Buying Gifts For Adults Sucks....

[Kaido]

Yeah, I started doing Holiday Goodie Bags filled with curated desserts a couple years ago. I start a month or two before December & just make one batch of cookie dough a day to freeze - chocolate-chip, pignolis, brown-butter ricotta, etc. That way it's only 10 minutes a day. Doesn't cost much & everyone loves them because the treats are really good & they don't have to find a place in their home for them because they disappear!

https://www.reddit.com/r/StressFreeSeason/comments/jlnsog

 

[pete6032]

The amount of whining in this thread. Here's an idea - stop buying shit for yourself the month of November and December and instead put it on a Christmas list.

 

[highland145]

The amount of whining in this thread. Here's an idea - stop buying shit for yourself the month of November and December and instead put it on a Christmas list.

And delay my gratification? Eff that.

It's that Jan to Oct buying that's the problem.

 

[Homerboy]

I have a large family. We used to buy everyone gifts and it was stupid, meaningless and expensive.

About 12 years ago or so, we decided to start drawing names among the adults (anyone out of high school was considered an adult). The idea was to buy one meaningful gift specifically for that individual - something specific to them and their likes/dislikes and personality etc. It really made things MUCH better and personable. Though there are some names you do NOT want to draw as they are just impossible to shop for, due to a number of different reasons.

Anyways, it's helped us out a lot putting some meaning and dare I say fun back into Christmas shopping.

 

[snoopy7548]

I have been thinking about asking my brothers if they want to just stop buying gifts. I send them and their wives $20 Amazon gift cards (and I get pretty much the same in return), and give like $50 to each of their kids. I'd rather just not give/receive anything, and put the extra money towards the kids.

 

[BoomerD]

Yeah, I started doing Holiday Goodie Bags filled with curated desserts a couple years ago. I start a month or two before December & just make one batch of cookie dough a day to freeze - chocolate-chip, pignolis, brown-butter ricotta, etc. That way it's only 10 minutes a day. Doesn't cost much & everyone loves them because the treats are really good & they don't have to find a place in their home for them because they disappear!

https://www.reddit.com/r/StressFreeSeason/comments/jlnsog

Jeezus-Fucking-Kryst...are you a woman? No self-respecting MAN would go through all that bullshit...or write a 25 page treatise on it.


😛

 

[BoomerD]

And delay my gratification? Eff that.

It's that Jan to Oct buying that's the problem.

What's the problem? Are all the stores (and internet based shops) closed in your area Jan-Oct?

BUY, BUY, BUY!

SPEND, SPEND, SPEND!

There are hard-working Chinese workers depending on you during the non-Christmas months!

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

What's the problem? Are all the stores (and internet based shops) closed in your area Jan-Oct?

BUY, BUY, BUY!

SPEND, SPEND, SPEND!

There are hard-working Chinese workers depending on you during the non-Christmas months!

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if in 20 years from now all toys for anyone over the age of 5 are completely gone and just replaced with tablets and the like...

Whats a ball for?

 

[Ajay]

For siblings:
On my side of the family, we go out for dinner, like @highland145 .
On my wife's side we do a Yankee swap, just for giggles, $20 max. It's always a lot of fun.
Non-adult nieces and nephews rake it in 😀

 

[GodisanAtheist]

In my household it generally goes like this:

My wife buys everyone else presents and says they come from both of us (they know its from her) and I buy her presents. She's the one person that I make the effort to mentally catalogue things that she has expressed interest in over the year so I can actually *surprise* her with something nice. She's also the one person where money isn't really an object, so I have no qualms about buying her something really nice.

We generally keep frivolous purchases throughout the year relatively light, and actively avoid buying every POS chachki that catches our eye, which also makes Christmas a bit easier.

She has told me that buying gifts for me is a huge pain in the ass though, since I want relatively little but when I do want something I meticulously research until I know exactly what I am getting for the price I paid. She has leaned into just point blank asking me exactly what I want, down to the SKU number, rather than trying to surprise me 😛.

 

[LikeLinus]

She has told me that buying gifts for me is a huge pain in the ass though, since I want relatively little but when I do want something I meticulously research until I know exactly what I am getting for the price I paid. She has leaned into just point blank asking me exactly what I want, down to the SKU number, rather than trying to surprise me 😛.

LOL, hits home. My problem is that I buy everything for myself throughout the year. My mom and Wife both complain! They never know what I want for special occasions, they literally say "buy what you want, here is my credit card".
It's generally guitars or A/V equipment that they know nothing about, lol. Getting older has it's advantages, but it always loses the mystic. Sigh.....

Which I totally learned to live through my children!! It's fun because I cannot be surprised any more. Focus on others!