10 on the 10th: December 2022-Christmas Gift Giving

Let the Christmas countdown begin…we are down to just 2 weeks away and I have managed to get the bulk of my shopping finished way ahead of time this year. That really does relieve a lot of the holiday spending stress when you start early and buy a few things each week starting in September or October. I have even been wrapping everything as it is arrives so I am not overwhelmed on Christmas Eve with giant gift piles that need to be covered in paper.

And now it is time again for Marsha’s 10 on the 10th questions. 10 on the 10th is a monthly series with Marsha of Marsha in the Middle, Leslie of Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After, and Gail of Is This Mutton? Each month, we are presented with 10 questions about a common theme and asked to share our answers in blog post form. This series is such a wonderful way to share more information about ourselves and to learn interesting new things about others. Anyone is invited to join and answer the questions. It is a great way to start new conversations and make meaningful connections with new people.

For December, Marsha gave us 10 questions focused on Christmas gifts…both giving and receiving. So let’s get straight to it…

1. About how many gifts do you purchase in the holiday season? 

Oh my goodness, does anyone keep count of that? I have no idea. Some years I purchase way too many gifts while other years have been frugal and small. I don’t purchase gifts for very many people outside of our immediate family and a few very close friends. I feel like once you open that door, the number of people on the gift giving list becomes unmanageable, way too expensive, and really misses the point of the holiday.

2. Who is the hardest person for whom you buy presents?

I find it the most difficult to choose gifts for people I don’t know really well. While I don’t find myself in that position often, it does sometimes happen and it really stresses me out. I am not a fan of giving a gift just for the sake of giving a gift. I want the gift to be personal and meaningful which is very difficult when you don’t have a personal or meaningful relationship with the gift recipient.

3. How do you respond to a gift you really don’t like? 

I respond just as any respectable and kind human being would…I offer sincere thanks for thinking of me and then I find a way to put the gift to use or I regift it to someone who would love and use it. (See #10).

4. What kinds of gifts do you consider to be the best to give or receive?

For me, the more personal a gift is, the more meaningful it is, and the more likely it is that I will keep the gift forever. I was just telling Jeff the other day that my very favorite gift from my mother-in-law was the vintage butterfly brooches that belonged to her mother. They were a Mother’s Day gift not a Christmas gift, but I love that they are family heirlooms and that they cost no money! To put it succinctly, my motto for the best gifts is more meaning, less money.

5. What kinds of gifts do you consider the worst to give or receive?

Generic gifts that were purchased just for the sake of giving a gift because a gift is expected.

6. What gift would you never give ever?

I am definitely a person who knows not to say never ever! No gifts are off limits if it is something that I believe the recipient will love. (See #9)

7. What is your process for selecting a gift? 

I definitely do not have a process. If I spot something someone on my shopping list will love, I don’t hesitate too long to purchase it. I do pay attention and keep mental notes when interesting information is given to me that will help with my gift selection. In fact, I got something for Jeff for Christmas that only recently came to my attention as something he would love. I can’t say here what it is because he does read my blog posts!

8. What is the best gift you’ve ever gotten?

I mentioned a few memorable childhood Christmas gifts from my mother in November’s 10 on the 10th post. But more recently, one of the best gifts I have received is my vintage faux fur coat that Jeff and my friend Denise went to great lengths to surprise me with but ultimately ended up failing. You can read that story here. Even though the surprise failed, I still love this coat so much! I just wore it to Jeff’s company Christmas party and got lots of compliments on it. One woman told me to be careful because her friend was eyeing up my coat on the coat rack! Haha.

9. What is the best gift you’ve ever given?

The gift I am about to describe is a gift that most women might get offended by but it was something I knew my sister wanted. I hadn’t ever considered it as a gift option until Jeff and I were shopping in Lowe’s around Christmas time. This is well over a decade ago because we still lived in Pennsylvania at the time. Anyway, my sister did not have a garbage disposal in her kitchen sink and she really wanted one but just never got around to getting one. So Jeff and I got her a garbage disposal for Christmas. When she first opened the giant, heavy, industrial sized box, she was so confused. It took her a moment to locate on the box what she had just opened and when she realized what it was, she screamed like a child getting her first puppy or a pony! My husband found it so funny that she got that excited over a garbage disposal! But there is power in gift giving when you know exactly what a person wants regardless of how strange the gift idea may be.

10. Would you ever or have you ever re-gifted something? 

I am a huge fan of regifting! However, I do always let both the original gift giver and the new recipient know that my gift is a regift. I tell the original giver that I loved the gift but after having it for a while, I realized that I wasn’t really using it so I decided to pass it on to someone who will. And I tell the new recipient that I received the item as a gift myself but found that it didn’t really suit me and it made me think of them. Of course, when I do regift, I regift with intention and thought. I don’t just pass off any old meaningless gift to the next person. They only get it if it is something they will appreciate and have use for. I also love receiving regifts myself. Because then I know the giver didn’t break their budget on me and I know that they know how I appreciate the art of recycling, reusing, repurposing, and regifting! It is a much more environmentally conscious way to give gifts anyway!

Happy holidays to you all! I hope you receive all the things your heart desires.

Keeping it on the edge, 

Shelbee

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