standard seasonal topic: what gifts are you giving?

[mpp]

If someone sent me a pre-emptive list of stuff they wanted for Christmas (or that they wanted you to give their kids for Christmas), I'd be astonished.

[mpp]

Originally Posted by pale_princess

i work for a toy company, so i'm kind of the opposite. the nieces' mom (bro in law's wife) even sent a detailed list of books and "gender-neutral" toys and i was like, come on, i've been stockpiling free toys all year. screw your list!

the older niece is very "princessy" so i got her the pinkest, purplest, frilliest doll my company makes

Ha, my daughter loved trains and planes, etc., for about the first 18 months. The last 6 months...all about babies and blankets. Such is life.

[noyen]

Originally Posted by Trotskilicious

i think people making lists of what to buy them is absolutely fucking disgraceful

children are horrible.

i blame santa.

[yo soy el mejor]

my 13 y.o cousin's list made me lol:

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...91224735_n.jpg

my mom gave me a family apple to apples game i haven't used cause i don't know enough people who'd be willing to play. i need at least 3 others. i'm thinking of sending him that. his mom said what he really really wants is the toys r us catalog because he collects catalogs. she said if he doesn't get that it doesn't matter what's under the tree.

[Trotskilicious]

shaunna q said it was her aunt that made the list which is even more obnoxious to me

i mean a little kid making a list in crayon on construction paper is cute or whatever but mom sitting down at the computer and typing up detailed lists with hot links to amazon is just *barf*

[noyen]

i was kidding. adults are entirely horrible. kids are awesome. lists made by kids are joyously naive and they still make me want to kill myself.

[mpp]

Originally Posted by Trotskilicious

shaunna q said it was her aunt that made the list which is even more obnoxious to me

i mean a little kid making a list in crayon on construction paper is cute or whatever but mom sitting down at the computer and typing up detailed lists with hot links to amazon is just *barf*

Yeah, kids make lists because...that's just what kids do. It's fun.

I meant about her aunt. Yikes!


Little Jimmy needs a, b, and c, Shaunna! We're buying him x, y, and z (and he's getting d, e, and f from Great Uncle Dick) and because we've apportioned so much money here and there, this is exactly what you should get him so that our financial positions are blah blah blah

[mxzombie]

if i got a list like that it'd be a list of things i will absolutely not get for them.

[mpp]

Originally Posted by noyen

i was kidding. adults are entirely horrible. kids are awesome. lists made by kids are joyously naive and they still make me want to kill myself.

Dude, you're immortal. No worries amirite

[noyen]

i just wanna be a kid again. do-over.

[mpp]

Originally Posted by mxzombie

if i got a list like that it'd be a list of things i will absolutely not get for them.

yep

that would make me rebel


the gender neutral thing kills me too -- how about getting your kid WHAT THEY FUCKING WANT (w/i reason of course)

My daughter loves playing with the fake food so we bought her a badass little kitchen, my parents in law got her some more fake food, my parents are getting her a little grocery cart and a car (to take to teh grocery, duh).

Guess I should say her bday and Xmas are very close in date...whcih kinda sucks. I'm putting some fo the stuff in the attic for mid-year Christmas. Sweet.

[mpp]

Originally Posted by noyen

i just wanna be a kid again. do-over.

From what I've been able to discern, youth is, in fact, wasted on the young.

[pale_princess]

Originally Posted by Trotskilicious

shaunna q said it was her aunt that made the list which is even more obnoxious to me

i mean a little kid making a list in crayon on construction paper is cute or whatever but mom sitting down at the computer and typing up detailed lists with hot links to amazon is just *barf*

agreed. and actually sister-in-law, not aunt. i'm the aunt of the kids!

what rubbed some of us in the family the wrong way is that it was presumptive that all of us would buy gifts (some family members having little spending money for christmas). what rubbed me the wrong way was that the list was sent without first confirming when we'd be able to see them and the kids over the holidays (her family typically takes precedence over her husband's). and i'd sent the first email asking when everyone would be able to get together in the first place!

[pale_princess]

Originally Posted by mpp

yep

that would make me rebel


the gender neutral thing kills me too -- how about getting your kid WHAT THEY FUCKING WANT (w/i reason of course)

yes on both of these points.

i don't want to be the one that gives her the doctor or firefighter playset she thinks is all right, i want her to squeal with delight at the super cute things she's opening! I'M THE FUN AUNT!!!

[mpp]

Originally Posted by pale_princess

what rubbed some of us in the family the wrong way is that it was presumptive that all of us would buy gifts (some family members having little spending money for christmas).

How can someone be so self-absorbed? Is she just really busy with work or soemthing?

[mpp]

Originally Posted by pale_princess

yes on both of these points.

i don't want to be the one that gives her the doctor or firefighter playset she thinks is all right, i want her to squeal with delight at the super cute things she's opening! I'M THE FUN AUNT!!!

fo sho

i got my nephew a dinosaur book tho! uh oh

but i also got him 3 books my daughter had/has

[pale_princess]

Originally Posted by mpp

How can someone be so self-absorbed? Is she just really busy with work or soemthing?

don't you know that BEING A MOM IS THE HARDEST JOB IN THE WORLD!!!!!! haha

i understand she had good intentions sending out the list, but it was a huge eyeroll among that side of the family.

[mpp]

Originally Posted by pale_princess

don't you know that BEING A MOM IS THE HARDEST JOB IN THE WORLD!!!!!! haha

i understand she had good intentions sending out the list, but it was a huge eyeroll among that side of the family.

well that is a hard job, that's for sure

but here's the problem: you gotta think about OTHER PEOPLE before you send an email like that

finances at Christmas are tight for lots of folks

[Trotskilicious]

Originally Posted by pale_princess

agreed. and actually sister-in-law, not aunt. i'm the aunt of the kids!

what rubbed some of us in the family the wrong way is that it was presumptive that all of us would buy gifts (some family members having little spending money for christmas). what rubbed me the wrong way was that the list was sent without first confirming when we'd be able to see them and the kids over the holidays (her family typically takes precedence over her husband's). and i'd sent the first email asking when everyone would be able to get together in the first place!

my cousin did something like this once and her mother was like SHUT UP

it was pretty great

[vixnix]

My kids are getting a huge amount of crap. I tried to get some useful stuff like beach towels and torches. But the youngest has been going on and on about monsuno so I gave in and got him some overpriced plastic monsuno junk. I got my oldest a range if acrylic paints, some palettes, brushes and canvases and a giant container to put them in so he can keep it all in his room. I hope he likes it, it turned out to be a very expensive present with all the different colored paints and good brushes. And some star wars Lego because that's what he asked for.

My husband and I shop for ourselves. I'm giving myself lots of bath stuff and a new beach bag.

We don't send gifts at christmastime, just a card with a bad family photo and a newsletter of the year's events. I try to make it entertaining. Pm me with your address if you want a copy.

[Mo]

Originally Posted by Trotskilicious

i think people making lists of what to buy them is absolutely fucking disgraceful

Yes. My gf's family forces me to give out an Amazon wishlist full of books every year. Which is great, I love books, and I usually choose those I want but wouldn't buy for myself, but it always puts me on the spot and makes me feel like an ass.

[pale_princess]

yeah i just sent my amazon wishlist to my family secret santa for some ideas.

[Shallowed]

When I asked what mum would like for Christmas she said world peace. So I'm going to donate $100 to a charity, I don't know which one yet. Or I might donate my time to a charity.

Dad said he didn't want me to buy anything for him for Christmas. I'm going to give him an audio cable of mine which I don't need any more. It's the same kind that I "borrowed" from him for a long time, it started working intermittently, then I got myself a new one and gave him the broken one back. I'm also going to attempt to fix an analogue mixer which he asked me to do a while ago.

I'm giving my sister VHS tapes of Fred Asaire movies that I bought at a thrift store much earlier this year.

I don't want anything unless it's hand-made or written or drawn or something like that.

[yo soy el mejor]

my father always asked for world peace, too.

[yo soy el mejor]

my aunt sent me a jacket she said she got at a thrift store for 25 cents and it's a great jacket. she said it wasn't a christmas present, just something she thought'd i'd like!

my family has a habit of telling the price if it's something they got a great deal on. my grandma was notorious for that - 'Do you like your present, mija? I got it on sale at Macy's for $15!"

[Luke de Spa]

superyacht, world's largest diamond, pacific island, moonbase, exclusive mining rights for ceres through 2312, iphone 6

[yo soy el mejor]

u fancy, huh.

[avian chaos]

Not getting anything for anyone, except some super deluxe chocolate and Coconut Porter for my friend that'll be watching my cats while I'm gone in California next week.

Nothing against Christmas, but for some reason neither my family nor my husband's is very big on gift giving. Chris and I usually just decide on one or two things we'd both like to have as "house presents" to split the cost of. We're getting a new couch and a Vitamix this year.

I will be bringing home some Aquavit, coffee beans, Aardvark sauce and other local delights for us all to enjoy together, though. Those are the kinds of presents I like most.

[Luke de Spa]

lego pirate ship, calculator watch, air jordans, double-double animal style, google cortical implant

[reprise85]

reciprocal gift giving is weird. it's like people who buy rounds at bars expecting that everyone does the same thing, and gets pissy when someone doesn't. give a gift if you want, but expecting shit just ruins the whole point. if someone asks, tell them. otherwise it is the fucking spirit that counts, seriously, one time i was inpatient and some schizo guy made me a bracelet during therapeutic recreation and he didnt even spell my name right and some of the letters are upside down but i treasure it ITS THE FUCKING THOUGHT THAT COUNTS