<p>There were years when we didn’t see my in laws. The dynamics were/are far too complicated to ever disseminate in a page (or ten). However, I have noticed that my kids are very generous with each other. Not monetarily…yet. Only the oldest has enough to really treat his sisters to “great” gifts. But I see the thought involved in the selections for each of them. (And yes, my favorite gift from them is a letter that tells me whatever they want to say.) And yes, I always have “extra” gifts just in case a friend drops by.</p>
<p>I am very protective of my children. The oldest two saw and heard far too much. We didn’t speak to husband’s family for years. After a number of year “break” we saw them again. When the kids were presented with their gifts my son took their envelopes and said to my in laws, “Thank you so much. We appreciate this very much, but we’ll open them later when we can fully appreciate it.” (Yeah, I suspect that he practiced this for hours…) Later on we equaled the amounts.</p>
<p>I wasn’t very helpful this year when family asked what I wanted. The truth is, just spending time with all of us together is all I really want. I want to go to a movie with all of us during the holidays, get a family photo, go to a concert or play, and hang out at home playing board games or working on puzzles, cook a meal or two together. We only have a few days when we’ll all be around, so I want to make the most of it.
Spoken like a veteran empty nester, I realize.</p>
<p>Oh yea, that’s another thing that would be great–some extended family photos while everyone’s available. Need to contact the photographer & try to set that up when I know what folks’ schedules are like. So many things to do – nice that the extended family will ALL be in town for at least 12/24-1/2; I think S has the shortest break.</p>
<p>Well, gentlemen, if you are still thinking about what to buy for your ladies, you should hurry. I was killing time at the mall near the airport waiting for D’s plane to land, and the place was a ZOO. Some perfumes were sold out already, and bling and scarves are going fast. ;)</p>
<p>Some of these posts remind me of my grandmother. Once the grandchild got to certain age the gift would be soap (a bit fancy, not just a cheap bar of soap). She passed away more than forty years ago and we still joke about her soap giving.</p>
<p>My S is giving my D the <em>best</em> gift this year (they are twins / freshmen at different colleges).</p>
<p>D took Spanish in high school, and S made up the word “bola” (to stand for sister, though it doesn’t mean anything) and he would greet her everyday with “Hola, mi bola” (Hi, my sister). It was a “thing” between the two of them. Now that they are away in college, he will start off his conversations to her with “Hola, mi bola” and end them with “Te amo, mi bola” (being a guy, he doesn’t want to say “I love you” where his roommate or other guys might hear, but this is his way of telling her he loves here).</p>
<p>So anyway - he came up with this idea himself, and I think it’s brilliant. He went to a Build-A-Bear and made up a teddy bear with two sound recordings – squeeze one arm and you hear “Hola, mi bola”, squeeze the other and you hear “Te amo, mi bola” in his voice. She is going to LOVE it!</p>
<p>So anyway - he came up with this idea himself, and I think it’s brilliant. He went to a Build-A-Bear and made up a teddy bear with two sound recordings – squeeze one arm and you hear “Hola, mi bola”, squeeze the other and you hear “Te amo, mi bola” in his voice. She is going to LOVE it! </p>
<p>Oooooooohh! That is SO SWEET! What a wonderful, thoughtful Son you have!</p>
<p>1) A week off in somewhere warm like Hawaii. Unfortunately, I have to babySAT D2 prepping for the SAT to be taken in Jan.
2) Lots of fresh flowers for a whole week before and after Xmas. I want the house to smell really nice and fresh non-artificially.</p>
<p>My S got a Devils Jersey made for my D in their vintage colors (they used to be red and green, erk), and the name’number of her favorite really unknown player on it for birthday/Christmas present. She was gobstopped by it. He’s the younger one, so this willl be the first time he has out-presented her.</p>
<p>PG, your son’s gift brought tears to my eyes. What a great guy! You must be so proud. I love it when young men are comfortable enough to express affection and creativity. Yay for you!!!</p>
<p>My list is only to be able to continue the extra things that I already do: swim classes, hair appts… I think it gave my D’s a little shock to see that I am not asking for any “new” “things”!</p>
<p>One additional item was TWO SOLID DAYS of 2 Ds’ and H’s time all at once (very hard to make this happen) to go through all of the family memorabilia and photos from the last 20-plus years TOGETHER for a trip down memory lane, and to organize all that stuff!!!</p>
<p>Hot tub w spa jets. (it’s sitting in warehouse while freaking contractor gets his act together w township building department so he can build 100sf addition to existing deck for it!)</p>
<p>So happy–got the trees in the front yard totally removed and stumped so we have MUCH more light coming in & not have the mold & other bad things blowing into the house from the trees. YEAH! We also got the dishwasher installed AND will be getting our photovoltaic for January! Was able to buy myself a piece of luggage I think will work well for me as well as packing folders. Can’t think of anything else I want or need.</p>
<p>I secured “our” Christmas gift which is not a material thing. It is a reservation for a festive New Year celebration. Now I need to print the reservation and get it wrapped to put under the tree. Hubby is still getting his chair. For many years in a row I’ve been going to furniture stores just to sit in these chairs and finally found justification to buy one!</p>
Hubby is still getting his chair. For many years in a row I’ve been going to furniture stores just to sit in these chairs and finally found justification to buy one!</p>