This year I dramatically reduced who I bought presents for. Buying presents was so stressful and I just dipped out. Here's what I got for the loved ones in my life.
1) 15-year-old nephew (got him in the draw) - His parents told us to get him clothes and I also added a book:
A Hawkeye shirt, as requested by his parents
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
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| The books |
2) 13-year-old nephew (got him in the draw) - His parents told us to get him books and said he likes facts. I added a cooperative dice game, hoping he'll play with his cousins and/or siblings:
The Complete Book of US Presidents, Fourth Edition - Includes Biden, so it's the most up-to-date as of right now.
The Logic Puzzle Book for Teens
Scorpion Masqué Sky Team Cooperative Dice Game
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| Cooperative games! |
3) 17-year-old niece (got her in the draw) - Her mom said to get her stuff for her dorm next year when she goes to college. I asked my freshman seminar students what they wish they had and they gave me the most practical answers. I bought some practical stuff and will write down everything else they said on a list for her. Also, I'll give her the gift receipts so she can return it all and buy makeup if that's what she wants:
Memory Foam Mattress Topper
Portable Clip-On Fan
Fairy lights - Yes, I had to get LED. Damn it all.
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| Such practical gifts |
4) TJC:
Stuff from her wish list
5) Dr. BB:
Gift certificate for guitar lessons (he asked for this)
Three pairs of SmartWool socks
Two pairs of water bottles for his bike - We threw out a lot of our water bottles after the Great Mouse Incident of 2024.
6) Yoga lady - The woman who runs yoga at the student union is doing that on her own time. I think she deserves appreciation for doing something that benefits me tremendously:
A pair of SmartWool socks
7) Peer mentor - There's an older student who was assigned to help me with my freshman seminar last semester. I bought her a gift for all her help:
A small gift set of hand lotion, lip balm, and soap locally sourced
A scarf
A small set of chocolate truffles
8) FIL and his wife:
Went in with the family gift to get them a subscription for steaks or something - Dr. BB handled this.
9) Secret SANta swap partner:
You can see my gift here
10) Us - Every year I try to get the two of us a couple of presents:
Our ornament for this year is going to be the one I made with Anne
Paint the Roses board game
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Are you done with your shopping?
I leave shopping to others but get a few something’s for Sue. I have been know to make cards and things, at least sometimes.
ReplyDeleteLeaving shopping to others is definitely the prerogative of a man. If women didn't do it, no one would get gifts!
DeleteApparently I failed my maternal duty not buying my daughter a mattress topper for her dorm room. (She reported that everyone else had them!) So that was a great choice. Great gifts for the teen boys - I need to go check out that president book....
ReplyDeleteOh, man. I should put the list of recommendations from my freshman students in a post to help out other people.
DeleteOh, I think that is so lovely that you got your yoga teacher a gift! I know from experience how much that means. It's just such a lovely gesture. Also, holy moley, how big is your family that you got three people in a draw? Oh wait, probably you all draw three people, that would make sense. Never mind I am NOT deleting. This is a no-delete comment, Engie! Teen boys are not the easiest to buy for but I applaud your choices! I finished the bulk of my shopping in mid-October, which is unhinged, but I wanted to get it done before Italy. I did buy a few things as gifts in Italy, plus I bought my Secret SANta gift and a couple of books late Nov/ early Dec, which is typically not a time that I love to shop but it was fine. I had heard on the Wirecutter podcast about these beautiful books called Where To Go When by the Lonely Planet, and I thought those would be wonderful for my sons, who are interested in doing some solo travelling in the next few years. So I ordered those from the bookstore plus an historical fiction for my husband and just picked them up from Mosaic LAST WEEK OMG LATE. But they had to be special ordered. My husband isn't much of a reader, certainly not of novels, but I am hoping he'll be interested in this book that has to do with priests in the Sistine Chapel, since we were just there. Who knows, but worth a try.
ReplyDeleteHa ha. We have 11 nieces and nephews. Four families draw two names and one draws three. I always try to draw three because we don't actually have children to buy Santa presents and all that.
DeleteTeens are hard in general! Boy or girl! But I did put some thought into each of these gifts, so I hope they enjoy them!
LOL at last week being late. I ordered presents yesterday.
I'm ALMOST done with my shopping. Every year we do a Secret Santa at work, and every year it's botched somehow. This year, we haven't found out who we drew yet. Seriously? I see a Starbucks gift card coming someone's way.
ReplyDeleteYour gifts are good! I like how you really put thought into them and got things people want and need. And I don't think you "dipped out" of buying presents- you are gifting a lot of people!
Normally I would have added another friend, my mom, my sister, and my brother-in-law to this list, so it does seem light to me!
DeleteWait...you haven't even gotten your Secret Santa swap partner's name yet?! That seems like it's cutting it close!
These are all thoughtful, good gifts. You're a terrific gift giver.
ReplyDeleteRick and I teamed up this year and did all our shopping in two days. Only about 20% was done online. Our wrapping is done, and it's all under the tree, except for two books I'm still waiting for from Amazon. I hope they come in time.
I'm also interested in the Complete Book of US Presidents. Did you look through/read through any of it?
The US Presidents book was shrink-wrapped (my spellcheck says that's hyphenated - don't be made at me if it's wrong, Nance), so I didn't get to leaf through it. If he opens it on Christmas Day, I'll try to take a peek and let you know if it's any good. I suspect that it is quality based on the four editions, but who knows?
DeleteYour gifts are solid! My shopping has been done for a while, and I've mostly resisted the urge to top up people's lists this time. I'm growing!
ReplyDelete(Thank you for those dorm recommendations, BTW. I did not know about the foam topper thing--if all goes well, Nu should be thanking you!)
I'm going to compile the list of all the things my students said and put them in a separate post. They had some ideas of things that I never brought to college, so it was interesting to hear from them!
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