Your Christmas Wish List

[Gaseous Anomaly]

I'll have my watch but I'm sure I'll be paying for it, one way or another.

[Gryffindorian]

T'Preea wrote:

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^A BVLGARI what? I have my eye on one of their perfumes, but that'll have to wait.

*

I've decided that I want a pair of diamond earrings. But....that'll never happen, either.

Men's watch. Some of their watch selections are more expensive than my car.

ETA:

I have to ask, though. I thought the correct pronunciation was "bull-GAR-ee" as in Bulgaria. It turned out to be "BULL-guh-ree." What say you?

[Tora Ziyal]

^ I assumed it was bull-GAR-ee, too.

[Gryffindorian]

Same here. I like the emphasis on the second syllable. We should ask Iguana Tonante or other Italian-speaking folks. BULL-guh-ree sounds too much like "buggery."

[teya]

thestrangequark wrote:

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I've always thought it takes an awful lot of effort to inject such unpleasantry into something as wonderful as gift-giving.

That's my office. It's like everyone regresses to infancy or something.

We used to do the white elephant. Every single freaking year, someone would whine to high heaven about how horrible the gift she got was (it was always the same person). This year I spoke up at a dept meeting & said that if we were doing it this year, I'd opt out because I found the whining and complaining disgusting & childish. She got all defensive in the meeting, saying that it was just unfair that she got such crappy gifts.

She later saw me as I was walking to the ladies room and walked up and challenged me--all 6'1" of her and 5'3" of me. You have no idea how much I wanted to gut-punch her.

This year, we're doing Secret Santa & everyone had to put down 3 wishes on their list.

Thank heavens, I didn't get the bitch.

[teya]

Now on to the fun giving... not work-related.

Shopped online for my mom and my best girlfriends at Beekman 1802. Goat milk soap, cheese, signed first editions of their books The Bucolic Plague (for mom) & cookbooks.

It's a local business back home & my mom just adores the guys for helping to bring a small town she loves back from the brink of disappearing.

Most everyone else is getting hand-knit hats & socks this year.

On my list? The only thing I asked for was canning jars. I doubt anyone will get them for me. Which is fine. I can go to the supermarket & buy them myself.

I'm really trying to get *rid of* posessions before I move cross-country again, so adding more stuff would be just adding to my misery.

[Balrog]

Gee, kind of a shot in the dark, but does anyone know where I can get a Pandora gift bracelet?

[Tora Ziyal]

^ Thanks, I needed that!

[Grey]

I just bought my favorite present this season!

A knitted Dr. Who scarf for my best friend.

[ElimParra]

I don't really have a list ... generally grateful with what I get. Plus I generally buy whatever I want during the year. But a gift voucher from thinkgeek would be awesome.

[Gryffindorian]

Now here's a topic that's related to this thread, and I would like to know how people feel about gift reciprocity.

In terms of gift-giving, I constantly tell myself that it's better to give than to receive, and I still very much believe this maxim. I also think that it's the thought that counts regardless of whatever gift one receives from others.

My issue, as I've mentioned in one of the previous threads, is when someone fails to acknowledge or thank me when I give them something. I don't necessarily expect anything in return, but when I do, I'm grateful to them and I make sure that I let them know that.

Of the 16 people in the office (co-workers/friends) I've given Christmas presents to this year, all but two said "thank you" in some way and/or reciprocated by giving me a present. To my surprise, those two people who didn't acknowledge happen to be in my "circle of work friends." How sad. I know this sounds petty, but I'm really soured by this experience (the lack of acknowledgment). Next year, I'm tempted to just not give these two people anything.

When you give holiday gifts, how do other people respond to you? Are they usually appreciative or happy? What say you?

[Tora Ziyal]

In my experience, most people are appreciative, or at a minimum they say thank you. But there are exceptions. My godchildren went so many years without acknowleging gifts that I finally stopped giving them.

[Gryffindorian]

Update: Here's a list of items that I received from family and friends this holiday season.

• Various Gift Cards - Starbucks, MasterCard/Visa Vanilla gift cards, Peet's Coffee, Amazon, The Elephant Bar, etc.
• Movie Tickets - Regal Cinemas, Cinemark
• A lantern
• A shirt
• Various Edibles - See's Candy, Godiva Chocolates, Hickory Farms
• A Bluetooth earpiece - from "Secret Elephant" gift exchange

To me, the greatest gift is simply being with friends and family. What say you? Did you get anything from your wish list this year?

[Tora Ziyal]

Coach handbag -- scroll down to the bottom of the page. It's the classic (square) Willis bag in black with silver trim, just barely big enough to hold my iPad.

The presence, almost 24-7, of my good friend and former husband (yes, that's all one person) for the five days I've been in hospital.

An assortment of little gifts that were donated to the hospital -- puzzle books, snacks, nail polish, a deck of cards, and so on. Nothing exciting, but they were individually wrapped, so opening them provided a bit of entertainment.

And a PICC line so I can go home (probably tomorrow) and continue getting IV antibiotics until my upcoming surgery (probably in two weeks). Believe me, that is the best gift of all.

[Gryffindorian]

That sounds great. Hope you're getting better!