Christmas is it just me

[Brian Deakin]

Does anyone else recieve presents the do not want

[Tom Stenzel]

It's just you.

Just kidding. I don't know anyone that gets EXACTLY what they want.

My daughters are happy when they get gift cards. I never thought of them as any kind of a gift.

At this point in my life any day looking down at the ground is the perfect gift, all the rest is just luxuries.

-Tom

[Bert Kemp]

Well if you have ever gone to walmart the day after Christmas and saw the line at the return desk you wouldn't have to ask that question.

[Brian Elfert]

I remember when Target and other stores used to bring out temporary registers just to process all the after holiday returns. Target no longer does this. I think gift cards and the policies requiring receipts are cutting back on returns.

[Scott Shepherd]

I think, for the most part, most people don't pay attention to the people around them much at all. I start a list early in the year, probably February or March on my phone. When I am around family throughout the year, shopping, hanging out, working on something, I listen for things they see or could use. I usually stop for a second, open the note and post that thing in there under their name. By the time Christmas rolls around, I have a pretty good list of things people have said they would like to have or could use. It works pretty well, well enough that other family members call me and say "Any idea what to get _______".

However, I think I'm in the minority. It does make shopping a LOT easier to have a list of things for each person and I can pick out things throughout the year as well, so it's not as financially painful when Christmas or Birthdays come along.

[Kent A Bathurst]

It's just you.

Just kidding.

No, you're not.

LOML and I are a couple decades past the gift thing, whether b'day or Christmas or whatever.

Except - we will do what we like to do anyway, but maybe class it up one or two notches. Dinner party at home with one - 2 couples of close friends. Probably kick the wine up to the really good stuff from the back of the cellar. An evening of great conversation with people close to us - that is pretty much as far as it goes.

It is impossible for me to buy her a gift - I would never get it right - if when wants it, she has already gotten it.

And me ? What? Someting for the workshop? I don't think so..........Anything that would be a "keeper" by this point is in some esoteric corner of the tool world, and she would never have a clue - I would have to get out a few top-end catalogs, and circle things by item no - not just any Ariou rasp, this precise one right here. Or this LN float- must be push-cut, not pull-cut. You get the point.

And, if I am in the middle of a project and need to fill one of those esoteric gaps, I am not going to wait till the next big event day - I am going to get it, and move on.

And - in the end - the things we get the most enjoyment out of are those dinner conversations, with close friends, in our house. The people that have been integral parts of our lives for 1 - 4 decades. Take the great relationships and memories, and build on them.

So, in closing - Brian - you are correct. It IS just you.

[Charles Wiggins]

Every year my mom complains about all she has to do to get ready for Christmas. Every year she asks what we want. Every year we tell her, "Nothing, except for you to relax and enjoy the season." Every year she buys a bunch of stuff we don't want or need. And so it goes on.

[Jim Koepke]

What about not really wanting anything and getting a gift that was mind bogglingly fantastic.

That sort of happened to me.

jtk

[John Conklin]

I start a new wish list every Christmas or Birthday on Amazon, Woodcraft, Lee Valley, etc. I email it to my wife and daughter and they pick from that and buy. I get exactly what I want and no one has to mess with returns.

[Frederick Skelly]

What about not really wanting anything and getting a gift that was mind bogglingly fantastic.

That sort of happened to me.

jtk

Ok, I'll take the bait and ask - "what was the gift Jim?" No fair to leave us hanging Sir!

Fred

[Mike Cutler]

Does anyone else recieve presents the do not want

Uhmmmm,,,,,, everybody?
Well, maybe not Paris Hilton, or Kim K, but for the rest of us, yep. I think it's supposed to be one of those "moral fiber builders".

[Bert Kemp]

So you gonna tell us about it or just leave us all hangin?

What about not really wanting anything and getting a gift that was mind bogglingly fantastic.

That sort of happened to me.

jtk

[Bert Kemp]

I tell everyone I don't need anything but if you really feel you must I tell them to get oil or filters and brake pads for my bike. I go thru that stuff like water. There relatively inexpensive items and there easy to find and its something I'll always use.

[Jim Matthews]

SWMBO and I have a strict policy of only giving gifts to our children.
We do assist the kids in "making" things for Mommy and Daddy.

Even if it's a donut, or a song.
Or a donut that plays a song.

We've already got a house full of stuff. More stuff isn't what we're after.

[Rich Engelhardt]

When the kids grew up and left the nest, my wife and I decided instead of giving presents to each other - we'd just take the money we'd spend on each other and buy Toys for Tots instead.
We set aside a certain amount to spend each month and pick up toys all year long.

It solved the problem of getting exactly what we wanted each year.