What Are You GIVING for Christmas This Year?

[BurningDoom]

Is there going to be a "what did you get for christmas" thread? haha

Well of course there is.

[Luke]

Ever buy a gift and then wonder, "What the hell did I just buy?". Now, I rarely divulge monetary figures, as it's tacky, but under these circumstances I feel like I need to.

Two things on my wife's wish list include a high end hair dryer and flat iron. Now if you've ever purchased a nice electric razor, you know they're not cheap. But I never thought I would purchase a $200 hair dryer, and a $150 flat iron. I guess it's not outrageous, but still, a $200 hair dryer just boggles my mind. I'm cool with a $10 conair myself, but I do understand that the wife will use it everyday, and having a nice hairdryer will make her day a little better, so I'm cool with it. Plus, my hair stylist (stop snickering) really recommended the brand, and she knows her stuff.

One thing that was really awesome is that I received a coupon from Bailey's Jewelry for a free $100 shopping spree. I bought my wife's engagement ring there, and usually buy her jewelry from there, so this was a great surprise. That said, $100 will basically get you only the box there and it also tells you the mark up is so high that they are giving away $100 gifts. I still find it crazy that someone digs up a rock, polishes it and sells it for thousands of dollars, but hey, women like shiny stuff.

So far:

Wife: Hair dryer, Flat Iron, Travel flat Iron, Pearl Necklace (stop snickering again), matching earrings.

For both Mom and Dad: Two night stay at a Bed and Breakfast in Colonial Williamsburg. 2 lbs. of B's bbq (google it).

Mom: 100+ skeins of yarn and assorted knitting needles and accessories.

Dad: 12 year (might be 10 years, but it's already wrapped) bottle of Laphroig. Pink Floyd's THE WALL, Black Key's EL CAMINO.

Sister and Brother-in-law: Wine Sampler. A 2006 Garnacha, A 2005 Rufino Chianti Special Reserve, an organic Pinot Noir (not sure of the vineyard, but the label has a bee flying near a sunflower) and the coup de grace is a bottle of White Star Champagne. I prefer White Star over Don P, and it's also less expensive. But the really cool think about White Star is that it's not easy to find (in stores) as it was discontinued in 2009. It's also the champagne that they served on the Titanic, so it has a history to it.

Niece: She's about 3 months old, so baby toys.

Grandmother: One of those personalized calendars. She loves 'em.

Ripley (aka world's best dog): Jumbo bone, new bed, plush toy, chewies.

Three of my best friends who've had the worst year of their lives: Signed Talking Classics DVD's, and personalized posters signed by the nicest guy in the Universe, Nathan Barnatt.

Nathan Barnatt: Shoot. I forgot to get the nicest guy in the Universe a gift. I'll send him a New Year's gift.

My friends who have had a great year: Tons of stuff from framed pictures and gift cards to an xbox Kinect.

My wife's side of the family: My wife takes care of that. They're not big into gift giving like my family, and we've agreed that I'll take care of my family, and she'll take care of hers.

I'm also doing a few Secret Santas. I know people here already donate a lot, but next year I'm all for a RB Secret Santa if you guys are.

Happy Holidays!

[o.pwuaioc]

I didn't want to spoil the surprise yet, in case she reads this at all, but for Christmas I got my girlfriend a purple (her favorite color) Game Boy Color with Tetris, her favorite game. She loves this game, plays it way more than any other game. But since her culture gives gifts on New Year's, not Christmas, I'll have to give her something else for that day, too, but I'm not saying just yet what that is.

[Droid party]

I didn't want to spoil the surprise yet, in case she reads this at all, but for Christmas I got my girlfriend a purple (her favorite color) Game Boy Color with Tetris, her favorite game. She loves this game, plays it way more than any other game. But since her culture gives gifts on New Year's, not Christmas, I'll have to give her something else for that day, too, but I'm not saying just yet what that is.

Do you mind me asking what culture she is? I've never heard of that practice before.

[brunoafh]

^ Sounds like Hogmanay, or some other European tradition.

[Gamerforlife]

Not going to list everything, but some stuff I got for my family:

George Foreman grill for my aunt
Gold chain necklace for my uncle
A nice, blueray player with 3d tv support for my mom to go with the nice, 32 inch Sony flatscreen she recently got this year. It's funny that she actually has a better tv than me now

Other than that, movies, games, etc. for friends

[Ziggy]

I backed into my brother's Jeep and cracked one of his tail lights, so I got him a new set (left and right) of tail lights. I also got him lightning rod drum sticks, because I've broken at least one pair on him. Now that I think about it, all I got him this year was stuff that I broke on him. Kinda wish I got him something else now. The $1 rubber grip for his iPod doesn't count.

[o.pwuaioc]

I didn't want to spoil the surprise yet, in case she reads this at all, but for Christmas I got my girlfriend a purple (her favorite color) Game Boy Color with Tetris, her favorite game. She loves this game, plays it way more than any other game. But since her culture gives gifts on New Year's, not Christmas, I'll have to give her something else for that day, too, but I'm not saying just yet what that is.

Do you mind me asking what culture she is? I've never heard of that practice before.

Russian.

[fastbilly1]

Gifts already given:
- My father got an update to his satellite radio subscription.
- My mother got two Sabuda pop up books - Alice in Wonderland and Chanukah.
- My grandmother got Pavarotti Live at Notre Dame on DVD - she has played the same tape every year on Christmas Eve since the early 80s. I figured a DVD was finally called for.
- Since we draw names for my brothers and sister in laws, my older brother was given Paul Simon's Graceland on album.

Gifts to be given tomorrow:
- My girlfriend is getting a variety of things, including a Sailor Moon babydoll tshirt and a signed first edition of Mareta (a Pern book)
- My girlfriends parents are getting a piece of the Titanic, it is small but the only actual piece of the Titanic you can legally sell. They are huge Titanic buffs. It is in a nice case with a replica ticket and a coin from the year of its sinking.
- My girlfriends uncle is getting five scifi films on VHS. He cannot operate a DVD player but he loves movies with aliens as badguys, so Goodwill was good to us.

Things bought for me:
Alice Madness Returns on Steam - it was a Christmas miracle.

[AmericanMuffin]

IDK to family , but I got The Ship for YoshiEgg