Christmas Deadbeat
Yup, that's what I am.
Having never really celebrated Christmas before, I was all excited about the prospect of enthusiastically opening my pile of gifts and then watching Alex open his, and then the two of us excitedly testing everything out while sugar plum fairies danced around my living room.
Except the whole thing? Kind of anticlimactic. I'm not saying I don't appreciate everything I received... I love LOVE all of my presents- they were all thoughtful and perfect and Alex gave me the sweetest card that almost made me cry. But he brought them all over on Christmas eve, and despite my protests, he insisted that in his family that's when they opened their presents. And who am I to start my own Christmas traditions? I'm Jewish for christ's sake.
And also? His brother was there, and though I love his brother, it kind of took away from the romance of it all.
And one more thing? He told his dad the same thing he hinted at wanting when he was with me, and so by the time I gave him his stuff, he had already gotten the rolling garment bag. So basically he openened a steamer, a leather DVD binder, The Family Guy vol. 4, and a grooming kit. Whoot. Whoot.
My loot?
The TV/DVD player
Burberry quilted jacket
Burberry cashmere scarf
Matching cute pink gloves
A red leather laptop bag
Travel jewelry case
PJ pants
Slippers
a classic musicals collection of DVDs
The Devil Wears Prada DVD (I wanted to see it)
a Pier 1 gift card
and a Poo-Pooing Santa Claus
I suck at giving presents.
I know, I know... I kind of knew this would happen and had resigned myself to the fact that I'd be receiving more than I'd be giving. But wait til you hear this one.
We're going out to dinner on Christmas Eve with his mom and grandma. I have been asking Alex for a month for some suggestions for what to get his mom, who I don't know all that well. The most frequent response was, "Just get her something stupid." Which was extremely helpful.
Fast forward to the day before Christmas Eve, and I still don't have anything for her. I'm at the mall. I'm freaking out. I frantically text message him that I am not going to dinner and you can't make me.
Christmas Eve morning, after I make several debunked suggestions of what I could get her, Alex insists that I should just get her a couple of pounds of ground Dunkin Donuts coffee, and no, I shouldn't get the gift set, just the coffee, keep it simple, it's useful, she will love it, relax, relax, it's no big deal really.
So I get the friggin coffee.
Fast forward once more to dinner. Set scene: Jess opens a gift bag from Alex's mom, which contains tons of little accessory type things, antibacterial gels, mints, etc. (because if we had eaten at the house, I'd have had a stocking), and a $50 Commerce Bank gift card.
And then I handed her my gift, which contained two pounds of DD coffee and a tin of homemade peppermint bark. She did seem appreciative, but I'm pretty sure I saw her checking under the tissue paper for something she may have missed. A loose coffee bean, perhaps.
So I wake up Christmas morning, and all I want to do all day is cry. My gift to my boyfriend was spoiled, my gift to his mom was straight up retarded, and by the way, his grandmother gave me a card with a $10 in it and I got her nothing.
Y'all? I suck at Christmas.
Having never really celebrated Christmas before, I was all excited about the prospect of enthusiastically opening my pile of gifts and then watching Alex open his, and then the two of us excitedly testing everything out while sugar plum fairies danced around my living room.
Except the whole thing? Kind of anticlimactic. I'm not saying I don't appreciate everything I received... I love LOVE all of my presents- they were all thoughtful and perfect and Alex gave me the sweetest card that almost made me cry. But he brought them all over on Christmas eve, and despite my protests, he insisted that in his family that's when they opened their presents. And who am I to start my own Christmas traditions? I'm Jewish for christ's sake.
And also? His brother was there, and though I love his brother, it kind of took away from the romance of it all.
And one more thing? He told his dad the same thing he hinted at wanting when he was with me, and so by the time I gave him his stuff, he had already gotten the rolling garment bag. So basically he openened a steamer, a leather DVD binder, The Family Guy vol. 4, and a grooming kit. Whoot. Whoot.
My loot?
The TV/DVD player
Burberry quilted jacket
Burberry cashmere scarf
Matching cute pink gloves
A red leather laptop bag
Travel jewelry case
PJ pants
Slippers
a classic musicals collection of DVDs
The Devil Wears Prada DVD (I wanted to see it)
a Pier 1 gift card
and a Poo-Pooing Santa Claus
I suck at giving presents.
I know, I know... I kind of knew this would happen and had resigned myself to the fact that I'd be receiving more than I'd be giving. But wait til you hear this one.
We're going out to dinner on Christmas Eve with his mom and grandma. I have been asking Alex for a month for some suggestions for what to get his mom, who I don't know all that well. The most frequent response was, "Just get her something stupid." Which was extremely helpful.
Fast forward to the day before Christmas Eve, and I still don't have anything for her. I'm at the mall. I'm freaking out. I frantically text message him that I am not going to dinner and you can't make me.
Christmas Eve morning, after I make several debunked suggestions of what I could get her, Alex insists that I should just get her a couple of pounds of ground Dunkin Donuts coffee, and no, I shouldn't get the gift set, just the coffee, keep it simple, it's useful, she will love it, relax, relax, it's no big deal really.
So I get the friggin coffee.
Fast forward once more to dinner. Set scene: Jess opens a gift bag from Alex's mom, which contains tons of little accessory type things, antibacterial gels, mints, etc. (because if we had eaten at the house, I'd have had a stocking), and a $50 Commerce Bank gift card.
And then I handed her my gift, which contained two pounds of DD coffee and a tin of homemade peppermint bark. She did seem appreciative, but I'm pretty sure I saw her checking under the tissue paper for something she may have missed. A loose coffee bean, perhaps.
So I wake up Christmas morning, and all I want to do all day is cry. My gift to my boyfriend was spoiled, my gift to his mom was straight up retarded, and by the way, his grandmother gave me a card with a $10 in it and I got her nothing.
Y'all? I suck at Christmas.
posted by Jess at 11:08 AM
5 Comments:
AUghgghh.. I've been there. It's ugly, and it sucks and you feel like a total tool for a couple of months and then you forget about it. Chances are, they didn't think anything of it in the first place.
This is just another case of "Boys are Dumb" because if he were a girl, he would have had this all figured out and KNEW what his mother and grandmother were getting you and would have prepared you in advance.
Also - i got my boyfriend socks and underwear and he bought me an expensive watch and a handheld GPS thingy. I feel awful about that, too.
Claire - my mom thinks that because he doesn't have a sister, he didn't realize how much this would wig me out... I just think he's a dumb boy.
Your wrong to feel badly. You've done great! I'll let you in on a not-so-big-secret... His mom and grandmother WANT to outdo you at gift giving. If you had managed to keep up then it would make you seem like a spoiled princess who is purposely overdoing it to make them feel badly. Be sure to send a nice Thank You card and remember grandma at the next holiday. Seriously, It's PERFECT!
P.S. Nerf guns were a hit with the men of my family this year. Toys (at any price)are always my fallback present for men.
1. Gramma's don't expect presents, nor do they enjoy them. They mostly just appreciate cards.
2. Mom-in-laws are impossible to buy for. I skipped JM's parents this year and they were happy. (Even though they gave me a $400 gift. -choke-)
3. I gave JM a $60 coat from Costco that i had my mom pick up for me on Christmas Eve. JM gave me a $500 pair of diamond earrings... to start.
4. Opening presents on Christmas Eve sucks. We open one, but that's it. Better to save the fun for Christmas Day.
5. I am so glad you were spoiled for Christmas. I hope next year you are able to sit back, relax, and soak it all up. You have several Christmases to make up for, so don't worry about getting more!
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