This post will be something a little different.
See, in our family, there are no children. Our youngest on Christmas is 24 years old now and the rest of us aren't exactly 'needing' anything nowadays. We've got the appliances and towels and blankets and a few years ago it became obvious that there wasn't anything any of us needed.
Christmas shopping became a horrid chore.No really.
What do you buy for the people who have everything? (Okay, we don't have everything but I'm not buying anyone a sports car and how many years in a row do I need to buy my mother slippers!)
So Bob and I changed a few things up.
First time we realized it wasn't so much the gift as the novelty was when Bob built a wooden box around a gift for my Dad. He was able to build looking holes that went all the way through the box and others that had a little sign inside that said 'no peeking!'.
My father had to get a crowbar out to open the gift and in the end it wasn't the garden bell in the gift that had the family buzzing, it was the few days before, the curiosity of what it could possibly be that made the gift so much fun.
And that's when in almost a sigh of relief the entire family let the stress of gifting go. There was no meeting or discussion, it just happened.
Now it's about seeing a huge smile or a flat out belly laugh when one of us opens a gift.For me, it's monkeys. I make monkey noises I get excited and name the monkey the minute I see it. I'm not sure how it is they can still get a reaction out of me but every year a silly monkey shows up and makes me laugh. (You can't see it but the baby monkeys all have goofy grins on their faces - this special bookend keeps me smiling to this day!)
For my father it's Owls and Eagles. This year we found an owl tea pot, an outrageous owl plaque and yes, a pencil with a silly owl on the top.
My Aunt was everything Mexican and I outdid myself when I bought her a giant purple Mexican sombrero.For my hubby, it's anything 50's inspired or diner inspired. One year a few great minds thought alike and he ended up with two hot dog roller cookers (much to my chagrin).
So in the end, it wasn't about the gift for us anymore. It was about getting a reaction from the person getting the present. As my Dad notably said, 'I don't care if you get rid of it tomorrow, your reaction was enough for me'. And in the end, it seems the family agrees with him.
So if you just can't come up with an idea for that one person maybe play it outside of the box. Who knows you just might discover another side of your friends and family!I wish you all a very Merry Christmas indeed!
For more fun visit:
Lexi @ The Amazing Adulthood of Alexis
Lesley @ A Life in Books
Kim @ Page After Page
