I got my 2 y/o Toy Story Obsessed grandson a Buzz Lightyear which was a huge hit! I got my son’s kids (5,3 and 1.5) Air Toobz which was also a big hit for the whole family.
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I’m really proud of my present giving to kids this year. I always do books, and this year I chose one nonfiction and one novel for each kid and each partner, so eight books, and I really worked and agonized for months to decide the perfect books. This year I think I hit a home run as everyone looked very happy with them. So that was great.
Also, we give each couple a check, and I usually make a card or announcement page to go with them. This year I made cards on which I drew each couple’s house with a Christmas theme, using ink and watercolor brush pens. They came out really well (surprisingly as I was rushing them) and S (he and GF just bought a little cottage by a lake they’ve been fixing up all year), actually teared up over it.
Gave grandkids membership to a wonderful science museum, so that will take a little longer to sink in, but D says they’re going to lose their minds when they get there–hope they can this week, but looks like GD6 is coming down with a bug.
H and I don’t exchange gifts (we get want we want during the year), but I got a cool t-shirt from D from the Bike Bus I joined them on this year and a calendar full of GKs pictures, and a bat box from S/GF, which is really pretty cool!
It was actually a perfect Christmas.
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I got an Advent calendar for D’s dog at Costco. Treats and toys were a huge hit.
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Hit: the sweater I asked for from LLBean…from our daughter and son in law.
Really…no misses!
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My 87 year old mom didn’t want to go out to buy presents for 25+ people, so she decided to give out red envelopes, except with a twist. She stuffed each red envelope with money from $50 to $200, each one of us got to pick a number to find out which envelope we got. There was a lot of excitement as we opened the envelopes.
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Sounds like fun!
Missed the Costco boxes last year, so this year I jumped on them as soon as they came out for S & D’s dogs. I give everyone Advent Calendars, but the doggo’s were the biggest hit!
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LOL - I bet there was no trading on those red envelope contents.
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We had a lovely dinner and a gift exchange with our bffs. The gifts we gave and received were huge hits! A 6-pack of Bombas socks was extremely well welcomed! 
As well as a
Lululemon non-stink tee and thematic Christmas ornaments. Their gift to us knocked my socks off - a 3.5 qt Le Creuset Dutch oven!
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My plant loving son-in-law loved the rather large throw pillow shaped like a tropical leaf I gave him. The woman I work for gave me an ornament with my cat’s picture. Abigail died in October. I was so surprised and pleased. My husband gave me a pashmina scarf I had seen and admired at the performing arts center gift shop sometime last winter. I was surprised he noticed and remembered.
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I went to my sister’s for Christmas day. She said they were having a No Gifts Christmas. I walked in to a sea of wrapping paper and things. Oh, just a FEW gifts. She and son are going to Ireland in the spring and she got him some books. New airpods for all. Lululemon gift cards. Puzzles, all the stocking stuff, bomba socks, an outfit for her daughter…
I had recommended to her husband that she wanted a walking pad and she got that and I had bought one for myself. So far we like them as we can do 15 minutes here or there (she walks the neighborhood a lot). So a hit x2.
Haven’t heard from one of my kids about her gifts (except the cast iron pan I got for her husband), and the other one and I have cancelled dinner 3x this week. We’re both tired. I think most things are keepers but we have until Jan 31 to return anything to Macy’s.
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Simultaneous hit and miss here - gave a couple of people a nice gift box of mixed nuts along with a gift card reading “The world seems to be going nuts lately. Please use this to donate to something that will make the world a better place in 2025.” Except no one read the note! But after I explained, they seemed to like the idea and enthusiastically shared where they were donating.
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Focused on experiences for the adult kids.
I got D and SIL (new parents) gift cards for a massage (babysitting by me included 
) which went over very well. Got S a tour, tasting, and apps at a bourbon distillery that opened in NYC. He said he heard of it and thought it would be fun.
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I got my kids experiences (brewery tour in youger son’s city) , food gifts( Christmas je
lly bellies, coffees, Saltverk salts(from Iceland), brown butter cashews, restaueant and fast food gift cards, etc. Got my husband crosswod puzzle books, a belt, and some food gifts. Got a gift for my first grandchild due in February and a little toy for older son and DIL’s dog.They seemed to like their gifts so I was happy!
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I asked for an ugly Christmas sweater because I’d never buy one for myself. My son came through with an incredible vintage holiday sweater, that isn’t at all ugly, but totally meets the brief! I wore it for Christmas and Boxing Day, and I’ll treasure it.
My fail: I gave my son a bread-proofing oven, but he already has one, and a self-healing cutting mat, but he wanted a different one. I’m sad because there’s not much I can surprise him with these days. He was sweet about it.
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Ok…I have a miss. It was a late arrival shipping and got here yesterday. From DH and he was very excited.
It’s a scarf with a little battery powered heater (like a heating pad) and you put that part at the back of your neck and supposedly it keeps you really warm.
- I have tons of scarves and I seldom wear one.
- My warm winter coats that I wear outdoors when it’s really cold all have collars that well cover my neck.
WWYD…keep it and never wear it…or have him send it back.I really won’t use this…
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If you’re not going to use the scarf, I’d have you or him send it back. Or donate it or give it to someone who would wear it.
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I think I have more guilt keeping something that I can’t/ won’t use. If the gift giver was my husband I would thank him for the thought but say I would likely not use it and offer to do the return process.
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Do you do any white elephant exchanges? If returning it is too much PITA I might put it away to pull out for a white elephant next year. That’s not a bad gift, it wasn’t right for you, but I could see someone wanting it.
It’s from Amazon…and it is getting returned!
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