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Minor Deity |
Our fam does not celebrate a religious Xmas, just a family time with smaller gifts, sometimes homemade. This year, not till after the New Year..Dates have no meaning.  This year was challenging at first but now I think I have all but Middle (he is ALWAYS difficult about everything.  He brought me a wonderfull birthday gift in June..my BD is in Dec )I am shopping local/vintage to avoid supply chain crap. So here is a list. Please post yours in hopes we can inspire each other in case some of us are stuck! -Hand knitted super soft cowl for a scarf lover. -DIY vanilla extract kit with vanilla beans, vodka and fancy bottle ($3 at Homegoods). -DIY terrariums. Glass cookie jars with lids ($7 at HomeGoods!) with baggies of each ingredient (soil, charcoal, gravel) and 1/2 price plants from the local garden center along with some of my collection of beach stones. Funny, hardest thing is to find one plastic figure without having to buy a whole set! One recipient is into horses, the other sharks or dinos...Just try to find an old fashioned 5&Dime to buy just one 2 inch figure! -Vintage barware. Etched glass shaker and glasses to match (from different thrift stores!!!) What have you on your shopping list?
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| Unrepentant Dork Gadfly  |
A fantastic ramen restaurant a couple hours away does DIY ramen kits individually or by subscription. Like Hello Fresh or Blue Apron, they deliver them to your door and then you cook/assemble. They are absolutely fantastic so we have gotten them for two people on our list!
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| czarina Has Achieved Nirvana  |
Christmas was a huge deal in hubbies family; in mine it was birthdays. This year I bought him a treadmill, should be arriving on the 14th. I know he got me clothes; I hate shopping for myself and he has good taste. For my riding instructor I'm giving her a book: "The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge" by Jeremy Narby. It's a mix of the scientific and the esoteric, which fits her bent of mind. We have some pretty fascinating conversations every week and I'm looking forward to discussing this book with her. I don't generally do Christmas with anyone except immediate family, but she has given me so much in my lessons over the years, I truly want to express my appreciation. One year I gave her book plates I designed myself. That was the most fun. Stepkid always gets a fat check. That's his father's favorite gift to give and receive. He hates trying to figure out what to buy people. MIL --I voted for getting her a bonsai gardenia (mail order) but Mr Pique nixed it when he saw the total cost with shipping. We'll probably call a local florist and get her a nice table centerpiece for Christmas dinner. We decided not to have a tree this year, but I'm sure we'll make a sumptuous dinner and enjoy a day reading together in front of the fire.
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| (self-titled) semi-posting lurker Minor Deity  |
OMG Mr SK would love that!! Will have to see if there’s anything like that around here.
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
I cannot say what I got my wife, for obvious reasons. And it’s only a partial present. I will say, though, that I’m proud of finding something that she doesn’t know she wants, but that she really will want once she has it.  I have not yet bought anything for the kids. I hate giving cash …. to me, that isn’t really a present. So, I have work to do. | |||
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| Minor Deity |
+1 LOVE this!!
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| Minor Deity |
We have a "Secret Snowflake" exchange at work. The limit is $5 but we are encouraged to make something. I love a challenge. 
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| Foregoing Practicing to Post Minor Deity  |
My daughter used to get us an exotic meal in a box, based on worldwide cuisines: Vietnamese, Ethiopian, Venezuelan. Pretty cool. They deliver to your house and you heat them up. We’re getting tired of the gift-giving. I prefer if people tell me what they need. Or we write checks. Shopping, even online, is exhausting. I like the notion of buying local, but that has become mostly craft-y stuff like candles, soaps, scarves, ornaments. But jewelry and ceramics can be nice. My wife wants a nice dinner in the city. I’ll probably buy a man-bag that suits me, and have my wife reimburse me.
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| knitterati Beatification Candidate  |
We have turned more and more to experiences together rather than things. My favorite recent gift from the kids: A book on poke (fish, you know), with the promise to make the poke of my choice. It was delicious! Our kids came over for my birthday and made kalua pork. Yum. Gifts *from* me? Consumables, mostly. Whisky/whiskey! Homemade jams and sauces. Or I shop my stash of knitwear samples; I have a lot! And this year I’m block printing tea towels again.
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| Foregoing Practicing to Post Minor Deity |
I'm going to hint for our daughter to get us a fancy scotch.
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| Pinta & the Santa Maria Has Achieved Nirvana  |
Our kids are in the stage where they are both setting up their houses/apartments. Both also cook, so I've found that nice cooking doodads are often well-received.... things that are upgrades, especially. A good garlic press. A knife sharpener. A set of (matching) soup bowls. Stuff like that. As for Mr. Nina and I, we are both agreed that we don't want just more "stuff." Sometime around mid-October, we will start to drop hints that we sure would like X, rather than just buying it. Things like books, puzzles and games make frequent appearances. There's been more than one time where we just told the other, "You know that doodad I just bought? You just gave it to me for (insert holiday here)." It works just fine. I know couples who really save for a big, surprise and/or extravagant present for birthdays or holidays, but that's just not how we roll. It does sound like fun, though. | |||
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| Semi-Regular |
Not much this year, probably a couple of large prints of and a couple of custom mugs with sentimental photographs. | |||
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
We stopped gift giving a long, long time ago, but I'm enjoying reading about everyone's ideas. I'll add a suggestion that came to me a little while ago....how about a set of juggling balls? 
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| Unrepentant Dork Gadfly |
For my hubby: a three month subscription to an Ontario-specific craft beer club. They only send bottles that aren’t normally commercially distributed outside of the brewery’s local area.
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