So what do you want for Christmas?

[dsheinem]

dsheinem as much as I respect and agree with what you are saying, my parents insist on giving a gift.

Mine do too - I had to bicker with them a little bit and worked out a compromise of a small gift for me (so I have something to open) but still donating most of the money they were planning on spending on me to a local charity instead. That way, they can still enjoy getting me something, but also give more to someone or some group that could really use it. When they figure out that this IS what I really want for Christmas, they are happier to do it.

My wife and I got the idea of giving up our gifts to charity because she had grandparents who started doing this. The example really moved us, and ideally, it is the kind of idea that can spread across a family...

I look at both sides of the coin. Christmas presents an opportunity to give your loved ones gifts that show how much you care. It also presents an opportunity to show the less fortunate that you care for them as well.

Now, I don't need a holiday to get me to do either, but to me Christmas to me equals time with family. That is something I rarely get, and something I cherish.

I agree that gift giving can be an important tradition and way to show feeling. But for far too may people, it is all about the size/cost/effort involved. I think when I finally realized that I was starting to get disappointed with gifts because they weren't as nice as I had hoped for, that I started to re-evaluate how I approach Christmas. Small spending limits are one way to solve this issue within family, so that people have to put actual thought into getting inexpensive but meaningful presents. I try to use birthdays to do over-the top/more expensive things for individuals. I still end up spending too much on other people at Christmas time because of their expectations, but I sleep better knowing I am not causing them the same headaches and that their gift allotment for me will more likely go to someone who actually needs it.

I don't mean to sound "holier than thou" to anyone or tell you how to do your Christmas. I am just telling you that I personally had become pretty disillusioned with the holiday and with my own complicity in perpetuating the decline of what should be a meaningful and reflective time of the year. I know that when someone shared these ideas with me, I was able to find meaning and value in the season again. If you feel the same, you might find my example worth considering.

[DrCirno]

Hopefully I get my passport for Christmas. If anything else maybe a DVD or something would be nice. Bamboo Blade is coming out soon so I hope I'll get that. Or M.U.S.H.A.!

[Hobie-wan]

I don't like Christmas or Birthdays. The 'expected' thing is to give and receive gifts, which takes a lot of the potential meaning away. If you forget a family member or a friend, they could get offended. If a gift isn't up to people's expectations, you make excused that you didn't know or your budget sucked. I had an uncle that meant well, but for a while he kept giving me wristwatches, which I don't like wearing because they annoy me and I accidentally destroy them by bashing them into things.

Gifts always mean so much more when they're unexpected. Random gifting rules.

[Luke]

I
Random gifting rules.

+1.

I'm a big random gift giver.

Maybe that's why enjoy Christmas and Birthdays so much. I love giving gifts that mean something to my friends and loved ones. I love the opportunity to make a friend smile, must me the boy scout in me, plus you get to use a lot of creativity. Gift Card, schmift card.

One of my favorite gifts I gave out was what I got my Groomsmen for my wedding. I've known them all for at least ten years, so in lieu of cuff links or something equally vanilla, I got an 8 gig jump drive for them. For each one of them, I scanned and downloaded every picture of the two of us growing up, and also included our favorite songs. My Father was my best man, so I almost filled the entire drive up. It took a lot of time to do, but they all really appreciated it.

[the King]

Now, I don't need a holiday to get me to do either, but to me Christmas to me equals time with family. That is something I rarely get, and something I cherish.

To me this is the best part of the holidays, spending time with friends and family. Some of my friends are like family to me, I grew up with them and seeing the families they are buidling with their spouses is the best part of the season. I'm one that doesn't need presents myself either, it's more fun watching my kids open theirs than anything anyways.

[the King]

Last year my wife and I decided to start asking for friends and family to make donations to some local charities in lieu of buying us gifts. As much as I'd love to have this, that, or the other thing, I'm basically disgusted by how I've seen Christmas devolve in my lifetime:

Growing up my sister and I decided instead of exchanging presents we would take that money and spend it on a family less fortunate. Our church had a present tree that you could pick a persons bio from, like a 12 year old boy who likes GI Joes, so you'd buy them something off of that. Last year my wife and I adopted a family through her cousin's church, we had my daughter pick something out to give to them, she wasn't quite 3 yet but thought it was important for her to understand why and what we were doing. To me doing these things is what the season is all about.

[Hobie-wan]

One of my favorite gifts I gave out was what I got my Groomsmen for my wedding. I've known them all for at least ten years, so in lieu of cuff links or something equally vanilla, I got an 8 gig jump drive for them. For each one of them, I scanned and downloaded every picture of the two of us growing up, and also included our favorite songs. My Father was my best man, so I almost filled the entire drive up. It took a lot of time to do, but they all really appreciated it.

Awesome. Yeah, coming up with something meaningful is great. An old girlfriend of mine was always saying things that were great ideas for later gifting. I had a huge list of stuff to pull from anytime I felt like gifting. Though probably the gift she appreciated the most was the cheapest. I used to make tiny little people out of the wires from twist ties. I had a few and she thought they were really cute. I made her an entire little family at one point. The materials were free and it wasn't even that much of my time to make them. But when she moved she always carefully transported them.

[Luke]

... it's more fun watching my kids open theirs than anything anyways.

My father has always said that some of the best days of his life were the first few Christmases when my Sister and I were kids.

My brother-in-law is dating a girl who is celebrating her first Christmas, although she is 24. She is an ex jehova witness, and has now been excommunicated from her family. They celebrate nada. She is super excited about waking up, getting together with friends and opening gifts. I told her to not believe what anyone else says, and that, Yes, Santa is real.

[jfe2]

I don't have time to read through the entire thread right now, as I'm only home for lunch for a few minutes here, but I'll chime in and say that I want a Wii for Christmas.

Will I get one from anyone? Not a chance! Christmas is all about my son now.

[Luke]

Awesome. Yeah, coming up with something meaningful is great. An old girlfriend of mine was always saying things that were great ideas for later gifting. I had a huge list of stuff to pull from anytime I felt like gifting. Though probably the gift she appreciated the most was the cheapest. I used to make tiny little people out of the wires from twist ties. I had a few and she thought they were really cute. I made her an entire little family at one point. The materials were free and it wasn't even that much of my time to make them. But when she moved she always carefully transported them.

It's so fun to give thoughtful gifts to girls, for the majority of girls, it's fairly easy to move them to tears (the good kind). For my speech at my Sister's wedding, I created a super-simple slideshow of pictures of us growing up together, with some 80's pop that we both enjoyed. Holy cow. Talk about the water works. At the end I asked the crowd "Besides all the pictures having both Heidi and I in them, what do they all have in common?... We were always smiling, not because we were asked to, but because we love each other". Then the families started with the water works. Of course my Father upstaged me, but it was probably one of my best wedding toasts yet.