First off, I have to thank my friend Lyndsay over at "I Used To Be Witty" for yesterday's post called "Where Is Yoko?". Please run, don't walk, over and check her out. AND DON'T SKIP OVER THE VIDEO!
Noah's Mommy over at Project Mommyhood posted about a great sewing machine she is getting/got for Christmas. It was her post that inspired my posting today.
Answer me this, what is your absolute favorite Christmas present you've received and what was your most favorite gift to give?
I hate to admit this, because I know it would probably hurt my parents' feelings, but I don't remember too many Christmas presents I received as a kid. There was the year of the Cabbage Patch Doll. Cabbage Patch Dolls were THE hot gift that year. Parents were fighting and trampling over each other to get them for their kids. Stores couldn't keep them on the shelves. Somehow my mom managed to snag one for me and one for my sister. That was a good year. We did the happy dance all around the tree. I also vaguely remember a pink and green ESPIRIT sweatshirt and matching pants that I loved, but that's about the extent of my childhood Christmas present memory.
The best Christmas present I can remember getting as an adult is a completely different story. From the outset, I should say that my mom gives good presents. She doesn't always present them the best, a la the year that everything was still in shopping bags, but I know she usually puts thought into her gifts. She's a great giver of jewelry and she believes in only giving the good stuff. (I fully appreciate that!) Most of my great jewelry was a gift from her. But it was the Kitchen-Aid mixer she gave me that would top the list as the best Christmas gift ever.
I remember that she gave it to me in a black trash bag with a red bow on it (come to think about it, mom hasn't wrapped a gift in awhile!). And when I opened the bag and saw that mixer, I'm sure I did a happy dance that rivaled the Cabbage Patch Christmas. You see, I had been wanting a stand mixer for quite some time. I love to bake, but the hand mixer just wasn't cutting it anymore. The one my mother had was given to her as a wedding gift twenty-something years ago, and one of the mixers was badly bent. I didn't have my own mixer because I hadn't lived in my own space for quite awhile (story for a different post) and wouldn't have had the space or the use for one. I had been longing for one since I used one in my friend's house many moons ago. She taught me how to make cinnamon rolls and I was hooked, but there was no way I was going to make cinnamon rolls with a hand mixer. I'm sure I talked about wanting a stand mixer for quite some time. Somewhere along the line, Mom heard my plea and granted my wish for Christmas. I rank it as my best Christmas present because I use it all the time and every time I do, I think about my mom.
The best present I've ever given was, well, hmm..., I'm not really sure. I guess that's a completely subjective question. Maybe the question I should be asking is, what was the Christmas present you most enjoyed giving. There was the year that I gave my Mom a signed Romare Bearden print for Christmas. That was a lot of fun. Dad really enjoyed the iPod me and my sister gave him a few years ago. But I've given a gift this year that I think, is probably the most meaningful Christmas present I've ever given. I won't speak of it here, because I don't want the recipient to know what is coming.
I'll keep you posted.
Here's the rant: I hope my mom wraps at least one present this year.
Noah's Mommy over at Project Mommyhood posted about a great sewing machine she is getting/got for Christmas. It was her post that inspired my posting today.
Answer me this, what is your absolute favorite Christmas present you've received and what was your most favorite gift to give?
I hate to admit this, because I know it would probably hurt my parents' feelings, but I don't remember too many Christmas presents I received as a kid. There was the year of the Cabbage Patch Doll. Cabbage Patch Dolls were THE hot gift that year. Parents were fighting and trampling over each other to get them for their kids. Stores couldn't keep them on the shelves. Somehow my mom managed to snag one for me and one for my sister. That was a good year. We did the happy dance all around the tree. I also vaguely remember a pink and green ESPIRIT sweatshirt and matching pants that I loved, but that's about the extent of my childhood Christmas present memory.
The best Christmas present I can remember getting as an adult is a completely different story. From the outset, I should say that my mom gives good presents. She doesn't always present them the best, a la the year that everything was still in shopping bags, but I know she usually puts thought into her gifts. She's a great giver of jewelry and she believes in only giving the good stuff. (I fully appreciate that!) Most of my great jewelry was a gift from her. But it was the Kitchen-Aid mixer she gave me that would top the list as the best Christmas gift ever.
I remember that she gave it to me in a black trash bag with a red bow on it (come to think about it, mom hasn't wrapped a gift in awhile!). And when I opened the bag and saw that mixer, I'm sure I did a happy dance that rivaled the Cabbage Patch Christmas. You see, I had been wanting a stand mixer for quite some time. I love to bake, but the hand mixer just wasn't cutting it anymore. The one my mother had was given to her as a wedding gift twenty-something years ago, and one of the mixers was badly bent. I didn't have my own mixer because I hadn't lived in my own space for quite awhile (story for a different post) and wouldn't have had the space or the use for one. I had been longing for one since I used one in my friend's house many moons ago. She taught me how to make cinnamon rolls and I was hooked, but there was no way I was going to make cinnamon rolls with a hand mixer. I'm sure I talked about wanting a stand mixer for quite some time. Somewhere along the line, Mom heard my plea and granted my wish for Christmas. I rank it as my best Christmas present because I use it all the time and every time I do, I think about my mom.
The best present I've ever given was, well, hmm..., I'm not really sure. I guess that's a completely subjective question. Maybe the question I should be asking is, what was the Christmas present you most enjoyed giving. There was the year that I gave my Mom a signed Romare Bearden print for Christmas. That was a lot of fun. Dad really enjoyed the iPod me and my sister gave him a few years ago. But I've given a gift this year that I think, is probably the most meaningful Christmas present I've ever given. I won't speak of it here, because I don't want the recipient to know what is coming.
I'll keep you posted.
Here's the rant: I hope my mom wraps at least one present this year.
6 comments:
Oh, how I drooled over those mixers. Finally we were able to find a good deal on one and scooped it up. We argued over the color and eventually he won out with black but I still love it. That would be an awesome gift.
The gift I probably most enjoyed giving... That might be this year as well. We'll see.
I'm with you...don't recall a LOT of specifics, but I know I always got books from the sets I was reading at the time (babysitter's club, sweet valley high, danielle steel, LOL). BUT...I do recall the cabbage patch doll, and I DO recall the roller skates. :) Oh, and of course my hub's gift to me the year he took me and my father to California for a raiders game. That meant a LOT...more than anyone could understand unless you know my father....
Great post! I think when I was a kid, the best present I recall..as that was A LONG TIME AGO...was a huge box filled with crunched up newspaper and a Barbie doll! I was so irritated thinking there was not a thing in that box! LOL! I bought myself one of those stand mixers a few years ago and I love it! It makes you wanna throw rocks at those silly little hand mixers, huh! Your mom's like me, I am not the best at wrapping, because I am not good at it for one thing and the other thing is, I feel like it's a waste of time! Thank Goodness for gift bags! Those I can do! LOL! Christmas Blessings! Lisa
An autographed Romare Bearden?! I'm. Speechless. THAT would be the best present ever!!!!!!
One of the best presents I ever got was a collection of August Wilson's plays. He's brilliant. And a close second would be a signed Franks Deceus lithograph.
Whoever gave me an autographed Romare Bearden would get some. Seriously.
Awww, thanks for the link :), can't believe I missed this last week!
I'm also glad to know I'm not in the minority of "Christmas Present Amnesia" ... maybe that should motivate me to not spend so much on Kate!
Denene,
I'm sorry. It wasn't a Bearden. It was a Jacob Lawrence. I tend to get the two confused, which doesn't make much sense because their styles are so different. Here's a link to an image of the piece. http://www.rogallery.com/lawrence_jacob/lawrencej-to-the-defense.htm
My mom seemed a little excited, but not all that phased. I was a little let down. If someone had given it to me...well, I think you and me would have the same reaction. :)
Lyndsay,
Yes, don't overspend on the little ones. They won't remember, but you will. You'll remember their reactions, but you'll also remember the crunch you feel in January as a result. I think it would be really cool if you started a binder now of all your monthly letters and were prepared to give it to Kate for her 16th birthday or some other meaningful occasion. She'll remember that much more than Whatever The Popular Present Is For Little People.
cs2smom,
They really tried to psych you wout with the newspaper, huh? How rude. :) My sister loved Barbie. In her preteen and teenage years, she started getting the Bob Mackie line of Barbies. She still has them all in pristine condition. I'm jealous.
Tooj,
The Raiders game sounds like an awesome gift. Giving the gift of a memorable experience like that is the ultimate.
Cate,
Aren't those mixers the best?! I have a white one. Can't wait to hear about the gift you most enjoyed giving.
Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!
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