My dad is IMPOSSIBLE. He’s getting a sweater.
So is Mom and anybody else who won’t give me anything to go on this year.
THANK YOU.
I’ve been trying to think of a gift for my mother, and reading this made me wonder about an ancient coin with a cow on it (she’s obsessed with cows), and found a couple that aren’t expensive at all. Will be a very unique and unexpected gift.
Thanks!
Even the person who has everything doesn’t have what they have here - Sadigh Gallery of ancient art.
And the nice thing about these artifacts is that even if the recipient doesn’t love something for its own sake, it will still have vast amounts of snob appeal. It’s one thing for someone to admire a small sconce in passing, but tell them it is from the reign of Tutmose III, and bemusement quickly turns to awe.
I bought my mother one of those blankets with soft short fake fur on it, in her favorite color. I also bought her a couple of pairs of fuzzy footies, in the same color, and some slipper socks, again in the same color. She’ll also get some flowers and a stuffed toy pig (she loves pigs). She’s diabetic, mostly confined to a wheelchair, and has pretty advanced Alzheimer’s.
When she and my father were more capable of taking care of themselves, I usually went with consumables, too. For instance, I usually got a half a smoked turkey and ham every year, which saved them the expense of buying the Xmas meat and the trouble of cooking it, and also got them some nuts and dried fruit selections. They really enjoyed this, because they could put together a quick meal and feel that they were having a treat.
Seems to me the older someone is, the harder it is to get a good gift for them. I always have fun with getting several little related items - for example, this year, for an ice cream lover, I got a bowl, a scoop, and a bunch of toppings in jars and bottles. I wrapped each individually, then put them all in a gift bag. My inlaws love coffee, so one year, we got a whole bunch of single-pot flavored coffees - they got to try a variety and didn’t get stuck with a sack of something that they hated. Restaurant gift cards are always nice, or a “gift certificate” for a night out at a favorite place.
Hand made items can be well-received, but it can also be iffy. My mother-in-law used to do a particular craft that I found amazingly tacky. I appreciated the skill that went into it and I know she put a lot of work into creating the pieces, but I lived in dread that she’d give me one and I’d have to display it in our house. Fortunately, that never happened. And that’s why I’m reluctant to give my pottery as gifts - I don’t want someone to feel obligated to like what I made.
It might take a little work and internet searching, but how about a magazine from the year or month that they were born? I’ve bought my kids the LIFE magazine, year in pictures, when I had them, and stashed them away, and one time found my husband that Nat. Geo magazine from the month and year he was born. Kind of a quirky thing if they are interested in what was going on in the world when they were brought into it.
Me? I requested a bird feeder, a 50 lb bag of feed and a 50 pound bag of sunflower seeds. I make my husband crazy. It took me about forever to get him to quit buying me jewelry that I don’t weat!!
My mom. When I used to ask her what she wanted for Christmas, she’d say “to spend time with you!” Well no fucking duh, mom, that’s not a present and you know I’m coming to goddamn visit you anyway. So I stopped asking. Then last year, I bought her a holiday Barbie (she collected them for years when I was a kid, and lost half of them because my dad was vindictive in their divorce, so I thought it would be nice to start her collection again). She visibly recoiled when she opened it, so I guess it wasn’t a good idea to try and restart that tradition. I had kept my receipts and told her she could return it for anything, but she didn’t want to. Oh well. (FTR my sister said she thought it was a good idea too, otherwise I wouldn’t have done it)
This year, I told her (in AUGUST) that I didn’t want to do Christmas this year–I’m emphatically anti-Christian and anti-capitalist splurging, so what am I getting out of it? Then she announced in November that she was getting me and my sister Kindle Fires. Not that I’m ungrateful, 'cause I’ve wanted a Kindle for forever, but seriously? I said I wanted NO part in the holiday, I don’t want to receive because I’ll feel obligated to give. Then she makes sure to announce her intentions early enough to force me to get her a gift. It feels like classic manipulation.
I’m hoping that this will be the last year I participate in this stupid fucking holiday, no matter what she gets me next year. Although I like *getting *presents, I don’t want to be guilted into trading them anymore. I plan to announce at Christmas that this is my last Christmas, ever. I’ll come visit my sister at my mom’s when she comes up from Texas, but I’m not giving or accepting presents.