Community Chat

[Kachina624]

Can you even buy hankies nowadays?   I never see them in stores.... oh wait,  I shop online.   Who has time or is inclined to wash and IRON them?   Who even wants one?   I'll take electronics. 

[ROMARY]

Less 'stuff' (items and gifts) to worry about choosing way back when.  It seemed more peaceful regarding making decisions when looking for gifts.  ............ Which reminds me: The difference (then and now) in the amount of cereal choices while standing in front of the cereal aisle.  OMGosh. 

[151949]

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@chrystaltree wrote:

I'm hoping and praying that as I age, I won't be one of those women who thinks that everything was better back in the old days.  Because it wasn't...lol    OP's mother might have received a dress and a cardigan but HER mother got aprons and pot holders...lol  Life moves on.   People didn't get electronics 60 years ago because there were no electronics.   There were no laptops and tablets and cell phones and fax machines and hover boards and drones.   Also, people didn't have major credit cards.  Master Charge and Visa didn't exist.  There were store accounts but for the most part, people paid cash.  Also, incomes were not as high as they are now, even factoring in for inflation.  There's nothing wrong with giving and receiving nice things.  And people still do give and receive practical presents and presents that do not cost a lot of money.  But Christmas isn't just about gifts.  For us, it's mostly about family and food and decorations and lights and new beginnings.  Just as it was when I was a child 50 years ago. 

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LOL - boy did you ever make a wrong assumption here - MY GRANDMOTHER got diamonds and pearls and gemstones for almost every occasion -- my grandfather was a jeweler.But as the poster above has already stated - you've totally missed the point . It was about appreciating the simple things - but then, as usual, everyone here just goes on the attack immediately.

[Moonchilde]

Men seem "compelled" to buy their wives jewelry or electronics? Uh...no. They understand that jewelry or electronics is what their wives want/what will make them happy to receive, and that they would die laughing first and be pithed off later if they were given a typical 40s-50s gift they have no use for.

Jewelry doesn't need to be extravagant or expensive. Many ordinary, useful and necessary articles of clothing cost more than some jewelry. Neither does electronics need to be top dollar - that's what Big Lots, and shopping channels that sell no-name products are for ;-) - never mind big box store sales.

People like to choose their own wallets, underwear and many other things and are not necessarily going to feel grateful for others' choices on their behalf in the 21st C even if they "should." I am SO been there and done that with others' choices of what I "should like", "had better like" or what's wrong with you that you don't like ...  People have individual tastes. They're entitled to them. They're not ungrateful freaks for having them ;-( 

My mother, who last worked in the late 50s/very early 60s, was forever stuck on what things cost in 1968. She had no concept that the cost of living continued to increase for *everything*. To the day she died she couldn't grasp that $15-20 in the area was not an extremely expensive lunch or that you pretty much couldn't buy a burger, fries and a Coke for less than $12-15 in the area unless we're talking drive-through. The idea that abeer could be $6-7? Outrageous! Maybe, but not "extravagant."

[candy211]

We used to be happy with what we got,  but it is different today, the kids just excpect more then what some people can afford because the technology is different

[suzyQ3]

Here's a thought: Maybe the OP would be better suited to celebrating Festivus, the holiday for airing and reliving grudges.

[Noel7]

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@151949 wrote:

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@chrystaltree wrote:

I'm hoping and praying that as I age, I won't be one of those women who thinks that everything was better back in the old days.  Because it wasn't...lol    OP's mother might have received a dress and a cardigan but HER mother got aprons and pot holders...lol  Life moves on.   People didn't get electronics 60 years ago because there were no electronics.   There were no laptops and tablets and cell phones and fax machines and hover boards and drones.   Also, people didn't have major credit cards.  Master Charge and Visa didn't exist.  There were store accounts but for the most part, people paid cash.  Also, incomes were not as high as they are now, even factoring in for inflation.  There's nothing wrong with giving and receiving nice things.  And people still do give and receive practical presents and presents that do not cost a lot of money.  But Christmas isn't just about gifts.  For us, it's mostly about family and food and decorations and lights and new beginnings.  Just as it was when I was a child 50 years ago. 

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LOL - boy did you ever make a wrong assumption here - MY GRANDMOTHER got diamonds and pearls and gemstones for almost every occasion -- my grandfather was a jeweler.But as the poster above has already stated - you've totally missed the point . It was about appreciating the simple things - but then, as usual, everyone here just goes on the attack immediately.

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@151949

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@151949 wrote:

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@chrystaltree wrote:

I'm hoping and praying that as I age, I won't be one of those women who thinks that everything was better back in the old days.  Because it wasn't...lol    OP's mother might have received a dress and a cardigan but HER mother got aprons and pot holders...lol  Life moves on.   People didn't get electronics 60 years ago because there were no electronics.   There were no laptops and tablets and cell phones and fax machines and hover boards and drones.   Also, people didn't have major credit cards.  Master Charge and Visa didn't exist.  There were store accounts but for the most part, people paid cash.  Also, incomes were not as high as they are now, even factoring in for inflation.  There's nothing wrong with giving and receiving nice things.  And people still do give and receive practical presents and presents that do not cost a lot of money.  But Christmas isn't just about gifts.  For us, it's mostly about family and food and decorations and lights and new beginnings.  Just as it was when I was a child 50 years ago. 

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LOL - boy did you ever make a wrong assumption here - MY GRANDMOTHER got diamonds and pearls and gemstones for almost every occasion -- my grandfather was a jeweler.But as the poster above has already stated - you've totally missed the point . It was about appreciating the simple things - but then, as usual, everyone here just goes on the attack immediately.

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@151949

You made a point of saying that Christmas is different now than years ago.  You also said men now feel compelled to buy women jewelry.

It never seems to be about enjoying the simple things, it always seems to be complaints about people today and their supposed values.  It 's a theme.

[JaneMarple]

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@Noel7 wrote:

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@151949 wrote:

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@chrystaltree wrote:

I'm hoping and praying that as I age, I won't be one of those women who thinks that everything was better back in the old days.  Because it wasn't...lol    OP's mother might have received a dress and a cardigan but HER mother got aprons and pot holders...lol  Life moves on.   People didn't get electronics 60 years ago because there were no electronics.   There were no laptops and tablets and cell phones and fax machines and hover boards and drones.   Also, people didn't have major credit cards.  Master Charge and Visa didn't exist.  There were store accounts but for the most part, people paid cash.  Also, incomes were not as high as they are now, even factoring in for inflation.  There's nothing wrong with giving and receiving nice things.  And people still do give and receive practical presents and presents that do not cost a lot of money.  But Christmas isn't just about gifts.  For us, it's mostly about family and food and decorations and lights and new beginnings.  Just as it was when I was a child 50 years ago. 

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LOL - boy did you ever make a wrong assumption here - MY GRANDMOTHER got diamonds and pearls and gemstones for almost every occasion -- my grandfather was a jeweler.But as the poster above has already stated - you've totally missed the point . It was about appreciating the simple things - but then, as usual, everyone here just goes on the attack immediately.

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@151949

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@151949 wrote:

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@chrystaltree wrote:

I'm hoping and praying that as I age, I won't be one of those women who thinks that everything was better back in the old days.  Because it wasn't...lol    OP's mother might have received a dress and a cardigan but HER mother got aprons and pot holders...lol  Life moves on.   People didn't get electronics 60 years ago because there were no electronics.   There were no laptops and tablets and cell phones and fax machines and hover boards and drones.   Also, people didn't have major credit cards.  Master Charge and Visa didn't exist.  There were store accounts but for the most part, people paid cash.  Also, incomes were not as high as they are now, even factoring in for inflation.  There's nothing wrong with giving and receiving nice things.  And people still do give and receive practical presents and presents that do not cost a lot of money.  But Christmas isn't just about gifts.  For us, it's mostly about family and food and decorations and lights and new beginnings.  Just as it was when I was a child 50 years ago. 

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LOL - boy did you ever make a wrong assumption here - MY GRANDMOTHER got diamonds and pearls and gemstones for almost every occasion -- my grandfather was a jeweler.But as the poster above has already stated - you've totally missed the point . It was about appreciating the simple things - but then, as usual, everyone here just goes on the attack immediately.

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@151949

You made a point of saying that Christmas is different now than years ago.  You also said men now feel compelled to buy women jewelry.

It never seems to be about enjoying the simple things, it always seems to be complaints about people today and their supposed values.  It 's a theme.

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All the time, several times a month!

[Noel7]

@JaneMarple

The opening post also implied that the "joy" is gone from giving simple things, as if jewelry and electronics or any more expensive gift than a hankie    

Is almost meaningless.

So many judgements and baseless assumptions.

[Cakers3]

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@151949 wrote:

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@chrystaltree wrote:

I'm hoping and praying that as I age, I won't be one of those women who thinks that everything was better back in the old days.  Because it wasn't...lol    OP's mother might have received a dress and a cardigan but HER mother got aprons and pot holders...lol  Life moves on.   People didn't get electronics 60 years ago because there were no electronics.   There were no laptops and tablets and cell phones and fax machines and hover boards and drones.   Also, people didn't have major credit cards.  Master Charge and Visa didn't exist.  There were store accounts but for the most part, people paid cash.  Also, incomes were not as high as they are now, even factoring in for inflation.  There's nothing wrong with giving and receiving nice things.  And people still do give and receive practical presents and presents that do not cost a lot of money.  But Christmas isn't just about gifts.  For us, it's mostly about family and food and decorations and lights and new beginnings.  Just as it was when I was a child 50 years ago. 

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LOL - boy did you ever make a wrong assumption here - MY GRANDMOTHER got diamonds and pearls and gemstones for almost every occasion -- my grandfather was a jeweler.But as the poster above has already stated - you've totally missed the point . It was about appreciating the simple things - but then, as usual, everyone here just goes on the attack immediately.

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@151949  So your grandfather was a jeweler and that justifies his giving gifts of diamonds, pearls, and gemstones. 

Does that mean that the rest of the husbands in the world should only purchase hankies and "hose" for their wives???  Unless they themselves are jewelers and getting jewelry at cost??

It really isn't your call to determine why a husband buys jewelry for his wife.  It's no upset for your life.

Oy.