Ailantha
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact

The Joy Of Non-Gifting

12/26/2015

4 Comments

 
       A few years ago my oldest daughter, Maria,
Picture
...came up with the best idea ever for a wonderful family Christmas. 
      I remember very clearly the moment Maria came up with her idea. 
      It was a Christmas morning, Tom, myself, and whichever of our adult children and their spouses were home that year had finished our Christmas morning brunch and were sitting around the living room, where we'd spent the last hour or so opening gifts in the traditional way we'd done since my children were young - going in a circle, each person opening a gift at a time. 
       After the last person had opened their last gift, Maria said,  "Can we not do this anymore?  Can  we stop giving Christmas presents from now on?"
       Rather than throwing a wet blanket on the moment, Maria's  suggestion was warmly welcomed.  We all agreed that the chore of trying figure out what gifts to buy for all our adult relatives, then having to run around and buy them brought more physical, mental and financial stress than joy to the season.   In fact I'd made the same suggestion to my parents and adult siblings the first Christmas after Tom and I were married and  I still recall my brother Joe's enthusiastic response: "Now that's the best G-D idea anybody's ever come up with around here!"
      
Picture
My brother Joe.
    I'm not sure it was the best G-D idea anyone had ever come up with, but it was definitely liberating, as was my daughter's idea.  At least for us.
    I've since observed that there are two camps in the world: To the first belong those who love Christmas gifting; to the second belong those who don't.   I believe my family members are the only people  in the world who belong to the second camp.
     Now I should clarify here that I'm talking strictly about  the exchange of Christmas gifts among adults;  of course I buy a few toys for my grand babies. 

Picture
Christmas is, after all, for children.
    At least the Christmas-present end of it.  Or so say we non-gifters.
    But though my family members are not Christmas gifters, we are most definitely Christmas feasters, and the feasting that began on Christmas Eve (see yesterday's post),

Picture
Picture
...continued yesterday with our Christmas morning brunch,  the preparation of which involved all available hands. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
(for us it wouldn't be Christmas morning without Pillsbury cinnamon rolls)
...as did the eating of which.
Picture
     When we finished eating we stayed around the table a long time talking.  With each of my children living in a different city, this was the first time in years that they'd all been home at the same time.  I wondered when the next time would be that we'd all be together like this.
Picture
   After breakfast there was some playing,
Picture
...and some more sitting around,
Picture
...and a visit from my good friend and Panera Posse member.
Picture

    Then the youngsters settled in for an afternoon of Star Wars marathoning in preparation for seeing the newest Star Wars movie, "The Force Awakens".  (I might have to see that one myself).
Picture
   However, two Star Wars episodes later it was time to eat again.
   So we hauled ourselves up and headed out for Christmas Dinner at the Iron Chef Japanese Steak House in Pickerington,

Picture
...where the show was fun,
Picture
...and the food was delicious. 
Picture
Picture
     Though one of my sons-in-law suggested that maybe the food tasted so good this time because we were all together.  This could be true
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
     After dinner the young'uns picked up where they'd left off on Star Wars,
Picture
      It was a good Christmas.  
4 Comments
Karen Jilek.
12/27/2015 06:42:27 am

It looks like you had a wonderful Christmas-- enjoyed seeing your kids, etc. I agree with the adult gifts. I laugh every year because we exchange adult names with a $25 limit, so basically we are just trading $25 with each other. Especially since most of us just get each other gift cards. Maybe the smart thing to do would be to get only ourselves a gift card? We still get gifts for the grandkids too.

Reply
Patti
12/27/2015 04:29:27 pm

That's funny - the idea that everybody should buy themselves a gift card. You could then say it was from whoever was supposed to get you a gift! Still, gift cards do make the whole gifting process easier, if not more sensible - I guess most of us (by us I mean everybody but me) do enjoy giving and receiving gifts at Christmas and it is the thought that counts, after all. But I'm with you, Karen, in that you can't not get gifts for the kids. And any way it's fun getting things for kids - just not for other adults, right?

Reply
Joseph
12/28/2015 12:40:25 pm

However, if we had not given presents back in the day, then Aunt Mary would have never received that black Morticia Adams wig we bought her. She really looked good in it

Reply
Patti
12/28/2015 04:18:22 pm

8D

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    "Hail Mary"
    by Patti Liszkay
    Buy it on Amazon:

    https://www.amzn.com/1684334888

    Picture
    "Equal And Opposite Reactions"
     by Patti Liszkay
    Buy it on Amazon:

    http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
    or from
    The Book Loft
    of German Village,
    Columbus, Ohio
    Picture
    Or check it out at the Columbus Metropolitan Library
    Picture

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013

    RSS Feed

    I am a traveler just visiting this planet and reporting various and sundry observations,
    hopefully of interest to my fellow travelers.

    Categories

    All


























































































Proudly powered by Weebly