The Official 2009 Christmas Gift Thread!

[BookstoreEscapee]

Or they are like my family.

My parents use the stockings to give basic things that someone might need, but aren't necessarily "WOOT!" type presents. Stuff like batteries, socks, Tic Tacs, hand soap, etc. Your basic necessities, depending on who you are (for me maybe beer coozies, etc.), but stuff that is not all that impressive. Little stuff.

Like hand soap.

Mine too. My stocking had those Colgate Wisp mini-toothbrushes, anti-bacterial hand wipes, a mini-carton of Pepperidge Farm Goldfish...

[Cat]

Metal tiffin set with carry bag and bamboo utensils (my cousin passed on a tip to bring it to restaurants, so if we have leftovers we can pack it in there rather than the styrofoam)

Nice! I have some bamboo utensils I carry with me.....then if I do get a set of chopsticks, I save 'em to tie up tomatoes

Never thought to bring my own containers....though I own enough of them

[Becks]

the Outlander series

I read that series, too!! I think I'll be getting the latest at birthday time.

[Dave1982]

-Star Trek on Blu-Ray
-$50 Kohl's gift card
-$25 in iTunes gift cards
-$25 Trader Joe's gift card
-$70 cash
-$30 Wal-Mart card
-$50 GameStop card (need to find someone to buy this off me).
-$70 in gift certificates to a local auto detailing shop, which is enough to cover a full interior cleaning, including shampooing the carpets and cleaning out all the nooks and crannies (one of only two things I asked for this year)
-A t-shirt with a functioning WiFi hotspot finder built-in (from the same company that makes the Achievement Unlocked: Red Ring of Death hexBox 360 shirt).
-Various chocolates
-Chivas Regal Gift Set (750 mL Chivas scotch, plus 2 Chivas rocks glasses)
-A book on the Battle of Midway, written from the Japanese perspective.
-A 12 pack of Mt Dew (my kid brother being funny)
-A 1:72 F-14 model
-A $2 scratch ticket (a loser, naturally)
-A jar of salsa....yeah....a jar of salsa. It was in a gift bag along with the Trader Joe's card. It couldn't have been oh.....candy....or a box of cookies.....or even JUST the gift card. And NO tortilla chips to go with it.


ETA:

Most of the gifts I gave were gift cards (which were asked for), but I got my mother a pair of Nike Sport "over-the-ear" earbuds to use with the iPod shuffle we got her for her birthday. Between the special headphone adapter that's needed, and these earbuds, the cost of the iPod was almost exactly doubled.

Also got my friend Natasha at work a half pound of hand-made dark chocolate non-pareils from the candy house in the plaza next to ours. She'd mentioned something about really wanting some of those, so I got them for her. They weren't very expensive ($6) but that was probably the best received gift I've given in a LONG time. I'm talking "jumping up and down in excitement."

And I gave my friend Angelica a........well, I shouldn't say exactly what, but it's a special edition of the card game "Fluxx." (Annoyingly, she was supposed to get me something specific in return, which she could have gotten on Amazon from the comfort of home, but she decided to try and get it locally, and failed to find one. But she promises she WILL get it for me).

[TheSHAD0W]

A year and a half ago I bought a small farm property (1-1/2 acres) with a half-dozen pecan trees on it. Last year's harvest was pretty small, since the trees weren't taken care of; I wasn't expecting much more this year.

Oh. My. God.

So, this year I shipped out to friends and family around 150 pounds of fresh pecans. It was well received.

Now I need to figure out what to do with the other 400 pounds.

[Dave1982]

Take them to a local farmers market and sell 'em!

[BookstoreEscapee]

-A $2 scratch ticket (a loser, naturally)
---
ETA:

Most of the gifts I gave were gift cards (which were asked for)

My mom thought for a minute that she had won $500...but no.

My dad asked for booze, and gift cards (and golf balls). I would have gotten golf balls and a Dick's gift card to go with them, but Dick's is at the mall near my parents' (not in the mall, but in one of the outer buildings around the parking lot), and by the time he gave me his list, I had no desire to drive down to the mall. I got him one of his boozes (Black Sambuca), and a gift card for Lowes, since I have one right across the highway from my apartment (and because a simple regrouting of the shower tile turned into replacing the whole floor so he's got a project). I also owed him money, which I wrote a check for last week, but with the snowstorm I hadn't been over there to give it to him, so I put it in an envelope with a Christmas sticker on it and stuck it in his stocking.

Got my brother two books that he asked for, but he didn't give me any other ideas, so I went the easy route with a Lowes GC for him, too.

Oddly enough, I did not get anyone B&N cards this year. Usually I give everyone at least a $10 card as a stocking stuffer (partly to help my old store in their gift card contest ).

[Greenday]

I scored $12 off of scratch offs this year. It's about time I won something.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Let's see . . .

From coworkers:

MA (our DSD girl): a lovely oatmeal-colored long sleeved sweater that will go with practically everything in my closet.

Snoopy (Store Manager)- a gift tin of shortbread cookies . . . yummy.


From my Dad and stepmom: $100 cash (my brother got the same and as of an hour ago been desposited into the bank so we can spend online this coming week. Amazon here we come.)

From my mom: that's coming this coming month, which will more likely than not be more DVD's from Amazon (I get to pick and order.)

The only thing I bought this year for Christmas was a new desktop computer for my brother and that was done the week before Thanksgiving. I'll get my Mom's stuff after Christmas (she wants movies from Amazon too) as well as mine.

All in all, not too shabby compared to last year . . .

[BookstoreEscapee]

I scored $12 off of scratch offs this year. It's about time I won something.

The most I ever won off scratchoffs was $14 (from 3 cards combined). And I wasn't even old enough to cash them in myself...

[SorryIsGoodEnough]

I got a couple presents from my grandparents...they kinda were...well...yeah.Which makes me feel like an ungrateful bitch but like...It was a pair of pajamas that are very uncomfortable with a personalized religious inspiration thing that spelled out PAJAMAS and it was just really cheesy. It's cute and all, but I'm an atheist and they know it. But I wore the pajamas and thanked them profusely and I'll display the religious thing in my house because I love them.

I got some Tupperware and a small, individual sized rice cooker from the welfare people.

I got some money from someone special.

And the BEST present was the Cuban espresso maker from my best friend's father. It's just like the one my Cuban grandparents brought from Cuba in the 60s. And he got me espresso too so I can now make real cafe con leche like my Papi used to wake me up with every morning.



I gave my daughter a bunch of stuff like toys for her baby doll and Elmo stuff and clothes...and I let her eat all the cookies and cake and pie she wanted on Christmas Eve and Christmas. Which was a horrible idea, but she was happy. Happy enough to make up for the utter lack of sweets she will experience until next year. ^_^

[protege]

Let's see now... To start things off, I got a pair of long-out-of-production Tamiya model kits--a Lotus Europa, and a Morgan 4/4. Both were given to me by my parents. They also got me the Family Guy Vol 3 DVD set, South Park season 7...while my brothers got me some Penguins stuff, the latest Bond flick (Quantum of Solace), the Paul Newman racing book, and some wine.

[bhskittykatt]

Hubby got me a pedometer (to replace the one he sent through the wash!) and all of Bill McKay's Stargate novels.

Haven't had time to exchange gifts with friends yet, but I did get $300 from the folks, which was generous.

From customers, I've tallied up around $400, 4 boxes of chocolates, gift certificates to a local bakery, and a grocery store gift card. I was really hoping for some more of the homemade pumpkin bread I got last year, but alas, none was to be had this Christmastime.

I gave Hubby an MP3 player and some Manga-design software. To everyone else we sent homemade ornaments, though parents and in-laws also got a couple 2010 Olympics souvenirs (since we live so close to Vancouver I have easy access to them).

Still to come is a Wii, for Hubby and myself, to be purchased with the money from parents and customers

[lupo pazzesco]

holy fark, I ended up with a haul, when I wasn't expecting ANYTHING!

5 multiopen picture frames
quilt set
two necklaces & a pair of earrings
bath set in country lilac scent
$10 Bath and Body Works gift card
3 DVDs (Hellboy, Hellboy II & Edward Scissorhands)
Handheld sudoku game
Carbon steel wok
Calphalon baking sheets (to replace what I accidentally set my bacon on fire)
Potato cutter
6 piece epicura pinch bowl set
silicone dough scraper/cutter tool
2 Ed Hardy glasses
Pot holder & oven mitt set
Pair of shoes
Pinstripe fedora-ish hat that matches a top my mom saw me in once
Two books by authors I've never read before, but am assured are awesome
Family pictures from my favorite cousin (pics of her, her hubby and her 3 beautiful kids!)

I just...I'm still kind of in shock over here. Really, really wasn't expecting much, because it's been a lean year all around, and yeah...

Wowsers...

Now I just need to figure out how I'm getting it all back to Houston... >.> The picture frames and wok are the most awkwardly shaped things I have. Ideas...anyone?

[BookstoreEscapee]

Now I just need to figure out how I'm getting it all back to Houston... >.> The picture frames and wok are the most awkwardly shaped things I have. Ideas...anyone?

Are you flying home? You could always ship it to yourself...don't know if a wok would fit in the post office's flat rate shipping boxes...