Yesterday was pretty much running around and finishing holiday shopping. Almost done, although Kevin's Uncle Rick is a challenge, and we're picking up some larger items in California so we don't have to worry about transporting them, which makes me nervous (leaving it that late). Hopefully the stores won't run out of stock or anything. Reasonably happy with my gifts this year, though I wish I'd started earlier, as would be more normal. There were a few things I would've liked to get people, but had insufficient lead time. Hopefully I'll remember for next year.
One of my favorite gifts that I gave was to Kev's dad, the gift of a donation in his name -- it's so cute. It's a brood of hens (plus one rooster) to go to a family; they're supposed to raise the brood and give that same number back to the organization to pass on to another family, and in the interim, they get lots of fresh eggs. Cool idea. And I got him a bottle of wine with a goofy rooster label and a rooster ornament to go with. :-) In general, this organization is well set-up for donation gifts; they give you the option of sending a card to your donor (minor charge) or sending a free e-mail card or downloading a free card that you can print yourself.
Another good one was Pandora subscriptions. Several people got those. If anyone else wants to jump on the musical bandwagon, be warned -- once you sign them up, Pandora will send them a confirmation e-mail, so you may want to wait to do the signing up until Xmas morning. I had to tell Kevin to delete and ignore that e-mail, and I'm not sure whether he really did know what Pandora was, and was just pretending he didn't so as to not spoil my surprise. (Note: they've moved from their limited-time-free model to a free-with-advertising model, so if you were waiting to try it for yourself, now's a great time. Subscribing (very cheap) gets rid of the ads.)
I also gave some books this year, of course. The Time Traveller's Wife, The Hamilton Case, Persepolis, I Capture the Castle, art books on Chagall and Cornell. I'm told that some of my friends are giving Bodies in Motion for the holidays, which just tickles me pink. Good for more liberal members of the older generation and any contemporary, I think. :-)
What are your favorite gifts to give this year?
Well, I’m glad that my new name is a B then, ’cause I’m very happy to have received my card from you this year.
“I had to tell Kevin to delete and ignore that e-mail…”
So the question is whether he was able to restrain his curiosity and not open Pandora’s e-mail? I think I’ve heard this story before.