Received:
Exactly what I asked for from my husband - a new griddle pan to replace one that finally died this autumn, and for my Mommy-mobile (mini van) to get fixed. A pretty bracelet from my daughter. A candle from my sister-in-law. A new crockpot, a set of dishes, a Ped Egg, and cash from my parents-in-law. Awesome!
Gave:
A new TV for the front room for the entire family.
An XBox 360 (250G!) for my son, along with a couple of games for it; a new watch; game accessories.
A netbook for the 10-year-old girl, plus a set of silver and topaz jewelry and ear-piercing (kind of for her birthday, too.)
A gear bag for my husband, plus two pairs of cargo pants, a pair of slacks, a pair of sneakers, two shirts, and a new dress watch.
Toys for the baby.
Plane tickets and hotel room for the eldest daughter and her boyfriend to fly in Tuesday, plus a pair of emerald and diamond earrings for her. Gotta find some BS gift(s) for him - I’m thinking gift cards and/or cash.
Food gifts for bro- and sis-in-law.
Toys for the 3-year-old niece.
A battery jump-starter with air compressor for father-in-law (those things are awesome!)
And accessories for the new RV for mother-in-law (plus I shopped for and cooked Christmas breakfast and dinner, since she has been tied up with my bro-in-law being in the hospital for the past 10 days.)
My parents adamantly refused to receive gifts this year. They’ll give cash to the kids, and will feed us a great seafood meal later this week, and will “sneak” some cash into my purse while I’m “not looking,” to help pay for my daughter’s visit.
I love this Christmas! (And Mr. Matata is completely amazed that I paid for everything, without borrowing from savings or using credit - especially after the past year of his three knee surgeries and disability leaves, a new baby, etc. I AM awesome! :D)
Me too! On the new Stephen King book. And Bruce Springsteen’s The Promise. A stocking full of little treats. A gift certificate to my favourite bookstore. Wine. Chocolates. A lovely set of mugs and plates for Christmas cookies and coffee or tea. Earrings and a pendant.
Lucky me!
The best part of Christmas was honestly having turkey dinner with friendly family and spending time with their girls, 10 and 7. Before dinner, we took our little dog to the park and they gave me a tour of the extensive playground and fields and the girls played hard on the equipment and we ran around and had a blast. After dinner, we got a violin recital, a piano recital and lots of review of their scrapbooks and art. Being around kids who want to share with you is wonderful. It’s nice to see the world through their eyes again.
On our way home, laden with leftovers, my husband and I did a little tour of Christmas lights, and that was a really nice wind-down. The town was pretty quiet.
The dog, after spending time with the excited girls, was pretty exhausted by the time we got home. Hey, the dog went on a playground slide for the first time ever. Big day for her, too.
About a 180 bucks in Borders book cards. A buncha books. A pair of socks. A T Shirt that with a white name tag that says: Hello My Name is Inigo Montoya (etc.) Home made cookies from Mom (always.) A drill and screw driver.
… I’m forgetting some things. My memory is not what it once was.
A vintage Singer sewing machine (in working order)
Metropolis recontructed & restored on DVD
A big tub of Plasticene (from my kids. I keep mentioning my intention to do some more stop frame animation)
a beautiful rubberwood endgrain chopping board
stacks of interesting food items incl. tins of confit duck, black truffles, chocolate
gift cards to barnes and noble, target, and petsmart. a darth vader spatula, magnetic polar bear clip holder, a stocking of candy and pears from h&d, bottle of sparkling juice and cookies, and cash. the cats have new catnip toys, treats, and cans of food.
the cash came in very handy for “blizzard” supplies today.
i have 12 more shopping days for christmas, mostly for fellow orthodox friends who celebrate on jan. 7th.
A watch, cash, crocheted blanket, bracelet, body lotion and mist, In N out gift cards, a wall clock, computer mouse, 2 Mp3 players and speakers for them (Okay, I gave myself those last few, back to the clock), candy, tea, coffee.
Some shirts, some underwear, a desk calendar, gift certificates to Best Buy, some glasses for the kitchen, the first two seasons of How I Met Your Mother, a new cord for my guitar, a Kodak mini-video camera (which is pretty sweet), and a loft wedge (the kind with the square grooves that aren’t going to be available anymore starting this year).
And just now, I was buying a late present for my daughter on Steam (Battlefield: Bad Company 2) that was $15 yesterday but is $6.80 today … so I snagged a copy for myself.
I gave out some decent stuff this year too – hits all around–, not to mention that there were hardly any arguments and I’d say all in all, a pretty good holiday.
Coffee, a coffee cup, four kinds of chocolates, a gift card to Barnes & Noble, two books, a German pickle ornament, a reading light, and a roasting pan.
A very lovely cardigan, so I can maybe move up a bit from pulling on a sweatshirt when I’m (always) cold. A rolled hem foot for my sewing machine. (It’s for the wrong brand, but I can exchange it.) And coming soon, a cross stitch kit of the castle at Disney World. When it’s done, my husband will love having it up on the wall, and in the meantime I get to do it. It’s intricate and should take a while, but I’m hoping to have it done in time for the Fair in August.
Also and very pretty vase/candle holder from 10,000 Villages, and a suprise yet to come from the daughter who thought she was having her presents shipped here, but instead had then sent to her house in NM. She’ll send it when she gets home.
The best part? All of us in the same place at the same time for the first time since July.
warm & fuzzy slippers (for inside)
warm & fuzzy crocs (to wear if I have to run outside)
[I hate wearing shoes]
cuddl duds long underwear/top to wear as a base layer when I go hiking
The Sound of Music on Blu-Ray
a beautiful cashmere scarf from my boss
And the best gift? Being back home in Ohio with my family. And a white Christmas to boot. Best. Christmas. Ever.
Everyone at work gave me chocolate (except for the guy who gave me candlesticks, which I traded for chocolate. In my defense, I think he got his packages mixed up).
My husband gave me a shirt and some bras that we shopped for together last week.
My daughter gave me the cat-a-day calendar I’d asked for.
My son gave me eyeshadow. Fun!
My mom gave us house-sitting, for when we go skiing in a few weeks. It’s really a great gift, as it keeps me from having to board the cats.
Don’t know about you, but for me, getting/giving gifts that are truly useful is waaaaaayyyyy better than gifts that just cost $$$$. One year, when we were more or less broke, I gave my in-laws the gift of one home-cooked meal a week for the whole year. Since they are elderly and my MIL doesn’t really cook anymore (hence, they live on frozen dinners and canned convenience foods), it worked out great! I could cook for another couple just about as easily and almost as inexpensively as I could cook for just my family, and they got ‘real food’ at least once a week!
I got a complete surprise. Was expecting the usual - a t-shirt with a cat on it/coffee mug/funny book/socks…I got several bottles of fancy mustards, vinegars, and infused oils! Macadamia nut with lime and chili. Another kind with lemon and thyme. A bottle of oil with bits of black truffles in it! Luckily, a cookbook cleverly titled “Cooking With Infused Oils” came with them…Spiedini of Prawns With Pancetta and Oregano Dressing, anyone? Pastina Risotto with Roasted Peppers and Broccoli?
