Posted by ksvt on December 3, 2000, at 21:06:54
In reply to Re: I could use some advice » ksvt, posted by allisonm on December 3, 2000, at 16:11:28
> Allison - thanks for the ideas. Your post actually gave me a real chuckle for the first time in an otherwise pretty hectic day. Here's why:
1) I gave every elementary school teacher i ever had, bayberry candles for Xmas.
2) My 12 year old daughter is going with me to Atlanta, and altho she claims to understand the significance of it being my sister's 50th birthday, she really thinks we are just going to shop. I'll be lucky if i don't have to spend a huge chunk of time in Claires or Afterthoughts or any of the other myriad of mall accessories stores where nothing seems to cost more than about $6, everything seems to look the same, and my daughter takes hours making each decision. There are no malls where I live so I rather look forward to getting into one.
3) I find it incredible that you can remember what you gave people. My husband gives me a chenille sweater every year that looks suspiciously close to the color of the one he gave me the year before. My sister gave me the book Bird by Bird 2 successive years for my birthday. The next year she gave me a different book but made a very clever book cover which matched the cover of Bird by Bird altho hers was marked a "special birthday edition."
My husband made me sort of run through a list of things I thought we should get for people. Somehow enumerating things made it seem like it wasn't going to be so hard. At some point I'll panic, lose track of what I've done, and probably start way overspending, mostly on my husband or kids. My husband's attitude about my doing this is don't sweat it, it's Christmas. I guess that's probably a healthier way to look at things, but runs against my rather puritannical inclinations. Thanks ksvt
I suppose I'm lucky. The few friends and relatives that I have left live in fairly far-flung areas. I bought them all amaryllis plants through a catalog. For the non-plant types, I sent dates stuffed with pecans from another catalog. The couple of closer friends I have I bought presents for at an art festival over the summer when I wasn't stressed out about Christmas. Now I only have my dad left and my best friend and her two children. The children should be simple -- their mother gives me a list. For my dad I also ordered nuts, pumpkin seeds and candied ginger from the nut catalog. He doesn't really need anything, so maybe that will be it unless I think of something else.
>
> Candles. Candles make a nice present. They're pretty and you can use them. Can you do any shopping while you're in Atlanta? It might not seem so much like Christmas shopping and you might find something you'd not find at home.
>
> Easier said than done, but try not to beat yourself up about what you're giving. Think more about yourself this Christmas and what will be less stressful for you. They won't know, and ten years from now, or even a year or two from now, no one will remember what you gave them anyway. I think I remember what I gave people more than they remember what I gave them because I have trouble remembering what they gave me. (Did that make sense?)
>
> Just some thoughts off the top of my head.
>
> Allison
poster:ksvt
thread:3353
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20001117/msgs/3416.html