"For the past few weeks there’s been a common refrain across the blogosphere alongside any holiday gift-related post…”I know it’s early but…” Well the gift guides have come out in full force and... I spent some time thinking about what makes a gift meaningful.... I firmly believe that something handmade or passed on is infinitely more exciting to give and receive than something store bought... But despite all my best intentions. I still end up buying a slew of gifts each year online."
I love giving gifts. Let me repeat that with appropriate emphasis. I LOOOOVE giving gifts. And. I'm darn good at it. I'm a gifted gift giver.
It's funny: Cleo asked me last week what have been some of the alltime best gifts I've ever received and I could think of exactly one: aWaterford crystal lamp from my sister Curley. Iremembered it because it was
That is the key to gift giving: knowyour recipient. Remember the commercial where someone gives his bald boss a blow dryer? That's my point.
When I got married in a previous life we receivedone of the dumbest gifts I've ever seen and if I'm about in insultsomeone out there because you have the same thing and think it's thefirst object you'd save if the house caught fire. I am truly sorry andplease respect my taste as I would respect yours no matter how stupid. Somebody on hisside of course thought we needed a four foot tall cooler shapedlike a beer can with a famous brewer's logo which I shallnot mention except to say that the company has something in commonwith the current president of the US. Except for a glass of wineabout twice a month. I don't drink and I certainly don't drink beer. And maybe the givers really did think we'd love it. Or maybe they hadit lying around in their basement and foisted it off on us. Ormaybe.. maybe they didn't even consider what we might like.
I always. ALWAYS search for that Ithink the recipient will like. I never send fattening food to peoplewho might be dieting. I listen when friends andrelatives comment offhandedly about what they like or could use or wishthey had. I've rendered many people speechless with my gifts and that brings me way more pleasure than receiving anything.
A few years ago Curley and I were reminiscing about some ofthe long lost objects we remembered from growing up. One was a pink porcelain spaghetti poodle with a rhinestonecollar that every mom had on her dresser in the Fifties and Sixties. Another was a coffee table book about animals from Reader's Digestbooks.
I spent the next week on eBay researching spaghetti poodles whichis why I now know what they're called because I found tons of them andbought one in perfect condition exactly like the one our mom had. Ialso racked my brain to come up with the name of the book freeassociating keywords until one evening there it was in pristinecondition with the dust cover. I bought two of those one for each of us; I didn't need tobuy two poodles because I still have our grandmother's which wasidentical to our mother's. Curley's in-laws scratched their heads whenshe opened my gifts but she knew.
A bunch of years ago after the birth of Cleo the last grandchild,Curley and I needlepointed a belt for our father with each of the kids'names. The block letters appear in a pattern of four overlapping colors,and if you didn't know to look for names you'd think you were just seeing an abstract pattern. Our father wears that belt almostevery day. It and so many other we've made orarranged are among his most prized possessions. And whenever I see him wearing it. I feel happy.
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Related article:
http://blog.feefifoto.com/2007/11/the-right-gift.html
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