Best family Christmas present: Mac 128k. Don't laugh, it was 1984 & nobody had seen macpaint yet. Best personal Christmas present: Raleigh RX-11 the previous year. Best Christmas present in my family ever: My mom bought my pop a Porsche Boxter 5 years ago & yes I was jealous. Whats weird is my family seems to go thru cycles of giving, one year there is an over the top gift to one person, then someone else the next, & so on. I'll admit to feeling left out more than once. I spend 70% of my giving $$ on my nephews since toys are awesome. I also buy myself something awesome in January if I feel left out. This year will be a bit over the top since I just went from a 38 to a 32, XXL to a L, etc.
I know what I will be getting this year: a load of laundry to clean and I'll be asked to make sure the table is clean and that there's a fresh tablecloth down and the floor has been vacuumed and that the dishes have been washed... Oh, this is about presents? Probably not getting anything to open on the actual day that I didn't already pick out - usually I'll pick out one thing and that'll be it. It'll come in the bag it was bought in with the slip. One year I didn't pick out anything. They might throw a t-shirt or something else in (that I'd probably never use). They're the technologically clueless parents who can't shop for things on a website. My mom manages to do excel spreadsheets and powerpoint presentations but shopping on a website is beyond her. What may be more likely is that she simply doesn't want to, maybe because she doesn't feel that I'm worth that sort of effort. I'm largely over it either way. Their Christmas present is they go into the mountains for 2 weeks and I stay at home - the present part is that I don't go with. A gift for anyone, really.
My holiday gift giving is all over the place, year to year. I've never gotten that excited about gifts, but it's still nice when people think about something you'd really want and get it for you. I think the best gift I have ever gotten was a watch from my dad when I turned 18. Still wear it every day, 7 years later. The best gift I ever gave someone was a laptop for my mother. My sister and I were both still in college at the time and didn't have much money to spend, but wanted to get her something special (and my sister never has any cash so I actually ended up buying the whole thing and forgiving her debt to me a year later as a gift). My mother doesn't make a ton of money, so a laptop was the kind of thing she wouldn't buy herself. When she opened the box and realized what we'd bought her she lit up with excitement. It was really satisfying to see her so happy. Oh also, this still cracks me up (wait until the end for the punchline): http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7076431n I think the dude wasn't senile all those years, he was just trolling America.
I'm an adult, the only gift I want for Christmas is a motivated blowjob and for the children of my extended family too not piss me off too much with their whining and crying. These two requirements are in no way related.
Everyone I know is either broke, or a student, so broke. I never get presents, but giving is fun. Probably going to get mom a tablet. I saw some android 4.0 10'' tablets on sale for $130, but I just feel like it's going to break as soon as she gets it. Anyone have any opinion on the brand MID? I always get my mom jewelry, but I think she wants a tablet this year. Brother is in college so will probably get cash. And what is the appropriate gift to the "we're totally broken up but not really and still in love" person in your life?
Don't buy the cheap Chinese tablets unless you're willing to work on them/modify them and you know how and which ones to buy. Many of them don't have access to the Google Market, so you can't download a lot of apps on them, and others have crappy quality hardware inside them. If you need to save some money, pick up a Nexus 7 for $199. Otherwise, wait for a sale on a known quantity like a Samsung or Asus tablet. They won't get down to $130 though. Crazy, I'm-on-the-verge-of-shattering-my-hipbones-and-my-neighbors-are-going-to-have-to-move sex?
If you want an iPad alternate, and your mom reads a lot, I recommend the Nook Tablet. Barnes & Noble has their HD version out now, meaning the regular old Nook Tablet 8GB (which is great, by the way) is $160 at Walmart. (You can get a refurbished one for $110 at Walmart.com.)
Thanks, wasn't even considering it, but it seems totally sound. My mom isn't exactly tech savvy, so something simple will do.
Not sure if your mom does any online shopping, but you can also look at the original Amazon Kindle Fire for the same price. Does all the same stuff as the Nook, but has built in connection right to Amazon to make shopping a breeze.
I got my wife a Vitamix blender and Bose noise-cancelling headphones. She already got both, so I got her some small other trinkets to open with my family on the 25th. She got me this, which is totally bitchin': <a class="postlink" href="http://www.saddlebackleather.com/Classic-Briefcase?sc=8&category=301406" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.saddlebackleather.com/Classi ... ory=301406</a> Sadly, I'm not allowed to open it until Christmas, so it sits wrapped in my truck, waiting to lug to Texas for Christmas with my parents.
My husband and I had gotten really lax about gift giving in the years past (including my birthday which is the week before Christmas), but this year, I wanted to bring back the holiday spirit. I told him it was more in the vein of let's just get each other a few things that we think the other would like even if it is something little like a book or CD just so we'd have some presents under the tree and a real gift exchange, plus one "biggish" item. I gave him a list of several things just to get it going so he would have some options to pick from. My list was and ipod, several pieces of jewelry, etc. My thoughts were that he would pick up one of those for the "big" gift then just get some little stuff to fill in. That is what I did with him, got him a coat plus some silly stuff like running socks, barbecue stuff, etc. Well, I pay the bills and logged on to pay the credit card, and damn if he didn't get me each and every "big" thing on my list. Woops. I mean, I aint mad and my holidays are going to be filled with all sorts of shiny things, but I am going to feel a bit bad countering my necklace with a grilling basket.
I got the nicest Christmas gift today I could hae hoped for. One of my sponsees and his girlfriend dropped by this afternoon and he handed me a box with an envelope attached with a letter inside: Dear L4L, As we approach this very special time of year, it's important to us to share our sincere thanks to people that have made a difference in our lives. We can't thank you enough for helping ______ walk through his Steps to a healthy lifestyle. From our observation, you have been his strength when he needed it, a friend,and a role model with the knowledge to gently and sometimes not so gently guide him in the direction of recovery. We also know that your work with others is not done without sacrifice. We want to thank your family for supporting your efforts to support others. Merry Christmas from our family to yours. Signed by his parents (he's 23 and has been in and out of treatment facilities since he was 13. In March, he'll have 3 years of sobriety). I just found this note to be not only touching, but it put me in the holiday spirit. I was so down on the holidays this year, for the first time in 25 years, I was skipping making my grandmother's cheesecake, which has been a family tradition for as long as I can remember. Inside the box? A homemade cheesecake.
My favorite gift this year, which was my only gift, was a cold steel kukri. My little brother gave it to me with some of the leftover money he has from helping out a local farmer. We spent about 3 hrs in my mom's yard hacking up anything we could find. It may be a destructive way to bond with a sibling, but oh well.