Favorite Gifts (Given)

This is a Christmas post that couldn’t be posted until Christmas had passed. I don’t like to post “Hey look what I got for Christmas!” posts, but I’ve been itching to share some of the things we gave to people this year, along with the thought processes behind them. See why I had to wait?

The Kids

Not my kids, but the kids that we shop for. I’m not a child expert, nor am I in-tune with what the kids are into these days. So we try to go for things that are fun and practical for our nieces and nephew. This year it was books and winter gear.

I picked a hat and mitten/glove set for each of the kids based on their personalities, the colors they wear most often and what I thought would look the cutest on them. Aside from being warm and adorable, I figured that having multiples of these items is never a bad thing because as a kid we seldom had a pair of gloves immediately available, you could usually find one, but not the other. I recall wearing mismatched gloves because of that.

Brad and I decided that books are always a sound option. Both of us were readers as kids and that’s something that we feel is valuable. I have a special place on my heart for children’s literature and love to share it. On top of that, kid books seem pretty expensive. We added a Dr. Suess book to each of their libraries this year and I’m told that they all like their books. Yay!

 The Personal Trainer (My Mom)

My mom usually asks for exercise accessories for Christmas. Last year she asked for a foam roller. This year she asked for an extra thick yoga mat.When I sat down to wrap the yoga mat, Brad looked at it any asked, “Didn’t we give her that last year?” Nope, but they were the same shape and about the same size.

Some people like to try to pick someone out and surprise the recipient, which is nice. But I also like knowing what people want and will use. It makes me happy to know that I got them something they’d really appreciate.

The Pet Lover

Brad’s grandmother is one of the only grandma’s I know who rocks an iPhone and knows how to program… she also has a little white poodle. When we ran across a poodle USB hub, there was no question that it would be going under the tree for her. When conversation before the gift exchange turned to computers she made the comment that she doesn’t have enough USB ports for everything she’d like to plug in, we knew that we’d gotten a good gift!

Gifts with Thought

If you read the examples above, you’ve probably figured out that I like to put thought into gifts and give things that I know someone will like and use. Sometimes they’re things I know I like so I think someone else will like, and sometimes they’re things that I would never want to own for myself… like the remote control helicopter that I gave Brad and the cats for Christmas.

What are some of your favorite gifts that you’ve given?

PS I’m guest posting on Allison’s blog The Blood Sugar Whisper today about some of my experiences being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes as and adult. You can check it out here.