I have a long list of people I buy presents for. Every year I say I'm going to pare this list down, but every year I do not pare the list down.
My mom
My sister
My brother-in-law (actually, Dr. BB handles this and I just wrap the presents and send them off)
Two friends from college
My husband
Whichever niblings we get in the draw (this year we got a 13yo girl and a 7yo boy)
My sister
My brother-in-law (actually, Dr. BB handles this and I just wrap the presents and send them off)
Two friends from college
My husband
Whichever niblings we get in the draw (this year we got a 13yo girl and a 7yo boy)
I'm not going to lie, I made it easy for myself this year. I purchased the four women (mom, sister, two friends) variants of the same items.
1) A WTF notebook personalized for them
2) A set of nice pens
3) A long-sleeved tshirt
4) A book I handpicked out for them (Dog Songs and A Swim in a Pond in the Rain may be some of these books I picked)
2) A set of nice pens
3) A long-sleeved tshirt
4) A book I handpicked out for them (Dog Songs and A Swim in a Pond in the Rain may be some of these books I picked)
Once I decided that was going to be my system, I ordered everything in a fit of panic one evening and now almost everything has been delivered and I need to wrap them and get those boxes to the post office.
I have more time with the gifts for my husband and niblings because I do not need those presents to be shipped anywhere. Once they arrive at my house, I'll be good to go.
My husband sent me a list, so I am probably going to buy him a golf club (*sigh*), some new socks, and some underwear. The romance is alive and well over here.
We have already purchased a nice chess set for my niece, so now I just need to get her a book. My nephew asked for a squishmallow, so we'll get him one of those and a book.
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I also put money in cards for our student workers and the janitor at work. We put a $10 gift card out for the mail carrier. I give a $10 gift card to my hair stylist (in addition to a larger tip than usual for our appointment closest to Christmas). I am also putting money in a card for a woman who has helped us out A LOT at the community center in the last year.
I also bought an ornament for Humphrey's person and my friends who got married last year.
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Until I deal with all this chaos, there are boxes full of presents waiting to be wrapped all over the place and our house feels like it is warehouse storage.
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This seems like a lot, but I suspect there are people out there who I am missing.
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Do you have your Christmas shopping done? Who do you think I have left off the list?
Engie! Humphrey's person is going to be so delighted with that ornament--it's perfect!
ReplyDeleteI'm in the danger zone because I've technically completed gift shopping, but I know I'll continue getting little things to sneak into stockings and so on. Ultimately, I'll realize it's too much and then I'll save them to give as "new year" presents. (Not my worst behavior pattern, but it's a pattern for sure.)
I gave it to Humphrey's person yesterday and he did seem delighted! According to my husband, he was showing it off to everyone, so I was pleased with that reaction.
DeleteI am so envious of all of you people who have it together enough to have completed gift shopping. Why can't I be more like you?
This year we are doing experiences, but I have a couple of small things for people just so I am not always emptyhanded!! I do have a very pressing question for you though... is your mail carrier always the same person!? I live in an urban(ish) area and we probably have four of five different mail carriers here. Where I grew up, it was the same person and I actually loved the guy (Bud was his name) as a kid and would give him hugs when he arrived. His son took over the job (they were contracted out due to the rural nature of the area) and I loved him (Rafe) too! I used to get rides with them sometimes if my soccer schedule lined up with their route. Sorry that was a bit of a wormhole...
ReplyDeleteWe have two mail carriers, but historically (for the last two years), they've split the gift and both written us thank you notes. They are both women. VERRRY occasionally there will be a male sub and Hannah the Dog loses her mind when he comes on the porch (she does not even acknowledge the other two regular carriers).
DeleteI grew up in a rural area, too, and our mail carrier used to leave dog treats for our dogs almost every week. We definitely gave her a nice Christmas present!
When you spoke of a card for the postie, I am reminded that we used to put gifts in the recycling bin for the collectors. We made it very visible and laid it on top. After doing this for years, I happened to be lookin out the window when they came by. They didn't even see it but just dumped the bin. We haven't done it since.
ReplyDeleteYeah, we've never tried to leave anything for the collectors. I imagine they'd never see it!
DeleteFor the carrier, we label it very clear "FOR POSTAL CARRIER" and clothespin it to our mailbox. We've done it for the last two or three years and have gotten a thank you note each year, so I think that system is effective.
WTF notebooks are my faaavorite. I bought one for Ben to put in MY stocking, even. We do our immediate fam, my brother and his partner, my mom and Ben's folks, various teachers, and the mail carrier-- plus Dorothy had a dance squad she needed to buy gifts for this year. I am **almost** done but have a few things for a couple of kids still to buy. We don't do even budgets, but we DO do even gift numbers, so things are fluid still over here. My favorite blog related find is something I read about on Nicole's FB comments but then didn't comment on because I was worried the algorithm would show it to Ben because I have been seeing things he says to friends of his that I am not friends with-- ANYWAY. Wifi outdoor plugs! SO he can control the christmas lights from his phone! Super stoked about this stocking stuffer.
ReplyDeleteOh! Wifi outdoor plugs sound amazing! I'm considering getting some dawn to dusk plugs so we don't have to plug our outdoor lights in every night and unplug them before bed! There are so many genius things to make our lives easier these days!
DeleteI'm mostly done! I buy for my husband, two kids, my parents, and my father-in-law. I also give teacher gifts to each kid's teacher, give a gift card to the crossing guard (she is SO cheerful), our mailman (we do basically always have the same one), and the trash collector.
ReplyDeleteI love the custom ornament. Such a nice gift <3
I'm happy to know that I'm not the only giving stuff to our beloved service workers. They deserve some appreciation this time of year!
DeleteOh I'm so glad the WTF notebooks made it on the short list for presents! They are just too hilarious. I love the idea of doing a "theme" for presents like you did. It never seems to work out that well for me, just given the variety of people we buy for. Actually, I find it most challenging to buy gifts for the boys and my parents. I spend much more on them than anyone else, so it equates to various presents for each one. Whereas, I don't find it as hard to just buy say 1-2 things for my nephew or my sister-in-law. Those gifts feel more compact and finite, versus for the boys/my parents, it feels like a bigger production to figure out what all to get them...
ReplyDeleteI NEED to still order an ornament (or ornaments- I might get some for the boys, too, to keep) with Charlie on them. I have this one great photo from when Charlie was a baby puppy with Asher, where they had their heads together looking into each other's eyes...it's the cutest thing ever. I need to get on that! Where did you get yours?
Ha! As soon as I saw the WTF notebooks on your blog, I bought a bunch of them. I might even buy one for my husband, even though it might put me over budget a little bit. I think I could do the theme because there's wiggle room to personalize it for each of them. I might just keep doing this next year, too, because who doesn't love a new notebook each year?
DeleteI got Humphrey's ornament from an Etsy shop. https://www.etsy.com/shop/Aallasti?ref=l2-about-shopname It doesn't look like you could get it before Christmas from them, although there are a couple of Etsy shops that are still guaranteeing Christmas delivery.
Omg I LOVE the Humphrey ornament! My house is a little bit like yours right now- amazon boxes piled in my bedroom, full of presents waiting to be wrapped. Oh, and my husband has requested t-shirts for Christmas. He even specified "solid colors." How exciting (?)
ReplyDeleteOkay, I'm off to wrap presents!!!
I hate the boxes and packages piled everywhere. I'm hoping that tonight and tomorrow night I can get everything wrapped and packaged up and then I can take it all over to the post office on Saturday morning and be done with everything except my husband's.
DeleteI'm jealous of your elf day. Go get it all done!
So, does WTF mean what I think it does? I'm both curious and entertained.
ReplyDeleteI have done Accidental Christmas Shopping thus far and have only 3 gifts bought. And I have my mother with me for caretaking this week, so I'm unable to go out and do any marathon shopping. I feel very stalked and threatened by Christmas this year.
I am impressed by your organization and Theme gifting. Can I hire you next November?
Stalked and threatened by Christmas!! Yes! That is how I feel, too! Less than two weeks. How did this even happen?!
DeleteHow have I never heard of WTF notebooks?? It's too late to order for Christmas, but I am bookmarking for gift ideas. So cute.
ReplyDeleteI ordered them from Amazon and they came quickly. I had a great time deciding what profane thing to gift my mom.
DeleteI am 85% done (and can't wait till the shopping is over). Similar to your WTF notebooks, I got my work bestie and team notebooks that say "Things I Want to Say at Work But Can't" notebooks which I'm way too excited about!
ReplyDeleteYES! Those notebooks are very funny and are going to be my go-to gift for people now. LOL.
DeleteSuch nice gifts for all the people in your life! I am done shopping and, other than a tee that arrived only yesterday (I ORDERED IT ON NOVEMBER 15, THIS IS WHAT IT'S LIKE LIVING IN CANADA, JEEZ) I have everything wrapped! I need to get some more treat-making done though.
ReplyDeleteTreat-making! I will seriously be drooling over the photos you share.
DeleteWow! This is excellent, Engie! You are rocking it. Love the ornament for Humphrey's person.
ReplyDeleteI *think* I am done. There's still plenty of time to panic buy a bunch of things I don't need, but for now... the only things I still have to get are gift cards for my daughter's instrument teacher and the mail carrier and trash/recycling people.
There's always just one more gift to get, isn't there?!
DeleteI have not done my Christmas shopping. I need to get something for our kids from us, but also from my husbands family (that is the tradeoff for not having to do another 10 presents on his side). On my side my sister did my parents and the only other person we buy for on my side is my 3 y.o. neice so that is almost fun ... but I still need to do it.
ReplyDeleteOh, absolutely. I actually LOVE buying gifts. It's just that it's sometimes hard to find the time to do it!
DeleteYou're doing great! I only do gifts for a select number of people: my mom, my brother, my SIL, my nephews, and my best friend. I do a gift exchange with my book club. It definitely makes things easier when I have a shorter list. Plus, my mom/brother/nephews have lists that I can shop from to make things easier. Oh! And of course, I buy presents for the girls and Chip and Lucy. (They also "buy" presents to me/my mom, and "exchange gifts" with each other. We are THOSE kind of pet parents, haha.)
ReplyDeleteHa! Hannah and Zelda do NOT get presents. I just can't be bothered since they don't know what's going on. LOL. They enjoy the wrapping paper (Hannah) and boxes (Zelda).
DeleteI actually love that you're buying gifts for people (although gifts are not my first love language, I do like to give and get gifts and the holidays are the perfect time!)... I also often find a "theme" for the year and gift friends similar variations. Makes the shopping a little easier but it's still somewhat personalized.
ReplyDeleteYes! The theme made it so easy. I'm definitely doing it again like that next year. Maybe even the same presents!
DeleteOh, wow, Engie. Wow. We do not give actual gifts anymore in my family - we donate in honor of each other (to the organization requested by the recipient), and I give cold hard Venmo to the niblings. ;) They know best what they want (one - a game of some sort, the other - something for the kitchen....could they be more different? :>). Gifts are not my love language, but wow, you do an amazing job finding the right things for the right people. Go, you. (And also, thank you for the idea of WTF notebooks... I need to get a work friend a subscription service, I think. ;>)
ReplyDeleteUgh. I just realized that people in my office exchange gifts. I'm not going to do anything about it this year because I just don't have time, but I'm sitting here with gifts to open when I get home and now I'm going to have to buy small gifts for co-workers next year! I am definitely someone who thinks about gifts long and hard and I can already tell you that next year is going to be a tough one.
DeleteThose WTF notebooks are amazing. I think they're going to be a regular gift from me in the future!