Community Chat

[banjo]

I have 2 nieces, both married with chidren, so I send them the 6lb. Harry London chocolates. Since they both live out of town, this is easiest for me. As for the rest of the family, we exchange cookies, candy or homemade fruit breads. My husband and I buy what we want during the year, so we don't buy gifts for each other.

[traveler]

I just mailed homemade cookies to one son and will more for this son. No other gifts. I do like to decorate and craft. DH and I do for each other through the year so no gifts.

[JustJules]

On 11/22/2014 spindlegirl said:

That's a nice post Jules. Memories are good, I hope you'll have happy holidays in the future too. And you have your sweet puppy to buy presents for!

Thank you spindlegirl. Yes, I will buy presents for my little furbaby girl so that will be fun, although it's practically Christmas every day for her. I hope you and your family will have a wonderful happy and healthy holiday season as well.

[barrel racer]

I only bought four gifts this year. Two Kindles, a pressure cooker & a pair of Uggs. I miss shopping for kiddos, adults are no fun. I don't know if I will even put up a tree this year. Yes, I miss the shopping, but I am still going out Black Friday. This will be the first year I won't have to stand in line for anything.

[JustJules]

On 11/23/2014 pood said:

This topic makes me sad....it just shows how commercialized Christmas has become over the past few decades. I buy for my son and grandson, the rest of us gave up gift giving a long time ago.

I long for the days when a gift was just that, something someone picked out for you-sure I got my share of bad gifts, but still it was a gift.

Now it's gift cards or cash that are actually asked for and expected..Not much thrill or anticipation in that, is there?

I guess I'm just feeling sentimental, I wish it was Christmas again of long ago......

I can totally understand your sentiment pood. For me, the pleasure of gift giving was shopping and trying to find just the right thing for someone, and the happiness they showed. Gift cards seem so impersonal, and while convenient and always the right size, it's not the same as taking time to make someone feel appreciated. It doesn't even need to be expensive or lots of gifts, just the gesture of thoughtfulness. I have friends who practically go into debt every Christmas buying toys and gifts for their kids. I can understand wanting to make your child happy but they need to learn that the spirit of Christmas isn't about material things. I remember watching some of my cousins children open presents at Christmas when we would have a large family gathering, and the kids would play with one toy for only a couple minutes before losing interest and moving on to the next thing. They were bombarded with too much "stuff" and didn't appreciate much of it at all.

One of my favorite Christmas memories was when I was about 5 or 6 and my parents got me a complete toy appliance set and put it in the garage so I could have my own kitchen. There was a very large packing box and my dad turned it into a little play house for me, complete with cut out windows, a chimney, and an arched front doorway. Then my mom made curtains and helped me decorate it. I spent more time playing in that cardboard box house than I did with all the fancy kitchen toys. Perhaps it was because my dad spent the time making it for me and all the little details, but I loved that silly little box. I guess Christmas is just a sentimental time.

[chickenbutt]

None at all. It's very freeing. I buy a card for my husband and for my father. That's it.

tI's not that don't enjoy giving. I really do. But this whole christmas thing has become such a monster. I don't like giving out of a sense of duty, which is what it became FOR ME toward the end. Besides, the husband and I had given about all there was to give and after a while you just don't have good ideas, that are any more than just trying to come up with something, anything, so that you took care of it.

I've never done the 'Black Friday' thing. While I know many people enjoy it, and that's just great, it was not for me. I don't like crowds and would gladly pay more to do it sans a crowd. Some of the stories you hear every year are just horrifying. I don't want anything THAT bad!

[VioletEyes]

After watching the frenzy on QVC to buy for everyone including the butcher, it is nice to read a thread where a lot of posters know the real meaning of the holidays.....and it certainly isn't about gifts.

I continue to shop, though, for loved ones. I confess I do it partially because I love seeing them happy with what I ever chose for them. My husband and I have always exchanged gifts and I think now we do it more for the tradition, than about whatever "things" we are buying one another.

[traveler]

I came to the conclusion years ago that Black Friday shopping is primarily gifts for one's self, not gift giving.

[HisElk]

On 11/23/2014 Jules5280 said:

On 11/23/2014 pood said:

This topic makes me sad....it just shows how commercialized Christmas has become over the past few decades. I buy for my son and grandson, the rest of us gave up gift giving a long time ago.

I long for the days when a gift was just that, something someone picked out for you-sure I got my share of bad gifts, but still it was a gift.

Now it's gift cards or cash that are actually asked for and expected..Not much thrill or anticipation in that, is there?

I guess I'm just feeling sentimental, I wish it was Christmas again of long ago......

I can totally understand your sentiment pood. For me, the pleasure of gift giving was shopping and trying to find just the right thing for someone, and the happiness they showed. Gift cards seem so impersonal, and while convenient and always the right size, it's not the same as taking time to make someone feel appreciated. It doesn't even need to be expensive or lots of gifts, just the gesture of thoughtfulness. I have friends who practically go into debt every Christmas buying toys and gifts for their kids. I can understand wanting to make your child happy but they need to learn that the spirit of Christmas isn't about material things. I remember watching some of my cousins children open presents at Christmas when we would have a large family gathering, and the kids would play with one toy for only a couple minutes before losing interest and moving on to the next thing. They were bombarded with too much "stuff" and didn't appreciate much of it at all.

One of my favorite Christmas memories was when I was about 5 or 6 and my parents got me a complete toy appliance set and put it in the garage so I could have my own kitchen. There was a very large packing box and my dad turned it into a little play house for me, complete with cut out windows, a chimney, and an arched front doorway. Then my mom made curtains and helped me decorate it. I spent more time playing in that cardboard box house than I did with all the fancy kitchen toys. Perhaps it was because my dad spent the time making it for me and all the little details, but I loved that silly little box. I guess Christmas is just a sentimental time.

Jules, your story about the "silly little box" brought a tear to my eyes.

After my dear mother passed, my dad was not the same person anymore; they had been married for 54 years. I decided to get him a pretty card and write him a letter about what my gift was to him. I bought a canvas and began painting a portrait of him and my mother; nothing was going well, and I got so upset with myself, I through it outside. It had rained and got all messed up. A few day later, I went outside and picked it up and saw how messed up it was. I placed it on a towel in a room standing up against the wall. A few days later, it was completely cleaned up. To me, that was a sign that I was supposed to try it again, so I prayed about it and asked Him if I was supposed to do this, to please "guide" my hand.

It took me 2 full days to complete the portrait. I then gave my dad the card with my handwritten letter to him on Christmas. I will never ever forget the tears that came out of his eyes while reading my letter and seeing the portrait.

I agree, it is a very sentimental time of the year.

[chrystaltree]

I do miss having children in my life. I miss shopping for the kids, I miss school plays, I miss their Chistmas concerts at church, I miss shopping for Chistmas dresses for them. We give fewer presents but I don't give cash and I prefer giving presents. I don't give many gift cards. So, I still have fun picking out presents and I stll have fun wrapping presents. I do give gift cards to some of my younger nieces and nephews but I also give them a present too. Otherwise, there would be no lovely packages under my tree! But if I had no one to shop for, I wouldn't care. Not at all. I love decorating and the tree and the lights and baking cookies and entertaining friends. Those are the things that make Christmas for me.