Christmas is right around the corner. I love Christmas. One of the things I love the most is giving gifts. I actually do believe I like to give more than receive (um, that is not true in all aspects of my life!). I already have my list made and have been agonizing over the "right" gift to give. I mean I want to give people what their heart desires.
I know they say "it's the thought that counts" but does it really count if there was no thought involved? I spend a lot of time and effort searching out treasures for others. On Marks side of the family we have a huge name draw every year. I always call and ask what people would like and make every effort to make them happy. Not once has anyone asked me, my hubby or my kids what they would like. Amonte and Cade have ended up with toys that were way too young for them, Ava and Peyton with clothes at least 3 sizes too small, myself bath stuff every year that gives my delicate skin hives and Mark usually just gets stuff he could care less about. I would rather they donated to a charity in our name....anything else really. Do I sound like an ungrateful bitch?
The worst gift I have ever gotten: As a child my "father" sent my brother and I a Christmas gift. It was addressed in a woman's handwriting. The gift labeled for me was clearly a sweater meant for my brother and vise versa. Even though the sweater was beautiful it made me sad whenever I saw it.
The best gift I have ever gotten: Peyton 10 days before Christmas...Amonte 10 days after. Beautiful diamond earrings that were a total surprise on mine and Mark's first married Christmas.
How do you choose gifts? Does just the thought count? What's the best/worst gift you have ever gotten? Am I an ungrateful bitch?
Oh, my in-laws also do the same thing...and I am just like you, I want everyone to have something they want or need. My thought is, why waste money on things that a person won't get any use out of just to show that you put some "thought" in to it? Trying to be creative for gift giving is risky business in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteAn ungrateful bitch you are not. Mt step-dad's parents used to shop at garage sales for my Christmas gifts when I was younger. And, trust me, these people definitely have the money to shop elsewhere. So, one Christmas, when I was about 11 I guess, I got the ugliest sweatshirt with an Indian on the front of it. Here's the best part...it was a sweatshirt with the team mascot and school name for some random elementary school where they lived in Michigan. A worn, used, school sweatshirt. WTF? Seriously...I would rather have gotten nothing. LOL. Bet you can't top that! And, as for the gift-giving (which I, like you, probably enjoy more than the receiving)...it depends on who it is for. I get creative for the people that I know will appreciate it. Otherwise, I just ask what someone want, and go with that.
ReplyDeleteI remember the year, as a child, that my mother just kept saying she wanted underwear for Christmas. So being the practical one, I thought I'd oblige and give her exactly what she wanted. (Not fun or exciting, but she insisted that she was in need.) I chose a pack in pretty colors at least and couldn't imagine why her and dad were laughing so on Christmas morning. After all, she'd asked for them! Turns out I mistakenly chose thongs for my ultra conservative mother. She never asked for underwear again.
ReplyDeleteYou are not ungrateful at all!
ReplyDeleteI try to please as well. And I do like to try to get little suprises for people as well. My sisters and my Mom love getting unique Christmas ornaments and stuff like that. So I do try to add little extras that I think people will like. But overall I like to get something that is wanted and liked. My mother in law is the worst to buy for. She doesn't need anything and spoils herself and barely can ever come up with a list for us. However, she is the BEST gift giver!
And another thing, that picture of Ava is priceless!
ReplyDeleteI like giving more than recieving. To be honest, a lot of people (jades side mostly) will be getting gift cards this year. THey are the ones that have stressed me out in the past. So, I am not going to let that happen.
ReplyDeleteAnd no, you are not ungrateful. :)
I do like to put thought into gifts though. I always ask what they might want or need prior to shopping.
good idea for tft. i like to by things people like too. i doesn't have to be a big ticket item, just something you know someone would really like or they really need. maybe it's something they wouldn't bother to buy for themselves. i don't like giving just to "get it done with". maybe that's why i don't worry about having my shopping done really early. for me it's not a chore. i really like to give too.
ReplyDeletefor some people the need to buy really crap, i think it's almost like a sickness. maybe they're cheap, but also maybe they just don't know any better. i am not sure.
Seriously - you need to get out of my head! Another post that I SO could have written.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I also put a lot of time and effort into gift giving, and, also like you, am never 'rewarded' (for lack of a better term) for my thoughtfulness. Last year my sister-in-law sent us a personalized Christmas ornament - knowing full well that I was due to have a baby within the month . . . I know that there were Chistmas' before Maren was born, but it just seemed like such a cop-out of a gift. Everything from my in-laws can be found in the 'Clearance' pages of the latest Avon catalog. And the crap that comes for the kids! Seriously - how could anyone think that a box with the warning "5 Years+" on it in big, bold letters is appropriate for a 2-year-old?!
After waddling through the mall 9-months pregnant with a 20-month-old in tow last season, I have given up. Everyone is getting gift cards or gift baskets - Hickory Farms has some really nice baskets of goodies with fruit, cheese, nuts, and sweets - I know they will get eatten, and hopefully the basket gets put to good use.
You are far from ungrateful!
My in-laws give the worst antique-shop crap every year.(I am soooo not into antiques at ALL). Just NO CLUE.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 16, all I wanted was winter knee-high boots. My father got himself some hunting boots and wrapped them to me. I thought that was the cruelest thing, and he thought it was really funny.
ReplyDeleteWe don't talk much now, either.
What I really like to get is something hand made by the giver, especially from kids. I like to make special treats as presents.
glad to know i am not a total bitch. witchypoo that is mean! i'd like to give him a good kick with my boots. karen that is priceless...maybe i will buy my grandma thongs this year...by accident of course. brakes, yes i shooped while 8 months pregnant with ava, stopping every few stores because i was having contractions. the person who drew my name didn't even show up that year...i got NOTHING...unless you count swollen ankles. Bah Hum Bagh
ReplyDelete