Since I asked Whadja get?, I’ll ask what you gave.
I bought the SO a pair of Hafliger kitty slippers. But there was a problem: She’d bought new slippers a few months ago, and the cat urinated in them. Soaked 'em good. She threw them away. So I gave her her christmas present very early. I handed them to her this morning.
She likes shopping at Bass, so I got her a gift card.
We were watching a WWII movie and there was a scene with Tokyo Rose on the radio. We got to talking about her, and I told her stuff she didn’t know. She wondered why no one has made a movie about her. So I got her a book: The Tokyo Rose Case: Treason on Trial
I gave my nephew fifty simoleons.
My boss got a bottle of 14 Hands red wine (we like it at home, and it’s a Washington winery), and some truffles and brandy-filled chocolates from Trader Joe’s.
Sent a Harry & David gift set to a brother in Austin. My son’s getting a card game, Pirate Fluxx; daughter’s getting an assortment of bulk spices from the local Asian food store; her boyfriend’s getting a heavy wool hat, which apparently he needs…
Gift cards for my nephew-in-law, great niece and nephew, a wok for my nephew and a handmade book of my mother’s recipes each for my niece and her mother. Oh, and new lingerie for Santa. ; D
My family agreed years ago to not exchange gifts that have to be mailed among the adults unless they were homemade. My stepkids and their families will be in town next weekend for our celebration. I got the granddaughter a new tambourine and her brother a couple of attachments for his drum kit (why, yes, there is a bit of joy in giving those things to the children of someone whose piano, violin, guitar, etc practice I endured for years ). That is the extent of my gift giving this year.
My dad got a bluray player, my grandmother got the card game Anomia, my sister got a couple of CDs she wanted, and my friend is getting a venusaur plushie, wearing a question mark necklace.
To my College Girlfriend–A Bulgarian Military Field Medics Carry Case, a “treasure chest” full of gold chocolate coins & a hand-made costume jewelry brooch, a copy of Science…For Her!, and a Pirate themed Xmas Card/Mash Note.
Also, I gave the lady handy-person at the condo a $50 gift card to Kroger, so she & her son could have a nicer Christmas dinner.
And, to the local Food Bank, enough money to feed a family of 4 for three meals a day for a year.
Nothing, really and it. is. so. freeing. My family (since no little ones) hasn’t really exchanged gifts in several years and it really makes things so much easier. We get together and have fun. (I did get some small gifties to put in the pool of prizes for the games we played, but almost everyone picked the scratch-off tickets instead.)
(If this sounded like a thread shit, it wasn’t meant to. Just putting a data point out there.)
We give annual donations to organizations like Doctors Without Borders, the ACLU, National Parks Foundation, etc., and a local cat shelter. We also provide lunches for the two-week vacation period for seven needful kids at the local elementary school (and on weekends during the rest of the school year), and a weeks worth of meals for the homeless through Meals on Wheels. Seems more meaningful than getting each other stuff that we can buy at any time.
Back on the materialistic side -
TheKid asked for a new bowl for her KitchenAid, so I bought her the glass bowl, the silicone scraper beater, and stocked her up on stainless measuring cups and spoons. She also received some movies, a skull shot glass, a Harry Potter book (the Creature Vault), and socks.
My mom received new slippers (discovered the ones we bought her last year were being held together by duct tape), a calendar, book, and candle.
Our friend Kevin collects Christmas ornaments. He also has a five year old son. A little while ago, we found a nice old lady in Virginia who engraves glass (no Dremels, just old fashioned hand tools) We borrowed the little boy one afternoon and got him to draw a picture of his family. We sent the picture to her and gave Kevin the result. I don’t think he’s stopped crying yet
Got my wife a cruise for next Christmas. River cruise to the German Christmas Markets. I went to several in 2008 while working and thought she would love them. This will be only the second vacation we’ve had in 25 years without the children (actually adults).
I got year 4 year old son a bunch of clothes (yawn!), a Play-Doh set, Legos, a yoyo and a particular gift I’m most proud of. I guess they’re a big success because he put them on immediately after opening this morning and now at 8PM he refuses to take them off. He’s a lover of all things Minecraft, so I made him these: http://nikerbocker.blogspot.com/2012/08/bam-minecraft-shoes.html
These aren’t mine, it just were I got the idea from. Yes, mom did good.
For a variety of Reasons, everyone on my family gift list got an email saying, for Reasons, no one’s getting gifts this year (other than the Australia-themed trinkets everyone’s received throughout the year as I’ve been traveling), and I instead took the money I’d budgeted for gifts and divided it up amongst various charities (including NPR and PBS, so some of it is trickling back to just about everyone on said list). It’s gone over well, but there’s precedent - we occasionally have done no-gift or ten-dollar-limit gift years in the past.
To husband, nothing, as agreed.
To brother, nothing, as agreed, and then he got me something anyway!
To grandma, a food processor, which she will never ever use, but she’s really hard to shop for.
To mom, a cat calendar, a restaurant gift card, and a movie gift card. I was thinking she’d like to see Into the Woods, but told her she might want to see The Interview instead.
To all children and stepchildren, a check for the same amount. It will mean more to some of them than others, but whatcha gonna do?
To new grandson, one measly outfit. He’s a month old, we’ll blow the bank on him next year.
To friend I never see, who doesn’t want me to buy her anything, toys and treats for her dogs.
To cousin’s children, books. (The Phantom Tollbooth and The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar) I’m pretty sure neither of these children read for pleasure, but I’ve given them books all their lives and maybe someday they’ll pick one up and like it. It could happen.
To another friend I never see, my mom, my old boss, my son’s baby-mama, and her mama, Pengems. They sparkle and that makes 'em good.
For just about everybody at work, a single artisan chocolate made in the shape of an alligator (University of Florida, doncha know).
Jeez, I forgot my husband’s granddaughter: a set of Sandra Boynton books, a feather boa, some Minion-shaped bedroom slippers, and a plastic dollhouse set.
). That is the extent of my gift giving this year.
