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Christmas gifts - what OTHERS think I need

Patri

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I laugh at what my kids and in-laws gave me. I am perfectly content with my possessions. But I guess they aren't quite up to par.
Per another thread, I don't use soap or washcloths. This year I got two bars of expensive soap LOL. So I'll try them in the shower when my body wash is gone. Maybe I'll use a washcloth unless the scrubby works fine.
I also like my traditional size towels. Enough to dry off in the shower, and hang on my rods. No...........I received three sets of bath towels (including washcloths) that you can wrap up in. I already have many big ones in the guest bath closet, but I guess I need them in the master bath closet, too.
My kitchen utensils suit me fine. No...............I got a box with an assorted bunch, half of which are repeats. So I guess I'll have the one or two DILs need when next they cook or serve at my house.
All good intentions, I know. The real gift was having family here last night.
 

presley

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I'm always thrilled with whatever gift I receive. If it's something that I don't want or need, I just donate it. That gives me another feeling of happiness as I know it is going to someone who wants or needs it.
 

Luanne

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I truly enjoy giving more than receiving and this year I didn't provide much of a Christmas list. We told both of our dds NO gifts and both of them gave us promissory notes for future gifts. Dh gave me some hand cream and foot cream I asked for. He also gave me a bag of cashews, to keep me out of his cooking cashews, and some gourmet popcorn. I think I've had popcorn once in the past 6 months, but according to him I eat it all the time. :cool:
 

clifffaith

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Cliff knew if he waited for me to clamor for a smartphone it wouldn't happen for several more years (flip phone is in the bottom of my purse, turned off, until I want to make a call; only time I ever used it was to check messages on business answering machine, and we turned those numbers off in Nov when we retired). So now I have an iPhone that will sit in its original packaging until he gathers me and phone into car for a trip to the T-Mobile store to get it connected. I guess I'm an ingrate, but all I know is that now I have to pay for some monthly plan, when the old phone cost me $119 for a full year. Useless waste of money, and will take up more room in my purse and be heavier to carry. To say nothing of the fact that I likely have to now spend $40 to get a protective cover for it to keep it from being damaged or scratched in my purse. And I've been told now we can turn our landlines off. That's not happening for a variety of reasons.
 

mdurette

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My favorite gifts to receive are things that pertain to our future trips. A gift card to a local spa, restaurant or place to visit. Since we travel so much, I need to keep our costs down during the actual vacation and this helps do that or pay for a splurge that we wouldn't have otherwise spent the money on.

My MIL did great with this. We received Disney Gift cards for a trip in March and an gift card for a place we will be skiing next month.
 

missyrcrews

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My favorite gifts to receive are things that pertain to our future trips. A gift card to a local spa, restaurant or place to visit. Since we travel so much, I need to keep our costs down during the actual vacation and this helps do that or pay for a splurge that we wouldn't have otherwise spent the money on.

My MIL did great with this. We received Disney Gift cards for a trip in March and an gift card for a place we will be skiing next month.
I love gift cards. :) Ones to department stores (Target, JCPenney's, LLBean) are worth way more in January than they are in December. I love to wait for the sales, and then shop for something I wouldn't have purchased otherwise.

And to cliffaith...I still have a flip phone on a pay-as-you-go plan, and I will for the foreseeable future. I only need to call every now and again. I don't need anything more. I use the good old Gazetteer maps if I need to find somewhere. I check store hours/etc before leaving home. Hate the fact that folks are tethered to their phones. :(
 

Passepartout

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I would be concerned if given soap & towels. Is there a message here? :) I scored exactly what I wanted. My DW knitted me a very nice new beanie to keep my ears (and that solar collector on top of my head) warm while the dog takes me for a walk.

Oh yeah. There is a trip to Asia in the Fall, too.

Jim
 

Panina

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I really don’t need much. I tell everyone I don’t need anything. I already have what I want and need and I don’t need something I don’t need. Donate instead.

My other half attempted to get me something he knew I had my eye on, a brandelior phone holder but didn’t realize he had to order the pouch too which he checked for today and is sold out. Oh well, probably will go back unless they will have the matching piece soon.

I sponsored a child this Christmas who wanted a piece of jewelry this year. I purchased a good piece, hoping it does get to her.

I took my step daughter out to get gifts for her friends and dad and mother. Her mom never does it but it gives me joy. I tell her my gift from her is for her to be happy and have independence and if she keeps striving for that it is my gift. My Mom gets what she asks for but then complains she doesn’t need it. Lots of gift I get for my step daughter, nieces and nephews. I do love the luxury of spoiling them.

The nicest present was being with my other half and step daughter. Memories are priceless. The best gift of all.
 

pedro47

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We don't need anything from our son and grandkids. They gave us both a Tile app so I can kept up with my car keys. Guess what before they could install the app. I could not find my car keys. I looked for about 15 minutes for my keys.
Then the old brain matter kicked in. They were in my car in the glove tray. I guess I need this gift.
The greatest gift is their gift of Love to my Spouse & I.
 
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DeniseM

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My husband got a new dishwasher and refrigerator for our kitchen. Not a total surprise, but he decided to buy them, and picked them out, and ordered them himself - sight unseen!

However, when it was delivered, the refrigerator was the wrong size for the cabinet space. Too short, too narrow, and sticks out too far. He didn't know the size mattered and he was so pleased with it, because he got a great deal. He still doesn't understand why I'm exchanging it. :rolleyes:

I got an Instant Pot from DD and DSIL, and I'm quite pleased with that.
 

moonstone

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Our kids are all quite good at picking up on things we say we need, or should get, throughout the year and giving them to us for Christmas long after we've forgotten what we had said. Of course their greatest gift to us is our grandchildren and the fact that they all still want to spend time with the "old folks"! We all had a wonderful day together yesterday.

Our oldest DS (Mr. he who has everything and what he doesn't have, he has lots of money to buy it for himself) is always hard to buy for. This Christmas we gave him something that he has been admiring and wanting nearly his whole life (almost 35 yrs) that couldn't be bought. We gave him a marble mantel clock that was given to my great grandfather (Thomas Daglish) upon his safe return from the Boer War in 1901 to Blaydon England. When my great grandparents emigrated to Canada in 1910 the clock was a prized possession and made the trip with them. Our DS learned the history of the clock from my grandfather many years ago and even did a school project on the Boer War. After my grandfathers passing my mom took the clock to put the clock on her mantel. It probably should have gone to Mom's brother (also Thomas Daglish) but he lives in California and the clock is much too heavy to ship or take in a suitcase. My mom is now in a nursing home and Dad is starting to think about thinning out the house. Things have been disappearing from his house whenever Dad is at the cottage, we think by my brother who has many yard sales and said years ago the clock would probably fetch quite a price. Dad wanted to make sure a piece of family history didn't end up with strangers.

DS was very excited to get the clock and it will look beautiful on the oak mantel in his big Victorian home that is nearly as old as the clock.


~Diane
 

heathpack

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I got mostly stuff I bought for myself for my spouse to wrap, lol. Black cashmere scarf, a butter bell, a pair of slippers.

But the two things he came up with on his own are awesome:
1. Gift certificate for a weekend mountain bike clinic called the Trek Dirt Series. I did a clinic this past summer and it was awesome. In 2019, I get to pick any of the locations, there’s probably 15 choices in the US and Canada. But I’ll probably go back to the Mammoth Lakes, CA clinic next Aug, it really is a great venue.
2. Earthdog Tunnels. Say what? I’m starting to take our doxie to a performance dog event that involves hunting for quarry in tunnels below ground. In the actual events, 9 inch by 9 inch tunnels are buried in the ground. But when you practice for Earthdogging, you can just use above-ground tunnels. Mine need some modification, but wow a set of homemade plywood Earthdog tunnels make a great gift for the woman in your life. :D
 

jackio

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DH and I are minimal gift givers to each other. This year I wanted an inexpensive watch and he wanted a 12 lb. kettle bell. So we each got what we wanted with a few stocking stuffers. Each year we give the kids an idea when they ask what we want. This year I wanted a large frying pan. I never want to spend money on a good frying pan, and every few years I need a new one. Once we had grandkids our kids' presents were reduced to pajamas and a restaurant gift card. Now it's all about the little ones who get whatever they want!
 

VacationForever

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We stopped doing gifts and Christmas trees several years ago. It reduces the stress of shopping for sometimes useless gifts for one another. We use money that we would have spent towards charity instead. The downside is that we lose the fun on Christmas mornings. Also, with our cats getting themselves in trouble over Christmas tree decorations that we no longer put up a Christmas tree. Some day when the cats are gone, we may do Christmas tree and gifts underneath it again.
 
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WinniWoman

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Cliff knew if he waited for me to clamor for a smartphone it wouldn't happen for several more years (flip phone is in the bottom of my purse, turned off, until I want to make a call; only time I ever used it was to check messages on business answering machine, and we turned those numbers off in Nov when we retired). So now I have an iPhone that will sit in its original packaging until he gathers me and phone into car for a trip to the T-Mobile store to get it connected. I guess I'm an ingrate, but all I know is that now I have to pay for some monthly plan, when the old phone cost me $119 for a full year. Useless waste of money, and will take up more room in my purse and be heavier to carry. To say nothing of the fact that I likely have to now spend $40 to get a protective cover for it to keep it from being damaged or scratched in my purse. And I've been told now we can turn our landlines off. That's not happening for a variety of reasons.

Get your iPhone cover on AMAZON. I got mine for under $10.
 

slip

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We used to give each other a gift but the last few years we just said our trips to Hawaii are our gift. This year we just bought somethings that we needed for the new condo so no gifts. We still have gifts to our son and daughter and they gave us gift cards. No tree for the last few years. Maybe when we retire we will do that again.
 

WinniWoman

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I love gift cards. :) Ones to department stores (Target, JCPenney's, LLBean) are worth way more in January than they are in December. I love to wait for the sales, and then shop for something I wouldn't have purchased otherwise.

And to cliffaith...I still have a flip phone on a pay-as-you-go plan, and I will for the foreseeable future. I only need to call every now and again. I don't need anything more. I use the good old Gazetteer maps if I need to find somewhere. I check store hours/etc before leaving home. Hate the fact that folks are tethered to their phones. :(

My hubby also has a $10 per month flip phone. He barely keeps it on. I have an inexpensive IPhone with a Straight Talk Plan.

Sometimes hubby days he might want a smart phone. I tell him one smart phone in the household is enough. If he needs to, he could use mine.
 

WinniWoman

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Hubby and I do not exchange gifts. (though last year I couldn’t resist getting him a dash cam for his car, which he loved.)

We spend way too much money just coming up to NH on the room
and the meals out.

Gave our son money and a gift card.

Son did buy us gifts- bullets and target practice sheets for my husband and a couple of other things.

For me he bought Irish Cream liquor, Lindt chocolates and an AMAZON gift card and a bath set- gel and lotions, etc. All things I will use.

But I always tell him to save his money- we really don’t need anything.

I did buy a little soft stuffed toy moose and a magnet that says “ Live Free or Die” for myself this morning before check out.
 

bogey21

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We stopped doing gifts and Christmas trees several years ago. It reduces the stress of shopping for sometimes useless gifts for one another. We use money that we would have spent towards charity instead.

Similar approach here. My grown kids, ex-wives and I totally ignore Xmas and Birthday gifts. Instead rather than gifting by the calendar we give each other spontaneous (hopefully more meaningful) gifts from time to time throughout the year...

George
 

Quiet Pine

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We stopped doing gifts and Christmas trees several years ago.
My parents stopped when I married & had kids of my own. I gave them a 10" ceramic tree. Put it on a table, plug it in, colored bulbs light up. It was a perfect solution for them.
 

stmartinfan

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We enjoy buying and wrapping gifts for our daughters and son in law. I appreciate that one gives us a list of ideas, most of them things for their new house or useful personal items, so most of the gifts are really appreciated. But it's also fun to come up with unexpected items too. This year my husband got us all large world maps with a scratch off coating, so you can track all the places you've traveled. We've been lots of places, but never to Africa or South America, so it reminds us how much of the world we haven't experienced.

Our kids are good with finding fun but inexpensive items that are make us chuckle and are still useful. My husband often shares a few kernels of his fresh popcorn with our dog, so one gift was a bag of microwave popcorn plus a bag of special dog popcorn treats. And I got a necklace from Etsy with the words St. Maarten (my favorite vacation place) and its GPS location engraved on it.
 

Egret1986

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We used to give each other a gift but the last few years we just said our trips to Hawaii are our gift. This year we just bought somethings that we needed for the new condo so no gifts. We still have gifts to our son and daughter and they gave us gift cards. No tree for the last few years. Maybe when we retire we will do that again.

We have an anniversary on Christmas Eve (36th). Both of our jobs have peak seasons for the holidays. By the time that the holidays arrive, we're done and don't feel like participating in gift giving/receiving. Like you, we agree that it's better to take a nice winter vacation somewhere warm instead.

This is the first year in awhile that we've done any real decorating for Christmas. One of our twins came home for Christmas. He left the area in July and it brought us such joy that he chose to come home for the holidays. I decorated the inside and we both lit up the neighborhood outside. We all got to Skye with his brother yesterday. Maybe not physically in the same house, but we were all together. No better gift.


Similar approach here. My grown kids, ex-wives and I totally ignore Xmas and Birthday gifts. Instead rather than gifting by the calendar we give each other spontaneous (hopefully more meaningful) gifts from time to time throughout the year...

George

I totally agree with your approach. I don't want to be held to the calendar and give unnecessary or unwanted gifts, just because. I, too, like spontaneous and unexpected gift-giving.

I participate in giving charitable gifts through Christmas donations and picking a couple folks off the "Senior Angel Tree".


We use money that we would have spent towards charity instead. The downside is that we lose the fun on Christmas mornings.

Yep, Christmas morning isn't quite the same....all the packages under the tree, everyone gathered together, ooohing and ahhhing, laughter, sharing a meal, etc.

Now it's all about the little ones who get whatever they want!

It is all about the little ones. They make it fun and magical.

I truly enjoy giving more than receiving....

'Tis better to give than receive. How true; especially when it's a much wanted or needed gift.

I am perfectly content with my possessions. But I guess they aren't quite up to par.

All good intentions, I know. The real gift was having family here last night.

When it's a tradition of gift-giving in a family, one feels the need to reciprocate. For those that are perfectly content with their possessions (or can go out and buy what they want or need), then it's tough to come up with something unique; thus, soap and washcloths, or a myriad of other things for the sake of giving.

As you say, the real gift is being surrounded by your loved ones. For most, I believe that is the real joy, especially once you're an adult.

Having our son home for a week's visit was our blessing and gift. To have had his brother home also would have been fantastic. Fortunately, he has priorities. Rather than come home and see his brother and us, and share their New Years Eve birthdays, he choose to take care of his obligations. We're so proud of those guys. Our lifetime gifts!

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday. Best wishes for a Happy New Year!
 

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The best thing I got turns out to be the reuseable coffee pod Cliff gave me as a stocking stuffer. Have now used it the second time and it's just the best thing! Last year he gave me the Keurig, which at the time resulted in a discrete eye roll and a thought of "one more thing on my kitchen counter". We've tried all different K cup brands and basically I can make them palatable to my taste by, for the first time in my coffee drinking career, adding a sugar cube to cut the bitter edge. I've been ruined for pot coffee now too, finding I more often than not need a cube to take the edge off. Anyway the cheapest Vons Signature brand is what I like best in the pods, and Vons ground coffee used in the refillable pod gives me a good cup. I think we can stop buying boxes of pods, except that Cliff occasionally likes a stronger blend or a cup of real coffee (we drink decaf). The refillable pod does take a full coffee scoop, so it uses twice as much coffee as when making a pot (5 scoops makes 10 cups in the pot), but still amounts to a good savings compared to buying pods.
 

pittle

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We stopped doing gifts and Christmas trees several years ago. It reduces the stress of shopping for sometimes useless gifts for one another. We use money that we would have spent towards charity instead. The downside is that we lose the fun on Christmas mornings. Also, with our cats getting themselves in trouble over Christmas tree decorations that we no longer put up a Christmas tree. Some day when the cats are gone, we may do Christmas tree and gifts underneath it again.

That is our situation too.

Hubs and I started planning our next vacation and buying plane tickets for it years ago for Christmas. When we worked it was for a February vacation. Now it is an extra week in November.

Our grown kids mentioned years ago that they had a hard time choosing gifts for us and we did for them also. We also have more stuff than we need. So, we stopped gifts with one another and do a really nice Christmas dinner together each year. This year one of the D-I-L's wanted to host and did a super job! She did use my Christmas china, tablecloths, and silverware. She invited her neighbors too. I was so proud of her.

I do Christmas trees! I put them up before heading out for a month vacation to Puerto Vallarta in early November, so that the house is decorated when we get home. I have 3 trees that are 9 feet tall, 2 that are 7-1/2 feet tall and 5 that are tabletop. All but 10 ornaments are Hallmark ornaments - I worked there for 29 years and still get to purchase ornaments from the Employee store. (I just buy the ones in the series that I have, but it is still 15-20 new ones each year.) Friends and family like to come see my decorations. I also make cookies and candy for the neighbors.

We send the money we would have spent on Christmas gifts to our favorite charity.
 
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