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Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Xmas Gifts

Here's what I want for Christmas:

See? I'm not that hard to buy for. (Unless you try to buy me clothes.) (Unless you know me very well. Today I'm wearing a black-with-white plaid skirt, a black short-sleeved sweater, and black knee-high boots. And silver hoop earrings, and a silver ring. You wouldn't think such simple clothing would be hard to find. But then you'd try to find it in my size, and then you'd be sad.) Plus, I like all the normal gifty stuff like journals and soaps and sparkle gel pens and stuff. So... not too hard, huh?

If you know I'm going to buy you a present this year, please post a list on your site or else just call me and tell me what you want. Because, otherwise, I'm going to agonize over it for weeks on end. Please: help me to help myself, here. Just tell me what to buy for you.

I always start off with good ideas. "Oh!" I'll think. "I know the PERFECT gift for Randy! I'll get him an inflatable doll!" But then, when I get to the Inflatable Doll Store, I start freaking out. There are so many dolls. They all have different colored hair and shoes. So many choices... which one is the best? Oh, my gosh. I'm so worried. What if I pick the WRONG ONE? Then Randy won't like his gift. His Christmas will be ruined. He'll hate me forever. No-o-o-o...

My dad is really good at buying gifts, and so is my friend Letty. They always get me and everyone else such awesome, thoughtful things. My dad does little themed gift packages, a lot of times. Like, the year before last, he got me a tea kettle with a bunch of kinds of tea and then bags of real chamomile and mint. That was awesome, and I use that tea kettle almost every day now. Letty's technique is obviously to go to stores where they sell really cool stuff, and then just pick out several things that she knows I'd like. One year she got me a bunch of really beautiful journals with all different covers - velvet, croccodile, paisley. I used all those journals and then asked her for more the next year. Then I used the next ones, then had to go buy my own. But I could never find any as cool as the ones she'd bought me. Well - I could, but I was too cheap/self-denying to buy them for myself.

This year I'm going to make my boyfriend Tad help me pick out everything. That way, it takes some of the pressure off my conscience.

I always love it when it's Christmas time in the books I'm reading. I like finding out what the characters get for each other. Harry Potter and Lawrence Sanders books are good about this. Little Women did it, I think. When I'm reading a book and it has pages that take place on Christmas and the author doesn't tell us what the characters got each other, I just throw that book out the window and read something else.

I also like online forum discussions of good and bad gifts. Especially bad gifts. Other people's choices of Christmas gifts, fictional or real, just fascinate me. Probably because choosing gifts traumatizes me and I'm trying to work through the pain.

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6:43 AM #

Comments:

 Now I have to put "Anything San-X" on my Christmas list just so I can find out what it is....I hope it's petty, judgmental or evil.


# posted by Blogger Lorna : 10:07 PM  

 Hi Gwen,

It isn't time to think about gift giving already?????
Aw, gez! Talk about your tramma!

I use to make all my gifts, because I didn't have much money, and I'm an art/crafter. But my hands aren't so good anymore. I think I have my Dad's arthritis.
So maybe, I can put things together in baskets. I have a collection of baskets, and that could be a good start, and a good excuse to buy new baskets this next Easter!

Easter? Aw, man! That's another holiday!

Jan-


# posted by Blogger Janice : 10:35 PM  

 More like pretty, whimsical, or cute, actually.

The English site, which is under constructions:
http://www.ingram.co.jp/inter/

The Japanese site:
http://www.san-x.co.jp/

A shopping site:
http://www.kawaiigifts.com/home.html

A quiz: "Which San-X Character Are You?":
http://guru.theotaku.com/sanx/sanxcharacter.shtml

(I'm Kogepan. He's all depressed and introspective and stuff. I think I should have been one of the food-obsessed kittens, instead.)

There. Now, go forth and obsess over San-X!


# posted by Blogger Gwen : 10:39 PM  

 Jan: you and I must have posted at the exact same time. I didn't see yours til after I posted mine. If you're going to make gifts, then, yes, it's definitely time to start thinking about them. Don't worry - I'm sure you'll find something easy on your hands.

Okay, look, y'all. This is Relax Bear:
http://www.kawaiigifts.com/RKdirectory.html

I mean - Jesus Christ, that's some cute shit. He's not *lazy*, he's *relaxed*.

Actually, he reminds me of someone I know...


# posted by Blogger Gwen : 10:53 PM  

 Hi Gwen,

Yeah, I guess we both kinda passed each other!
And yes, I do need something easy on my hands, and I'm usually fine in our dry hot summers we have here in California. Right now we have about 100% mosture, and that means fog! Sometimes we don't even see the sun all day. And the moisture is really hard on my joints.

So, I thought to throw some stuff in baskets.
We usually end up with wine; because my husband works at the biggest winnery in town, and they always give wine to us for the hoildays. And we don't drink, so we usually give it to my brother and sister who do. I know really cheap gift! But they seem to like it. And I usually try to give something I actually bought or made alone with it.

So this year I thought--hey! I could put the wine in a basket along with cheese & crackers, a cork screw, wine glasses. Ya, know that sort of thing. That way they only thing that would be hard on my hands would be making of the bow.
But, for my Mom who dosen't drink, but likes coffee; I can do the same but with coffee & cups and stuff!

Jan-


# posted by Blogger Janice : 2:34 AM  

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