It's All My Fault

As I watched my wife wrap the christams presents today, I thought about what
I had wrought. When my children were young, I had this idea that since we
really only had ourselves, that the number of presents they would receive on
Christmas day would be rather meager, because our extended family was not
around. That we should make up for that by simply buying a whole lot of
things for our children. I am almost positive that the christmas tree when
it is put up, will have tons of presents under it, just about all of it from
one member of our immediate family to another member of our immediate
family. Christmas day is a big deal in our household.

Rumpelstiltskin...

My sympathies. I give money or presents ONLY to my nephew
now, since my niece is over 18 now. I don't send out Christmas
Cards at all. It's tough being a Scrooge at Christmas, but ends
up being a lot more pleasant if you just have the guts to "stay the
course" and not weaken except in regard to gifts for kids under
18 ONLY.

I personally hate getting gifts. If I want something, I have it
already or I've judged it to be too expensive for what it's worth
to me. I don't want to be obliged to buy other people stuff
that was more expensive than it was worth to them, just
because they bought me something that was more expensive
than it was worth to me.

California Poppy...

I am greatly in sympathy with your idea of gift giving. Our family has
decided not to give gifts and it is a great relief. However, Christmas
cards are very important to me. And I want them with pictures and
stories of the years activities, not just a signed card when only lets
me know they are alive. Each year I buy my Christmas cards from one of
the museum store and choosing them is a serious business for me. Then
I begin assembling pictures from the years activities and decide which
best represent the year's highlights. I then reread the cards and
letters from the previous year to refresh my memory of their
activities. I have an interesting family and I enjoy reading about
them. One niece is an engineer involved in the shuttle launchings.
Another is in China and about to adopt a baby girl to make three
children. My sister who retired a year ago already has two new jobs.
My son is a college math prof and my daughter teaches computers to
elementary school students. My granddaughter is in college majoring in
ag business since she will inherit a hugh almond processing business
from her father. Etc. Etc.

Jerry Okamura...

Ah but when you do give a gift that someone really really likes and did not
expect, it is a real rewarding experinece.

Rumpelstiltskin...

It's almost never happened. A friend did once give me a
scrabble set on a rotating board for my birthday. I did like
that, because I didn't know such a thing existed. I never
rotate the board though, in practice, despite the cute idea,
since I can play reading upside-down with no problem

emily2...

I not only _can_ play upside down, I've done it so much and so long

Jerry Okamura...

But when you succeed, it is a wonderful experience.

Rumpelstiltskin...

Definitely not worth all the annoyance to me.

"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom: it is the
argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves" -- Wm. Pitt the Younger

that now if anyone turns the board around, it looks so strange it
confuses me. Same thing with Upwords, which I like even better than
Scrabble.

Years ago, before Upwords came out, I decided the regular Scrabble
board was just too small, so I took a piece of plywood and laid out a
double board, combined two sets of tiles, and made a much more
interesting game.

"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom: it is the
argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves" -- Wm. Pitt the Younger