but that’s what i want!
December 15, 2008
brent: so tam, what do you want for Christmas?
tam: glade clean linen plug in refills.
brent: 😕
tam: what?!! that’s what i want!
brent: no! i’ll get you some in january.
tam: 😕
i’m not a “practical” gift giver. but i am a practical receiver. in other words. i am low maintenance and a poor mans dream. wait, that didn’t sound right.
i’m just happy with simplicity.
what about you? let’s be honest, we all love receiving gifts so don’t act like you don’t. so what kind of gifts do you like most? are you extravagant? simple? practical? complicated? hard to buy for?
assuming you’re getting a gift and not a lump of coal – what’s the one thing you’re really hoping for?
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inProgress 
Do you really want to know what kind of gifts I love the most? Okay, let me join you on the page of simplicity. My favorite gifts are “the hands of time.” In other words, don’t go buy me anything, but do something for me. For example, I need a cozy nook in our new home where I can just sit, ponder, journal, create. The only little corner I see available is an oversized desk that my son no longer uses. I dream of taking it over, placing all my files, notebooks, journals, articles, all in one spot. If my son were to clear out his desk, set me up by arranging places for me to put this and that….oh! I’d be in heaven!!!! The gift of thoughtfulness absolutely makes my heart soar!
Honestly, the older I’ve gotten, the less enthusiastic I’ve become about getting gifts. Maybe it’s because growing up we didn’t have much anyways, or maybe it’s because I just relly enjoy giving gifts these days, I don’t know.
But if I had to say, I think it would be more along the lines of a book or something. I love to read.
iPod
But mostly (really) I just want all the kids to enjoy their time with each other and us.
Because we are commission only, we never have $ at Christmas. I plan ahead to buy gifts, but hubs doesn’t. So I’m used to not getting gifts at Christmas.
But sometimes he surprised me. Last year he put chip clips in my stocking. I was thrilled. I’m always nagging about stale chips. He also bought a small serving utensil set, and a Godiva bar. That was enough for me.
But about every 3-4 years he’ll buy an actual big gift. Once he bought a red kitchen aid Artisan mixer. Once a pink Coach bag w/ matching scarf, gloves, hat & umbrella.
Just depends on the year.
Socks. I walk about in my socks all the time and wear holes in them very quickly. You can’t darn cotton socks so I need constant replacements.
Alternatively vegetarian recipes, good books to read or my favourite: a cloudless night for star gazing. I’m also low maintenance.
ANYTHING electronic… u said be honest! So what I REALLY want this Christmas is a laptop (I’m getting that!), a PDA (I still need that!) and I would love a desktop PC too, because I really want to be able to keep the laptop for myself 😆 So the desktop will be for the rest of the family….
If I was wishing, not for things I REALLY want, but for things I’d love to have anyway…. a Playstation 3 AND a Nintendo Wii are right up there…. *drool*
Mama and I are focusing on others this year. She may get me a Christmas CD i like that ED mentioned on his blog. We have done some things already for others and have some other ideas in the works. I will get mama some small things – chocolate comes to mind!
For the last five years, I’ve told my family not to give me any gifts for Christmas because I believe that Christmas is more about being together with family and enjoying one another’s company. Yet, they still give me a “nominal gift”, be they a coffee mug set or a sweater (that is always either too big or just small for me) or gift cards (to establishment that I would never visit). I appreciate the gesture but I often end up giving those away to Goodwill. The other problems is that I love GIVING gifts so I’ve felt a certain hypocrisy in my stance. Perhaps I can drive the point home better by not giving them gifts either. Well, maybe except to my nieces (aged 14 and under). Hmm, that is something to consider…
Guitar Center gift cards… lots and lots of ’em!
I’m simplistic always.
Buy for my kids is what I tell people.
A haircut for me is like hitting the jackpot for me at Christmas!!!
But What I love:
Is someone calling, letter, or someone inviting me out for coffee, so I can some real one on one time with someone. I love that.
I think gifts are one of my love languages. Which makes me a decent gift-giver and a reallll difficult gift-receiver for my poor, gift-challenged husband. But that’s another story.
I’m hoping that he’s getting me a little baby iPod – the red one with the free engraving from the Apple site. And just to help the guy out, I’ve given all these details to my best friend with a request to pass it on…
In my family gifts are exchanged only between spouses and kids. I have no wife or kids so that makes Christmas shopping for me easy. I do get something for my nieces children and get cookies and love back. 🙂
I am saving up to get myself a new computer. Current one is slow, slow, slow.
I really can’t think of anything..hubs says I am being difficult, but I really can’t..if just for desire….then I would love a Macbook…but if I had enough money for that..well then..I would buy plan tickets…LOL so really .. i love books so any books are awesome… OH I LOVE those little coupons that the kids used to make that are good for a hug or dishes, or vacuuming..
hilarious conversation.
wishlist:
socks
time
that shouldn’t be difficult.
I’m pretty easy – my ideal Christmas is a 1000-piece ‘Charles Wysocki’s Americana’ Jigsaw Puzzle. Oh, and some red licorice to munch while I’m doing the puzzle.
I like blue pens.
That’s all I can think of right now.
Actually, I already GOT the gift. I just want to know WHO SENT IT.
Nobody will tell me anything. Nobody knows anything. And it’s too early for Santa Claus.
Has the mysterious Nor met his match?!?!
I REALLY want new pots and pans. Like, a lot. NICE ones. That would make my heart sing!
Bad, I LOVE your gift! That sounds like fun!
You’re so lame….
Um. My gift dream this year? $$$?? a nice job? a white Christmas?!? I dunno… There is one unmentionable thing that I think I truly want. But, I doubt I’m gonna get it. I’ve been waiting a long time.
I really like tickets to shows. Perhaps A Christmas Carol…. I love shows of any kind- plays, concerts, musicals. I will go see (almost) anything.
I cannot explain it, but I don’t really like receiving gifts. It’s just uncomfortable. It’s easier at Christmas because everyone else is sitting around opening up stuff also, but I hate it when I’m the center of attention, like on my birthday, and I have to open gifts and then act really excited when I see what that person gave me. Really awkward for me.
But to answer your question… I’m definitely low maintenance. Most of the time on Christmas, my husband and I give just a few simple things to one another. Every now and then, he’ll surprise me with something extravagant like a video cam or expensive wallet, etc. And I’ll do the same for him if I get a really great idea. But most of the time, it’s something practical and simple.
Maybe I’ll blog about this… a few of the weirder things he’s given me are: a shower squeegee and a gravy separator. (I’ve only made gravy twice ever in my life!) HaHaHa! He’s sincerely a very loving, thoughtful, kind, giving husband though. Seriously.
Bran – if you need any cookware suggestions, this is my favorite. I’ve had so many and these have held on the longest…12 years & still going strong. The only one I’ve worn out & had to replace was the 10″ nonstick saute pan. This is the link to the small set, but you can get them individually or find a larger set.
http://www.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=256816&PartnerID=FROOGLE&BannerID=PD677
Tam/Hover/Brenda – I’m not sure I buy it when people say they are “low maintenance.” just saying
‘…
Mandy – how do they get the nonstick stuff to stick to the pan in the first place?
Bran – Two words: Cast Iron.
I’m a Glade plug-in kind of girl (except not actual Glade plug-ins, I’m allergic).
What I mean is, I’m simple.
Ok, I’M not simple… I’m happy with simple gifts.*
The thing is, my life is so small that I don’t really need the big things. I don’t need new clothes because I never go anywhere, I live in a small condo so I can’t fit more decorations or knick knacks, I’m pretty much covered. I’ve wanted a Canon DSLR camera for years, but again it seems pretty frivolous since I don’t go anywhere and a person can only take so many photos of the dog. (I haven’t reached that limit of photos yet, but I’m sure I’m getting close.)
I like getting necessities because it takes stress off me. Gift cards to the grocery store, ink for my printer, blank canvases for me to paint, dog litter, gift card to my pharmacy. Stuff that I need but can’t afford. Those to me are the best presents. But the absolute best present was a few years ago when my friends and I all agreed to stop giving each other presents and just have supper together instead. I’m no longer buying gifts on a credit card I can’t afford and we all are happier just having fun together without the stress of “one extra thing” to buy. I only buy for my nieces and nephews and godchildren. And since that totals 15 little people, that’s more than enough gift giving for me!!!
*Unless someone wants to buy me a new laptop. Cuz this one is ssslllloooowwww.
I want my husband to read all this so he comes to realize that I’m not the only one who really wants to see the heart of Christmas be something other than what’s wrapped under the tree.
What do I want? Well, honestly, I don’t know. Practical works for me over lavish. Music of anykind, but really more than anything, I want my family happy. To see smiling faces, and the joy of the season all over my little girl’s face…that’s enough for me.
what i want most this year isn’t something someone can just check off of a shopping list. although i wish it was. i so badly wish it was.
b4dguy – Teflon, known to science as polytetrafluoroethylene, is a pain to work with because it’s nonsticky in all directions, the pan side (the bottom) as well as the food side (the top). Teflon is a fluorinated polymer, a polymer being a passel of identical building-block molecules linked together to make a long chain–the stuff of most plastics. Fluorine, due to certain electrochemical properties you’ll thank me for not explaining now, bonds so tightly with the carbon in Teflon that it’s virtually impossible for other substances, e.g., scrambled egg crud, to get a chemical-type grip or, for that matter, for Teflon to get a grip on anything else. In addition, the finished Teflon surface is extremely smooth, giving said egg crud little chance to get a mechanical-type grip.
So how do they get Teflon to stick to the pan? First they sandblast the pan to create a lot of microscratches on its surface. Then they spray on a coat of Teflon primer. This primer, like most primers, is thin, enabling it to flow into the the micro-scratches. The primed surface is then baked at high heat, causing the Teflon to solidify and get a reasonably secure mechanical grip. Next you spray on a finish coat and bake that. (The Teflon finish coat will stick to the Teflon primer coat just fine.) Works a lot better than the early Teflon pans, but you can still ruin Teflon cookware by subjecting it to extremely high heat. Not to mention, I’m sure there are health risks. I mean they are chemicals people.
And no, I didn’t write that.
Mandy,
you forgot about the horse urine – that’s the truly yucky thing about teflon
An electric blanket (and I think I got my wish… the box came and I’m not allowed to open it to check and see what it is. hmmmm….)
Excuse me, Jim2. Did you just say horse urine?
Ugh!
i forgot. i also want an area rug for our living room. but i know thats beyond our budget. so im good with glade plug ins. will make me happy, happy, joy, joy!
reading through these comments i have concluded, yet again, i know some of the coolest people on this planet!
One of my favorite Christmas gifts to receive? Socks.
Yep. I’m easy.
Although….a Wii would be nice!
I hate being asked what I want… Most of the time I don’t know. Why? What do I need that I don’t already have.
I used to be a Geeky Gadget guy, or a toy of some sort…. But now I just really don’t want for anything (not because I am rich), because I a have become very content with what I have and God provides.
My wife if she listened to me is getting me this… http://tinyurl.com/6zee74
Exciting huh?
Carl: That made me tired.
Socks. Cool patterned socks. Are they out of style now?
Lotion…candles…vanilla scent.
That’s about it.
😉
Michelle be honest – you used to wear toe socks, didn’t you?
HAHAHAHAHAAHA!!
Yes. I did.
Rainbow colored. 😆
Thanks, Bad.
I needed to laugh.
😉
I knew it! 🙂
I had some of those rainbow toe socks too, Michelle. We were cool (they’re just jealous). 😯
Yes, we were, Heidi! 😉
😛 Bad.
Did i go to spam?
Sis – what do you mean ‘were’?? 😉
toe socks creeped me out when i was a kid. but i never wanted to hurt my moms feelings so i wore them when she bought them for me.
bad- brent is supposeD to come and defend my “low maintenance” claim….
BRENT!!!!!!!
Mandy! THank you for that link! Going to check it out now.
My dilema is whether or not to buy teflon again. I need to buy new now b/c the teflon I have has scratched and is yucky. And my eggs stick to my “teflon.” Plus, I’ve heard teflon is not so good. *sigh*
I’m pretty sure we’re all going to die of cancer anyway, so maybe I shouldn’t worry so much about teflon? 😉 KIDDING. Totally. 😆
Bad, I have considered cast iron. I’m convinced some food just tastes better with cast iron cooking. 😉
Mandy, LOVE those pots and pans! I especially love the honkin stock pot!! 😯 Heaven I tell ya. 😆
All right – what IS going on here?? – TWO of my comments now on this post have just disappeared into thin air??
no links or other reason to spam them and nothing saying it is being ‘moderated’???
NOT. NICE!!! 😥
<B
You know, I normally really want a gift or thirty at Christmas. But this year, I just don’t want anything. Maybe it’s because we moved into our house this year and have been able to buy a few new things here and there? Perhaps.
But I’m very easy. Uh, um, easy to please with gifts, thankyousokindly.
thanks for that clarification cindy 😯
did Brent ever show up???
hmmmmm…………………..
I’ve been told that I’m really hard to buy for….so sad.
I’m like you. I’m not big on gift-giving. I have found lately that I LOVE giving. Receiving … it’s okay. 🙂 I mean, when I really love the gift, I really love it. But … it’s more for what the gift is than the fact that it was given. Doesn’t that sound horrible?? But … I’m not a gift loving kind of person. Although I suppose I will say that when someone really shows that they were paying attention and specifically got something they knew I would like … that’s pretty nice.