Christmas gift questions. Mail carrier and neighbor
Iris S (SC, Zone 7b)
6 years ago
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ravencajun Zone 8b TX
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Let's discuss Christmas gift-giving
Comments (28)Wow, lots of neat traditions. I find shopping for gifts wearying. I usually start in October and try to be finished by the end of November. I try to leave time in December for decorating, cookie baking and wrapping gifts. We are also away for about 9 days total in December as our kids play in 2 international junior squash tournaments and so this takes a huge chunk out of our Christmas preparation time and also means we cannot have a real tree as we are away and can't water it. We buy for our 3 kids, in-laws, our staff (about 8 people), couple of aunts and uncles, and assorted family. We have done a draw for the family in previous years so that all the adults names are put in a hat and each person then draws and only has to buy 1 gift. But this has fallen by the wayside as part of the family had moved away and sometimes comes back for Christmas and sometimes doesn't. I am more conscious now in trying to buy gifts that are useful or consumable as we all know how easy clutter comes into our homes and how difficult and time consuming it is to take it back out. Traditionally my DH and I usually buy small gifts for each other, most of which will fit in our stockings, requisite gifts are chocolate bars, socks, paperbacks, I always receive a "For Better or For Worse" comic book and the year's stamp set (Canadian), and a CD, you get the idea. We also buy lots of little things for the kids' stockings. Sometimes there may be one big gift for the family (one year it was a large screen T.V. ) and then, the other gifts will be smaller and fewer. I usually get an Odyssey set of tapes (from Focus on the Family) as one of the gifts for the kids as we do lots of driving trips and the kids like listening to them in the car. Just wrapping all the stocking gifts takes forever, but they are so much fun to open Christmas morning. Christmas Eve, the family goes to Church as our Church does not have a Christmas morning service. Then we open presents Christmas morning, have brunch and relax and then start cooking Christmas dinner late afternoon, in-laws come and another round of gift opening takes place. I really like it that we don't have to go anywhere on Christmas day, it really is quite relaxing. My DH jokes that it's the only day in the whole year when the car doesn't leave the driveway!...See MoreUnexpected Christmas Gifts?
Comments (12)This is kinda different from the beautiful surprises you all mentioned. But it was unexpected. My next door neighbor brought our family a popcorn popper and popcorn for it yesterday afternoon. It a Whirly.. something, goes on the stove top. It's very cute, and fun to use, we tried it out already LOL. This man moved in next door to us a few months ago, lives alone, in his 60s, his kids are grown and he's divorced. I know almost nothing about him, except he's diabetic (so I cannot return the favor with a plate of homemade cookies). I know about that b/c he ordered cookie dough from DD's fundraiser, then when we delivered the product he turned around and gave it back to US to use, explaining he can't eat them but wanted to help out DD's team anyway! OMG! He just continues his acts of kindness to us, though we still barely seem to know each other. I don't know what to make of this! He's gone today, or I would have him over for dinner. Meanwhile, I'm wracking my brain trying to think of just the right favor or gift to give back to him. Oh, we've taken his trash can back and held deliveries for him when he's out of town, but I want to think of something special. Stephanie, who totally lucked out on neighbors all the way around....See MoreGifts for neighbors
Comments (16)Those are very beautiful cinnamon rolls. When I used to make them at the restaurant, I did not ice them and left them plain. It would take me all night to make them (I worked graveyard 11 pm to 7 am), and I would have to stay late for the rolls to finish. Then when the morning workers came in, they would eat most of them before they could be sold. One of the perks of that restaurant was that workers could eat whatever they wanted for free, but wages were fairly low. It was run by a commune of hippies, and so rules were pretty loose. My grandmother used to bake a lot of bread and would give pans of dinner rolls (unbaked) to all her neighbors. I think she did it because she loved getting compliments on her bread, but she was also sort of compulsive about baking bread. I learned how to make bread from her as a small child. In Venice I would give food to the neighbors quite frequently. I could see into their courtyard from my kitchen window, and I would give them food from across the wall/fence that separated us. They were four male college students from Loyola Marymount University (where the last Democratic debate was held), and I would just give them my leftovers rather than throw them away. They would eat anything, but I did also make special candy at Christmas and give them some of that as well. We also exchanged fruit from our back yards. They gave me tangerines, and I gave them oranges, figs, lemons, and limes....See MoreJust mailed the Christmas gifts
Comments (13)Have all the gifts gotten. Now I just have 60 pendents for the 9 year olds new room. The 9 and 14 year olds are getting new rooms on the fourth floor with the 15 year old. So all the boys will be on the same floor, and the guest rooms will move to the third floor.( much easier for guests) I will make some new throw pillows for the 14 year olds room as his will be more on out in the woods style. The 9 year old wants a panda bear themed room and wants to keep pendents like he has now, so grandma is making new ones that fit his new space....See MoreIris S (SC, Zone 7b)
6 years agolittlebug zone 5 Missouri
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6 years agorhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
6 years agoIris S (SC, Zone 7b)
6 years agoElizabeth
6 years agoAnnie Deighnaugh
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoIris S (SC, Zone 7b)
6 years agoElizabeth
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6 years agoUser
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6 years agolittlebug zone 5 Missouri
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6 years agoIris S (SC, Zone 7b)
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