Not really a post about being especially super smart but about giving and receiving gifts, and aren't we all a bit like children around the holidays?
This year the holidays reflect my experience with the shifts in the way I want to live. I'm still investigating where this shift comes from but without a real need to answer the question. I'm willing to go with it and see where it leads me.
In years past I've given my parents a rather detailed list of what I'd like for Christmas. Remember what I said about all of us being children around the holidays? Yes, I like presents. There, I've said it (and I know that I have some class privilege here). However, there's that shift, also mentioned above, and I've become less directive. But here's the rub - we all want what we want, but usually we expect our loved ones to psychically know what that is (or to have paid attention when hints were dropped). I'd resorted to the make/model/manufacturer list, but it eliminated the other thing I love about presents (yes, I love gifts) - the element of surprise, the personal element of the individual who chose the gift.
For my birthday, the ladyfriend toured through my Etsy favourites with me (she'd originally given me a budget, but I wanted her to choose) and picked out this amazing treesizeverse backpack -
Sure, it was in my favourites, but I'd kind of forgotten about it, and I wouldn't have pointed to it as an option because it was a little pricey. However, she found it and talked about how happy she'd be if I had it. I can't wait to use it.
So when my parents asked me what I'd like for the holidays, I told them to just look at my Etsy favourites or my Amazon wishlist. Both lists have things I'd like but either am too cheap or too forgetful to buy for myself. These lists give them ideas of what I'm interested in and an opportunity to choose something they like as well.
I'm really excited about the option I gave the ladyfriend. I'm going to show her some things I want to sew (oh yeah, I'm on Pinterest now with a board called Things to Make - Wardrobe Edition), and she's going to pick the one she likes and buy me the fabric for it. She gets to choose the colour & pattern; I get to make something we'll both really like, and I'll think of her every time I wear it. The best of both worlds!
I'm enjoying the new options and ways of doing/being that this shift is revealing.
This year the holidays reflect my experience with the shifts in the way I want to live. I'm still investigating where this shift comes from but without a real need to answer the question. I'm willing to go with it and see where it leads me.
In years past I've given my parents a rather detailed list of what I'd like for Christmas. Remember what I said about all of us being children around the holidays? Yes, I like presents. There, I've said it (and I know that I have some class privilege here). However, there's that shift, also mentioned above, and I've become less directive. But here's the rub - we all want what we want, but usually we expect our loved ones to psychically know what that is (or to have paid attention when hints were dropped). I'd resorted to the make/model/manufacturer list, but it eliminated the other thing I love about presents (yes, I love gifts) - the element of surprise, the personal element of the individual who chose the gift.
For my birthday, the ladyfriend toured through my Etsy favourites with me (she'd originally given me a budget, but I wanted her to choose) and picked out this amazing treesizeverse backpack -
So when my parents asked me what I'd like for the holidays, I told them to just look at my Etsy favourites or my Amazon wishlist. Both lists have things I'd like but either am too cheap or too forgetful to buy for myself. These lists give them ideas of what I'm interested in and an opportunity to choose something they like as well.
I'm really excited about the option I gave the ladyfriend. I'm going to show her some things I want to sew (oh yeah, I'm on Pinterest now with a board called Things to Make - Wardrobe Edition), and she's going to pick the one she likes and buy me the fabric for it. She gets to choose the colour & pattern; I get to make something we'll both really like, and I'll think of her every time I wear it. The best of both worlds!
I'm enjoying the new options and ways of doing/being that this shift is revealing.
Well, Santa is bringing me a candy thermometer so next year I can make everyone BRITTLE (can you hear the high speech here?!)
ReplyDelete