Monday, November 29, 2010

Changing skies...lot's to look forward too...




changing skies of Texas....
we had summer weather last week...
then the winds came....and dropped the temps...
the weather is more Fall like now...
so much going on....
names have been drawn for Christmas...
we draw names in our immediate family...
(except for Little Britches) he gets Santa...
this year our gifts have to be homemade...
re-gifted...or come from thrift store or yard sale......
it can be a special day for that person....or special event...
it makes it more fun...less commercialized...
makes you put more thought into it....
what are your traditions on gifts?


10 comments:

Kat said...

Hi Deb! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I love your idea for gifts this year. And yes, the weather has been a bit crazy lately. Thursday I literally watched our thermometer drop 30 degrees in 20 minutes. Had the AC on in the morning and the heat on by nightfall! Kat

Deb said...

That sounds like a great gift exchange. I'm liking the cooler weather. Have a great week.

Jeanie said...

Your gift exchange sounds very fun. I hope you let us know what your family came up with. My kids draw names and they have fun with the gifts they get each other.

Girl Tornado said...

Hope you've had a lovely holiday weekend... we keep it real simple. My son and daughter-in-law agreed years ago to only do b-days. Since his b-day is Nov 21 and mine is Dec 21 and my hubby's is January 7, well, it just keeps life easy and simple. Hubby and I exchange one gift apiece, and he buys some gift cards for his family members. I know, not very holiday-ish, but it works for us! :)

TexWisGirl said...

Love your idea for gift exchange! Yes, wasn't that wind something? Blowing hard from the south, bringing rain, and now it looks like its about to start winter! :)

Auntie sezzzzzz... said...

Your group plan, for less commercial Christmas gifts, is lovely!

nanny said...

I think your gift idea is a great one....
we've had a weather change too,,,rain today and fog rolling in, again.

Jenny said...

I love this gift exchange idea! And that sky really looks like a winter one! Makes me want a fire in the fireplace and a great cup of hot tea!

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

We don't have any extended family and my Dad and Stepmom insist on exchanging gift cards.....seems pointless to me: I give Dad a $25 gift card...and he gives me a $25 gift card.
Oh, and they demand that the gift cards always be for Walmart (even for us, which we rarely ever shop at Walmart, and if we have a gift card, we just end up buying groceries or toilet paper instead. Kind of defeats the gifting purpose, I think).

A few years ago I bought my Dad a Starbucks gift card, as I know how much he enjoys coffee. I had even seen a bag of Starbucks coffee in his cabinet, so I wanted to treat him to something special, because he will rarely ever treat himself.

Hah! He was very unhappy with that gift card and gave me the third degree that Starbucks was too expensive and a waste of money and I should have just given him a gift card for Hardees, where he likes to go for coffee most days.
Oh well. Some people will never be happy. I can't win.

We used to exchange gifts many years ago, but none of us were ever happy with the items given. My parents don't 'get me' at all, so their gifts weren't very personal and had nothing to do with my interests.
And the gifts that I gave them were frowned upon unless I spend lots of money on them. I once boughtmy stepmom a blouse at Macys and she was so excited when she saw the Macys tag...and then she eyed up the inked out pricetag and saw that I bought the normally $90 blouse on sale for just $39. She pouted and gave me disapproving eyes the rest of the day....and I never saw her wear that blouse.

So, I've stopped doing gifts with my parents and now only buy for my kidlets and husband.
They each get one or two gifts for under the tree and a few stocking stuffers...and an ornament related to their interests or something that happened that year.

I like your holiday gift giving ways much better, though.

~Lisa

Janie said...

We draw family names for gifts, too. We try for less commercialization, and more socialization. We're all happier that way.