11 votes

What was the best holiday gift you gave or received this year, how did you choose it, and why is it "best"?

Spouse and I have a long history of not setting too much value on the consumption festival season, aside from the obligatory (and fun) over-eating and -drinking. We usually make charitable donations in each others' names, but we're still reasonably proficient at small tokens or surprising each other occasionally. Guy got me a DVD collection with all five seasons of Letterkenny, and we're gleefully watching it together. He (well, me too) received a wee tiny capsule espresso maker, and is both happy and jittery.

So how did you do this year? Was it fun, stressful, budget-busting, social, or otherwise a pleasurable/painful process? Do you feel like you made someone happier?

5 comments

  1. Dovey
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    The best present I gave this year was a repeat of one I gave last year. For Christmas 2017 my stepmother had asked for a spoon rest to keep on the table. I found a little white owl that was...

    The best present I gave this year was a repeat of one I gave last year. For Christmas 2017 my stepmother had asked for a spoon rest to keep on the table. I found a little white owl that was perfect for our bird-watching family. (It's actually for tea bags, but a nice size for spoons too.) She and my father loved it and used it until a freak accident that we still don't quite understand left the owl in many small pieces. Would it be possible to find the same one again, they asked?

    The store where I bought it didn't have any more, nor any plans to order them, no other stores I checked had it, and I couldn't find it online (except for one sketchy seller in a neighbouring country that I was keeping as a very last resort). A few months went by and I decided to check Amazon again to see if there was something else that would do instead. Suddenly, there was the owl! It wasn't even available yet, but would be in stock in a few days, and I could pre-order. Yes please, I'll take two! So the little owl is back on their table, and his twin is in my own kitchen. I told my stepmother, "If you break this one you can have mine, and if you break that one you're not allowed to have any more!"

    It's not that it's valuable or rare, and we certainly don't need more stuff in our lives, but it was exactly the right thing, and it felt really good to see it back in its rightful place.

    8 votes
  2. Kom
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    The best gift I gave was to my sister in-law, we did Kris kringle with my wife's side of the family (each adult got one child and one adult to buy for) so my sister in-law got a t-shirt with my...

    The best gift I gave was to my sister in-law, we did Kris kringle with my wife's side of the family (each adult got one child and one adult to buy for) so my sister in-law got a t-shirt with my face on it and some lush bath bombs.

    She said "the moment I pulled your name out I knew I was getting a gag gift. This is the greatest shirt ever. I don't care what the other thing is because nothing can top this" everyone loved it and my almost brother in-law said we will have to do a couples style photo for a shirt next year. So that was a plus.

    As for the best gift I was given, that would be the kindle my wife gave me.

    4 votes
  3. Heichou
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    My family's pretty disjointed right now and so I didn't get anything for Christmas. However, I turned 21 the 14th of this month and my friend bought me a gift for my birthday and Christmas. He...

    My family's pretty disjointed right now and so I didn't get anything for Christmas. However, I turned 21 the 14th of this month and my friend bought me a gift for my birthday and Christmas. He bought me a fucking 800 dollar Schecter bass. I've never had anyone spend this much money on me before and I still feel bad about it but he was very adamant on getting it for me. This thing plays like a dream

    4 votes
  4. Jedi
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    I got a really nice Old Navy shirt. I'm usually not that big on clothing (I have what I need), but it's just really nice. I don't know how to explain why I love it so much. As for giving, I've...

    I got a really nice Old Navy shirt. I'm usually not that big on clothing (I have what I need), but it's just really nice. I don't know how to explain why I love it so much.

    As for giving, I've been trying to get my family cut the cord, so I bought three months of YouTube TV. We finally found a service to go along with it that has the required Hallmark channels: Philo. We were originally going to go with Sling, but with the DVR/Hallmark add-ons, the price difference between it and cable became negligible. But Philo fills the channel gap left by YouTube, and it's only $16/month.

    3 votes
  5. PopeRigby
    (edited )
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    Mine is a small silly thing but I got this really cool Doom mousepad that fits my keyboard and mouse. I'm a big fan of Doom and it's going to look great with my new Razer Chroma I just ordered....

    Mine is a small silly thing but I got this really cool Doom mousepad that fits my keyboard and mouse. I'm a big fan of Doom and it's going to look great with my new Razer Chroma I just ordered. Here's a picture of it on my desk.

    3 votes