Gift Ideas

Well, it's almost Christmas. Time for putting up the tree, and hanging the Christmas lights. Time for seeing who's been naughty and who's been nice. And it's also time to shell out our hard earned cash on presents for both the grateful and ungrateful alike.

(I know, I didn't mention it's also time to celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus, but it just feels like that fact is being diluted and swept under the rug by the marketing giants of "Big Business"...just don't get me started, ok?)

In the Gillespie household, we like to catergorize our family and friends into two groups, neither one being better than the other. One group is the "Gift" group, which receives presents of great forethought and care, and the other group is the "Card" group, which receives Christmas cheer via a handwritten Christmas card presented with great forethought and care.

Being forethoughtful and caring as we are, I thought I would share with you a few Christmas gifts to avoid giving this year.

1. $5 Cash (or gift card).

Sure, a Five-Spot is charming when you pull it from a birthday card from grandma, but unwrapping Honest Abe's wrinkly face on Christmas day is pretty far from charming. Here are a few simple rules for giving money as a gift.

a.) Give at LEAST $20. If you can't afford to give $20 to someone, maybe they should be in the "Card" Group.

b.) Try to remember what they gave you last Christmas, and mirror the sentiment. (Keeping in mind rule a.) Did they give you a sweater? $20 should do it. Did they give you a shiny new guitar? Better up the ante a little.

c.) When giving Gift cards, $20 is good, but for some reason $25 is above and beyond!! It's a meal for two PLUS an appetizer. What says love like an appetizer?

2. Christmas Themed Sweater

While there are probably no fashion rules like "You can't wear white after Labor Day" concerning Christmas sweaters, there most definitely should be. Don't get me wrong, while Christmas sweaters are festive and fun BEFORE or ON Christmas, they are equally unfestive and unfun after the 25th. Here's why this is a bad gift:

a.) Obviously, you received this gift on Christmas Day, and, as outlined above, it ceases to be an acceptable clothing option on December 26th.

b.) December 26, 2006 is 364 days removed from December 25, 2007.

c.) By the time Christmas rolls around again, your "hip, new" sweater will be dated and way uncool...no one wants to be uncool.

(SIDENOTE: I think I will throw in all Christmas themed gifts in this category...Christmas DVD's, Christmas CD's, Christmas Gift Boxes of Summer Sausage and Cheese. These gifts are so very seasonal, and I think that's a sad thing for a friend to give a friend something that can't be used but one or two months of the year MAX. Oh, unless the DVD is Christmas Story, cause that movie rocks year round.)

3. Necessities for a Parent

You know what I mean, here. When you buy your friend a package of diapers cause they just had a baby.

This is lame.

Think about it...yes, the parent does NEED these things, but let's face it, Christmas is a holiday of WANT. Let the baby's grandma buy the diapers, and take your friend out for dinner or buy them a sweater (not Christmas related) or something.

(SIDENOTE: If you are this parent, and you receive cash or gift card, don't slap the giver in the face by using it on your kids. That money is for You to buy something for YOURSELF. If the giver wanted to blow another 20 bucks on your kid, they would have...)

4. Lotion/Bath Sets

These are really nice, and some people love getting them for gifts, so I won't go too hard on them. However, let's get real. Besides cash/gift cards, this is the number one "I-don't-know-what-to-buy-for-you" gift. It's a cop-out, in it's purest form. I said it before, and I'll say it again, if you don't know the person well enough to buy them something with a little thought, maybe they should be in the "Card" group.

5. (cue Rod Roddy from the Price is Right voice) ... A NEW CAR!!

This one is simple, you get someone a car in 2006, what the hell do you get them in 2007? You set the bar pretty high there, Einstein!!

Well, that's all the advice I have. I have a feeling I may have just dropped off of a few people's "Gift" Group list with this post, but you know every word is true!!

Happy Christmas, people. Now, put some thought into those gifts!!