollar each Christmas. These are encapsulated, but are still your basic 1 ounce of silver coins. Not really collectibles other than for the sentimental value.
So I’ve got about 70 of them sitting on a shelf in my closet, since my wife just hands me hers at the end of the evening. I genuinely appreciate the thought, the effort, and the expense, but you can imagine that I do not often take one out and say to myself, “Oh, 1993! That was a great year!”
Does anyone else have a family tradition similar to this? I mean, I don’t like fruitcake, but getting a fruitcake every year would at least allow me to give it someone who enjoys fruitcake. I’d be a bit of an a**hole to ever sell them (the silver dollars, not the fruitcake). As an added bonus, I have no kids to leave them to…and every other family member already has (literally) dozens and dozens of them sitting around their own homes.
Given how the price of silver has fluctuated quite a bit over the past 30 years, it’s still be a good investment to have in the long run. I wish I was part of your family.
My mom loves to bake cookies, so every year, we all get a platter with about 3 dozen varieties, including old favorites and usually a couple of new kinds that she tried out.
My sister gives me a box of the cheap chocolate covered cherries which we both love. My mother started giving my BIL a box of Anna’s ginger thin cookies sometime in the 80s… We don’t know why. He never expressed a liking for them. I have carried on the tradition since Mom died.
I’m known in my family for my love of Cella’s milk chocolate-covered cherries. Ever since they were kids, my two nephews have given me a couple of boxes of them every year. They are now adults well into their 30s, and they still do. I received them yesterday and remarked that I would be disappointed if I didn’t receive my cherries for Christmas. I tend to practically inhale them, so I never eat them any other time of the year.
I’m having one now…and will shortly have another. Yum!
The only time I ever acquire lottery tickets is in my Christmas stocking. I’m lucky to get a winner; however, my youngest niece always wins something significant. Luck of the draw, I guess.
Well…sort of. I obviously am not meant to sell them. They are meant as mementos or keepsakes. Unlike, say, ornaments, I can’t really display them. And my 1996 silver dollar looks pretty much like the 1995 and the 2007 silver dollars. They are extremely common. (Frankly, if I did sell them, it would be less than $2500 after 34 years of receiving them.)
Now, I had an uncle who used to give savings bonds back in the 60s. Much more practical, but less sentimental.
As for giving Toblerone bars, ornaments, and similar items, most can be consumed, displayed, or used in a practical manner (like new socks every Christmas). As I said, it is appreciated, but somewhat perplexing.
I made a family calendar every year almost 20 years. A few years ago my father-in-law (who I was close to) passed away, and I lost interest in it and stopped making them.
My MIL gives her three daughters very cheap 2-year day planners every other year. My wife graciously accepts and then, on Boxing day, promply throws it away. This being the 21st century my wife keeps a Google calendar for appointments and similar obligations that she can share with me and our sons. For her school work tracking – she’s finishing her BA right now – she uses a FiloFax-type day planner.
Her sisters likewise dont use them.
But her mom still gives her and her sisters those dumb calendars every year, oblivious to the fact that they don’t get used at all, ever.
This is a relatively new tradition (7 or 8 years?) I’m divorced with three boys that are with me most of the time. I always make a big homemade Sunday dinner, and often friends or family come by to join us. Just after I split from my ex, I found something called Table Topics, which is box of cards with discussion ideas. I got one for the family that first Christmas after the divorce and, somewhat surprisingly, it turned out to be a big hit with my kids. So now we have it on the table during our Sunday dinners. I get a new one (they have a variety of themes) every Christmas now. They look forward to it.
When my kids were growing up, I stumbled across the little chocolate booze bottles in a small wooden crate, and I gave it to my daddy.
Daddy loved it. So I made a point of giving him his little booze candies every year.
FYI: Sam’s Club carries these every Christmas.
Daddy is gone now, and I give the little booze candies to my son and my son-in-law every Christmas. I give one to my sister’s husband, and to my nephew, too. The recipients are told to think of Grandpa as they enjoy the little booze candies
My niece has married. Her husband will get one now.
My MIL gives me a little purse calendar every year. I also don’t use it. I think the first year, she asked me if I liked it and I said something like, of course, how nice. So they keep coming.
My sister gives my father a pair of the most obnoxiously gaudy Christmas-themed boxer shorts every year (this year’s entry featured the Grinch). My dad says it just wouldn’t be Christmas without his “Christmas skivvies”.
It’s the silly family traditions and in-jokes that linger longest in the memory, I think.
My wife used to give me a Claxton fruitcake every year, but alas, she’s skipped it for the past three. Guess I’m going to have to buy my own.
Each immediate family member gets a proper Christmas stocking (football sock) that always contains a few walnuts in shells, a bag of those chocolate coins, a liquor miniature and a pocket-sized calendar. There will be other gifts depending on the person, but those are guaranteed. Everyone also gets a book as a ‘wake up present’ that can be opened before breakfast, while the ‘main’ presents remain under the tree until lunchtime when we can all share the excitement (or at least fake it).
My wife would be upset if her stocking didn’t contain a Terry’s Chocolate Orange.
My uncle (in the UK) sends us a British Countryside-type calendar every year. We send him a New Zealand themed one.
I gave my sister and her husband a Lenox gingerbread man ornament for their first Christmas in 2000, and then just kept on giving them one every year. Each year’s ornament is different; a limited number is made every year; and they do sell out, which is kind of cool. My sister usually hangs them on the tree, but this year they’re displayed on a shelf because they have a new (very curious/destructive!) kitten.