IO "Merry Christmas"

[Angela Harlem]

My sister recently built a house, a huge 2 story one and she only has one house phone in the whole place. You have to wait like a minute before she ever answers when you ring. So for Christmas I got her another one. Is that really impersonal? She has a whole big list of things she needs doing to the place like fencing and landscaping etc so I thought I'd get her a few things which are way down on her list so she will feel like its more finished.
But now I'm worried that its a bit of a sucky present. It's like "here, merry christmas dan, have a phone..nice and er...thoughtful eh..." I'm going to get her more house things like a nice picture or decor pot and things to add to it, but is that really lame of me?

I get this every year shopping for my impossibly difficult family. I thought it would be easy with her building this house but now every idea just ends up looking really cold and impersonal. I want to buy her nice things but she has more 'needs' than 'wants'.

Share present ideas, please. What do you all buy for your fam?

 

[IWasBored]

i wouldn't call it lame. i know that i'd like it if my relatives got me useful things for christmas instead of random things that i don't have much of a use for. but i know that people like my mom will go crazy if you get her a blender. now, if i needed a blender and my brother bought me one for christmas, i'd be happy. one less thing i have to remember to go out and by myself. it all depends on what your sister is like.

i don't know, i'm horible at christmas shopping so i go to the store and pick out cds that i think people might like.

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

yeah, useful things are good

besides, it's the thought that counts

 

[Salome]

I think a phone is a very personal gift

it's like .... I really want to talk to you
so I got you a phone



you could also give her the phone + a little something personal
like a certificate stating that you will dedicate your first book to her
or a gigantic bubby photo of her niece
(I'd pick a bubby photo for obvious reasons)



I'm not that great at making up gifts though

 

[Laura M]

Our HUGE family don't do presents


Scrooges.

 

[bonosloveslave]

I think it's a great idea

 

[tiny dancer]

I give gift certificates, that way my family or friends can use them to buy where they shop.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

i'd get them like five phones.

 

[cell]

i like how salome said it.

gift certificates are the way to go.

i want blankets for christmas. its cold.

 

[Sicy]

I dont see anything wrong with that as a gift

 

[ABEL]

give her the phone and bake some cookies or something

 

[Angela Harlem]

Me? Bake?

Haha my poor sister....Thankyou everyone. If she gives me a strange look I will tell her IO said it was a good idea.


What are you all buying your family? I need to steal ideas

 

[Salome]

my company should be a big enough present


I hope




we stopped giving presents because we couldn't deal with the amount of crap we got each other anymore

 

[ABEL]

What are you all buying your family? I need to steal ideas

i usually don't know what i'm getting for my family till i go out christmas shopping sometime after thanksgiving

 

[IWasBored]

sometime after thanksgiving=dec. 24th

 

[zoney!]

monkey lamp and a $5 gift certificate to McDonalds.

 

[JessicaAnn]

my mom and i get up at the crack of dawn the day after thanksgiving to do our christmas shopping.

 

[nbcrusader]

phone (or get her a mobile!)

 

[The_Sweetest_Thing]

Is this the sister with the boyfriend/future brother-in-law that you hate?

My sister is only 13, so my gifts for her would be somewhat different.

Besides, she hoards the friggen cordless phone in her room ALL the time anyway....nothing worse than having to dig through her pile of laundry to find that RINGING!!!

 

[adamswildhoney]

Angie I think that is a great idea for a present

This year, my family isnt buying presents for each other. We decided to "adopt a family" so we are all going to get something for that family instead of ours

 

[IWasBored]

If she gives me a strange look I will tell her IO said it was a good idea.

IO knows all. or blame it on IO!

 

[Angela Harlem]

Is this the sister with the boyfriend/future brother-in-law that you hate?

Thankfully no. The girl you are talking about is my husband's sister and they are finally getting married at the end of this month some time. I still wont call him a relation. Isn't this terrible, having family members which are problematic? She, the sis in law, has never seen my daughter. We aren't going to the wedding as we were never invited so if she expects a Christmas present all she will get is a box of laxatives or something. I am sidetracking.

That is such a great idea Adamswildhoney! We've put presents under a whishing tree before but doing it for a whole family is really lovely.

IO is everyone's fall back for blame.