Two things happened today that got me thinking about gift-giving in general and stressed-out Christmas gift-giving in particular. First, my mother-in-law sent the kids mini-loaves of raisin bread and it arrived today, and I am not exaggerating when I say this simple gesture was met with extreme joy and glee. Never has a lunchtime been so exciting. Raisin toast! For lunch! Second, I was reminded of a conversation I had months ago. Someone was relating a tale of Christmas morning woe, when she opened a gift from a relative – who was visiting at the time – and that gift was the wrong size. That person then gave the item back and asked for it to be exchanged for the correct size, and was subsequently huffy that she never did receive a replacement gift.
Gift giving this time of year is so strange, isn’t it? There can be problems of hurriedly purchasing gifts in order to reciprocate with someone that you had never before received a gift from, and there are the duty gifts to people who you don’t like and who don’t like you but yet you always exchange gifts so as to not cause a family ruckus. There are the what to get for the person who has everything gifts, and there are the it’s never going to be good enough so I might as well just give up gifts. There are also the hey, this is a cute but absolutely useless item that will either end up in a landfill or will be thrust upon unwilling relatives who are going through your stuff when you die gifts. Cheerful, no?
It’s not like Christmas and commercialism are new concepts; after all, the Charlie Brown Christmas came out almost fifty years ago, and How The Grinch Stole Christmas came out in 1966. And yet every year we all struggle with what to get for this person, and how much to spend on that person, and it’s all very depressing.
But presumably the married people among us did not have weddings just to amass gifts, and in that spirit I say that Christmas should not a time of year where we simply accumulate more things. Gifts are a part of it, surely, but none of us really need anything, do we? This is not like Christmas in the Ingalls house where someone might get a badly needed pair of stockings or mittens to ward off frostbite, and maybe a peppermint candy just as a treat. We all have what we need, and more. However, it is nice and heartwarming to give and receive gifts as tokens of affection for the loved ones in our lives. And without further ado I give you…
Nicole’s Favourite Things: Gifts from the Heart Edition
Wine
We all have houses full of “things”, so these days I’m interested in consumable gifts. One of my very favourite gifts to give – and receive – is wine. You don’t need to be a connoisseur; most people are not and will be pleased with such a gift. The Superstore near my house sells wine at discounted rates for purchases of 6 or more bottles, which ends up being a steal of a deal. It’s hard to get more bang for your gifting buck than a nice bottle of wine, which can be less than $15 a bottle.
I would be in seventh heaven if someone made peppermint bark for me. I love that stuff.
I love the deodorant thing. I have these mints that I carry everywhere and love, and I always offer them to whoever’s around. Then my friend Zarah told me at the end of a week-end when I’d offered her one at least a dozen times that whenever anyone offers her a mint she takes one because once her husband did and she said no thanks and he said no really, take a mint. And I was aghast, but she said she didn’t really think I was saying she had bad breath all week-end. Whew.