My 3 kids came up with a great idea for my 87 year old mom. (We do a huge Christmas Eve with all my siblings and nieces and nephews and their kids; I think there were 33 of us this year. EVERYONE gets mom something So she has plenty of gloves and blankets and bath stuff.)
The 3 of them are chipping in and taking mom out to lunch, probably one day this week.
We had our family Christmas this evening…and I was fun. The new TV was billed as a gift…to me. It’s fine.
I got a glass lid for my instapot…and framed current pictures of my kids. Those were great gifts!
DH’s family insists on Christmas lists so I asked for a throw for the sofa. I said the main carpet was mostly beige and rust and dark green. I said I thought navy blue or dark brown or green would work. So why would you get a red and black buffalo check?
LOL mathmom!
My brother had a Secret Santa party with some friends where you could only spend $5. He bought $5 of potatoes as a joke which was actually more than I imagined (a small box). Apparently though, it was extremely popular and one of them “stole” the present from the friend that originally got it. Then the friend who “stole” it traded some of them for other people’s gifts. So in the end, he got potatoes and some of the other $5 presents…
I wish that I had seen this thread on Christmas Day when I needed to vent. My husband loves to shop. When I met him 35 years ago, he exchanged gifts with a half dozen friends and bought gifts for another dozen. His close friends would get 3 to 6 packages, not expensive but thoughtful. Although his gift buying has diminished over the years, he still shops and buys multiple gifts for several friends. This year I had nothing under the tree from him and one small box in my stocking. It contained a pretty ring but very similar to one he gave me last year. I like jewelry but don’t want or need more. He did buy our son several thoughtful things for which I am happy.
Son, on the other hand, outdid himself with thoughtful gifts. The best gift was tickets for a night out with him sharing a sporting event which we both love. He bought the tickets months ago when he knew that he would be home for Christmas. We had a wonderful evening together at a very exciting game which we won at the final minute.
The lack of gifts isn’t important; I can buy what I want for myself. The change in attitude is worrisome.
DH is usually on point with my gifts but this year he gave me a whole wardrobe of workout clothes (jackets, pullovers, t shirts, leggings…) in XS! I haven’t worn that size since 5th or 6th grade. To turn a negative into a positive, we talked about changing our gift giving habits from “stuff” to “experiences.”
Update from me…the OP.
So I got the 50inch TV. So DH says he has to decide which TV will go in the family room…which is heated…and which will go in our mostly finished lower level…which isn’t heated.
He chose the lower level. Let’s just say…I preferred the heated location. Some gift!
I guess I need to go and buy those diamond earrings!
Lilmom, a part of me thinks it is flattering that your hubby thinks of you as XS. It would have been much worse if everything was XL.
@thumper1 have you considered that since it’s your gift, you decide where it goes?
That’s the point…I decided where I wanted it…but that’s not where it’s going.
So…diamond earring shopping I’m going.
Make sure he knows those earrings are for him, but you’re deciding whose ears they go on. 
The earrings are for him. They will make me look ravishing…and that should be pleasing!
I didn’t get the trip to Hawaii either…
Hahaha trumpet. I hope those are good sized diamonds.
I had to bug my H for years to go to Alaska. Finally gave him a choice this past summer. Iceland or Alaska. He choose Alaska. Now he says it was the most wonderful trip. Life changing. Ugh!
Secret Santa for 9 people which included my young niece and nephew for the first time. That means 4 of the 9 people were niece, nephew and their parents. They all gave rewraps! I picked third and got a really pretty lazy susan. SisIL stole it. Then I picked a soft and plush throw blanket. Niece stole it! Both of those guys gave rewraps and I ended up with a microphone. Maybe it will come in handy at D’s wedding. We clearly need more parameters, lol.
I also think I’m just done with large family gatherings for the holidays. It was so loud and chaotic, yet so slow and painful. It was great to retreat back to BIL’s house and just be a party of 4 or 5, sitting by the fire and talking, instead of a loud and slow moving barge of 12 or so. MIL always wants us to go out en masse, and invade an innocent restaurant and it can be just awful. Where can 12 people eat out together over the holidays? Nowhere!
I saw this thread late…
My family have a long-time tradition: No Christmas gift for individuals; all gifts have to be for the whole family.
This year, the gift from my D were tickets to San Francisco’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and a dinner afterward. From my wife were a dinner in downtown San Jose and tickets to Shen Yun. From me were 4 wireless speakers to upgrade the current family’s entertaining system.
It’s OK if one does not buy any gift. To us, the real gift is spending time together. That’s easy because we all love cooking and eating.
We did invite a friend’s family for Christmas dinner (their house was under remodeling). We told them ahead of time that there would be no gift exchange; their present was already a gift.
This year, I received $10 Christmas pajamas from my MIL. $5 for the top and $5 for the PJ bottoms. She gives all of us pajamas every year. If I kept every single pair, I’d have something like a dozen or so pairs of pajamas.
That’s it. Just the $10 pajamas that I’ll never use. They’re sitting in a bag waiting to get dropped off at Goodwill.
I hate getting gifts from her.
I used to spend a lot of time and effort and money on thoughtful gifts for my MIL. No more. She got a $25 gift card from us this year.
Maybe we should do a gift exchange…I like both the microphone and actually asked for pajamas…
I received a gift of 4 “Season Greetings” cups from Crate and Barrel from
a same age–67 year old-- with no gift receipt–like really? So now I am to store this and get it out for the holiday next
year??? UH–hitting Goodwill this week.
@oregon101 – Try returning them to C&B first, if you have one locally. They might take them back.