Alright, peeps and meeps! Let’s share how good Santa was to us!
Do you ever find as you get older, your gift list gets smaller and smaller? I remember as a kid I was never short on ideas of things I would want. My brother and I would grab all the catalogues my parents had, newspapers, flyers, whatever, and sit on the floor circling items, or cutting them out, or dog-earing pages.
This year was a struggle when we had our family deadline of November 1st for our gift lists. I honestly just wanted nail supplies – but of course, I would never trust anyone to pick those out for me so I wanted gift cards so I could do it myself. I managed to get a small list out, mostly kitchen items, and it was no surprise when I opened up my gifts that I got baking things and an Instant Pot!! I’ve wanted one for a while so now I have to figure out how it works! I’ll wait until I’m back in Toronto to do that (I go home on the 1st).
But in all honesty, the very best gift I got this year, was in my stocking.
I have this rule that I can alter my gift list as many times as I want up until November 25th. Then I can’t. It’s just a personal choice because I want to make sure I’m not constantly adding things to it and making people look at new and updated versions every week (here’s looking at you, mom!) And this year, right after the 25th, I thought “OMG! I want a glass screen protector for my phone!”
I mentioned to my dad that I had missed my self-imposed deadline when he said he had finished his shopping for the year (before December 23rd! It was a record for him). And there, on Christmas morning, I pulled out a package of glass protectors for my phone!! After we were done our morning routine, the first thing I set out to do was to get one of those bad boys on my phone. And it is AUH-MAZING! I love it! Every time I use my phone, it’s like my fingers are gliding on ice! My old non-glass one was scratched up beyond belief and was actually hindering my use of the phone. So this is just amazing.
My dad wins Christmas since he got it for me, as well as my Instant Pot.
My mom has been weird lately on my gifts. When I was in Korea the second time, she purchased a white gold, crushed diamond, heart-shaped, tennis bracelet for my birthday which she said “if you don’t like it then I’ll keep it” before I even opened the gift. I will literally never wear that thing in my entire life, so I passed it back to her because why keep it if I’m never going to wear it. Then she got all upset and vowed never to get me anything nice or expensive ever again. She got me a “crazy hippo lady” personalized mug which is kind of meh and a copy of “the wind and the willows” along with a Disney DVD that apparently goes with the book? I have no idea. I’ve never seen the movie so I’ve added it to my Disney collection.
My brother did all the other baking items and ever since I opened them, he has been demanding a multi-layered cake. His birthday is on January 13th so before we leave, I’ll use some of the pans he got me and I’ll make him a two-tiered cake so we can all celebrate while we are together.
When I came back from my first contract in Korea, I wasn’t into the Christmas gift-giving spirit. Over there, Christmas isn’t really that big and I loved it. Families just spent time together. I was vetoed by my family to get away from all the materialistic trappings of Christmas, but now my brother is pushing really hard for that. We hope to get away from it next year. Instead of buying gifts for everyone, have everyone plan a family thing (bowling, make dinner, game night, something other than all of us just doing our own thing for a week while we’re in the same house not doing anything together).
Did you have an amazing Christmas? Did you get what you wanted? Did you have a surprise gift that just won Christmas for you? Have you ever done a giftless Christmas? Lemme know in the comments below.
No Love for Fatties 
Wife and I exchanged gifts on Christmas eve. I make Christmas breakfast (20+ year tradition) and this year my mom and her man were joined by my wife’s mom and her man (he’s also my best friend). As expected, her mom dominated the conversation, or should I call it a lecture because its tough to get a word in edgewise.
Afterward, we spent the rest of the day with my dad and stepmother. We like it there much more, less drama, more love and affection. Then my wife and I came home, watched Counterpart from Sunday night on Starz, and then we unwrapped our final gift.
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That sounds like a lovely day, Trip! Thankfully our Christmas Day is usually just at home. Gifts in the morning after breakfast (either my brother or I make it and the other does lunch) and then a quiet afternoon until a huge dinner (dad cooks). This year we had an aunt and a friend of my moms over and we had a great dinner and games after. It was nice
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The adults just did stocking stuffers this year, but, my boys got me a trailer hitch for my Subaru! They won this year. 😃😃
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Ooo nice!! Just stockings is an idea I’ve thrown around too but it didn’t fly. Sometimes I think they can be more expensive than presents! Lol
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Hahaha! Yeah, sometimes. It’s fun though. Worked out ok for us. 😃
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That’s good!!
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Santa brought me a bunch of new snowboarding gear including a new board, boots, gloves, and a jacket. Too bad I have to wait until early March to use them…
I have to say, I’m rather proud of my gift to Fella… I first gave him a card that said “I love you with all of my senses” and each gift was tagged: smell, taste, touch, hear, see. He liked his gifts very much. 🙂
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Ooo I’ve seen those gifts on Pinterest and I’ve always wanted to do it!! That’s so cute! Did you theme them? Like his fav cologne for smell type thing?
And why do you have to wait so long to use them?
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That’s just when we’re planning a our big trip with real snow. The mountains around my area have fake snow usually; not as fun.
The taste box had all his favorite candies. The smell had a reed diffuse and one of those toilet sprays that smell like bourbon. The hear was 6 CDs. Touch was a keychain for his motorcycle keys inscribed with the coordinates of where we went on our first date. See was a framed picture from our wedding. 🙂
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Oooo well I hope you have a great trip in March when you get to go!!
And awwww that is the cutest thing!!! Those are great ideas for each sense
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We are all about the time together! I mostly asked for small dog toys/treats for Agnes, and now she is well-stocked 🙂 I have friends who do “no gift, only time” traditions and they HATE them (because the stress of planning whatever for their event outweighs the benefit or they have a very toxic family environment), and I have a friends that delight in finding the perfect gifts for people. I think that every individual is different, and that giving gifts isn’t a bad thing, and spending time isn’t a bad thing. Find what works for you and your family, and enjoy it, whatever it is 🙂
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Yeah for def!! My mom is going to be SOOOO massively against no gifts. And she is honestly my holiday stress. Well anytime family stress. We just clash too much and I just can’t deal lol. I had enough after being together like 10 minutes on our first day of holiday so I totally understand that feeling of not wanting to do it. I hope we can find a nice balance next year that everyone likes
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Merry Christmas! I am really glad you liked your Christmas haul!!
I agree with post Korea you. Doing things together, or giving experiences is even better than receiving things. I think your Christmas will be awesome next year too! ❤
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I hope so!! It’s really hard sometimes to get the family to go and do things. My dad is always up for it but he’ll be 71 next year lol so somethings slow him down a bit (he won’t admit it though) but my mom is a mystery on her mood and her energy. But hopefully we’ll work something out that will make everyone happy!
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I know you’ll love your Instant Pot. I use mine quite a bit and just love it. Got one for my two DILs this year too!
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I am SO excited to open it up and learn all about how it actually works lol I’m planning to use it next Friday (my first day off after being back to work) so I have time to read the instructions. My only concern is that I only cook for one, so I don’t want to be making LOTS of food but I don’t mind freezing leftovers for later
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