We’re in the middle of packing up our apartment to move. (Yes, we’ll be moving in the middle of my third trimester. I suspect whichever highly paid university administrator that came up with the ‘pregnant students must move from married housing to family housing in the third trimester’ policy has not actually been pregnant.)
Being in the middle of packing to move makes one take close look at all the accumulated stuff. A lot of this stuff was received as gifts. Gifts are a funny thing. We spend a lot of time and money trying to figure out what the perfect gift is for someone else but our ability to hit the mark with a good gift depends largely on how well we know the person, and how well we are able to get over our assumptions about that person to really see what they really want or need. Ever received a gift from someone you’ve known and loved and felt like you needed to go reintroduce yourself?
I’ve also had several holiday seasons where I’ve been able to pin down the perfect gift for several on my list, yet got down to the wire for other people on my list and ended up just giving them whatever I could find. Sucks for me as the giver, and then the receiver is left holding on to something that their not sure if it’s ok if they just throw it away because, ew, not so much something I want, but thanks anyways. This is of course after you paid too much money for it in the first place and then paid to ship it across the country.
Gah! Gift giving can be frustrating at times. It’s even more frustrating when you don’t have any money. Well actually in that case, you can just not give anything to anyone. But half the fun of Christmas is picking out that perfect gift. I love the feeling when you find the perfect gift for someone. But you can’t give a gift to just one family member and then just leave everyone else hanging. Still frustrating.
My husband and I have been giving each other non-tangible gifts for years; one year it was a whale watching trip, another a day on a sailboat…. There is quite a large Waste Free Holiday movement here in the Seattle area, many vendors even offer discounts for their non-tangible gifts. There are a lot of great ideas including: dance lessons, sporting events, cinematography classes, spa days, concerts and dinners out. Unfortunately, these are not cheap gifts; a ride in a hot air balloon can run $200 per person, and while I can give a certificate for an eye brow wax for $18, that’s not exactly an appropriate gift for most on my list.
So what about you? Have you come up with any ideas for inexpensive gifts that will be actually useful and valued rather than just an accumulation of stuff?
Every year for Christmas, my husband and I pick out a Christmas ornament together. We’ve been doing this since before we got married, and it’s become a cherished part of our Christmas tradition.
We try to choose something that is representative of our year together, or at least an occasion during the year. And we try to find something that is not too fragile. There have been years, and this might be another one, where this ornament consumes the entirety of our minuscule Christmas budget. But even when money is tight we still find a way to make the holiday special and memorable.
The ornament above was from my birthday last year, and commemorates a trip when Aaron took my mom and I on a cruise out to Blake Island for a Native American feast and dance. We’re still on the lookout for the perfect ornament for this year. Perhaps something baby oriented? We’ll see…
We plan to continue this tradition with the baby as well, buying her an ornament each year that memorializes an event and the year. Then, when she’s grown and ready to go off on her own, she will already have a starter set of Christmas ornaments.
A short paper and three finals on Monday and I’m done with school for the quarter. It’s funny how time shrinks and expands according to what you’ve got on your plate. I’ve got another 17 chapters to read in texts before those tests. Time has been flying by this week.
This pregnancy feels like it’s lasting forever. April is a lifetime away. Unless, of course, I think about everything that needs to get done before baby arrives. On that note: Anyone willing to trade a safe, reliable, sturdy, 4 door car for a rusted out pickup with a blue book value that’s less than the insurance payment?
My mother dressed me in this sweater when I was an infant. Once I grew out of it, she packed it away and saved it for me. It’s been 38 years and I can hardly wait to dress my daughter in this sweater. 18 more weeks to go.
We had an awesome Thanksgiving this year. We spent the holiday with Aaron’s family so it was very low key and relaxed. And the food was awesome. This was the first time we had seen Aaron’s family since I became pregnant, so my belly was the center of attention – first baby on this side of the family.
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We’re in the middle of packing up our apartment to move. (Yes, we’ll be moving in the middle of my third trimester. I suspect whichever highly paid university administrator that came up with the ‘pregnant students must move from married housing to family housing in the third trimester’ policy has not actually been pregnant.)
