Christmas Presents. Ugh!

[Darn210]

We all had guns as kids though and never shot much of anyone except ourselves. Growing up in the country guns were a normal part of life.

Are we from the same home town???

I wonder if Santa would hire me on for the winter season?

Depends . . . How tall are ya?

[Juliebove]

Dang, I thot the space shuttle was a winner. Actually a balloon ride sounds like a good time too. I saw where you had got rid of the craft supplies. I was just thinking a class was different than a kit, because she'd have an instructor and the environment/other kids might be stimulating. But if it doesn't work that's fine.

My old work there was a feller that brought his pet rabbit in to wander around the office. Pure white rabbit with big floppy ears. Nice but couldn't sit still. I guess they aren't all friendly though. At least they taste good.

I think Ravenwood had some good ideas. In the interest of random gift ideas to possibly spawn better ideas, here are a few more:

How about a graphite fishing rod and a spincasting reel? Throw in some rubber worms and sinkers and lures, a stringer and off she goes.

Or a folding buck knife complete with a sharpening stone and some honing oil?

Or one of those big bowie knifes?

She is probably too young for her own shotgun. We all had guns as kids though and never shot much of anyone except ourselves. Growing up in the country guns were a normal part of life.

What about a bicycle? They have lots of them at the Goodwill stores and such so they don't have to be expensive. Expensive bikes are more likely to be stolen anyway. Bike riding would be good exercise for her dancing legs.

There's always the old standby lava lamp, or a fruit cake if she has really pissed you off.

Gift certificate to a mall?

I picked up a game called Cranium yesterday at a thrift shop. It looks like fun. cranium has clay and drawing pads in it and the teams take turn drawings things or sculpting things to act as clues. Sort of like charades but with additional media. It is a game played with 4 teams of people or 4 individuals, so it would be a group activity she might like.

Peyote 'shrooms, oops, that's not a good one!

Oh, a window box herb garden?

Chia pet?

Pet rock?

Hmmm, I seem to have run out of good ideas for now. No need to respond, these are not all that serious but might spark an idea is all. or not.

I wonder if Santa would hire me on for the winter season?

She would never do any fishing or hunting. Her dad would like to take her. She said she would be a vegetarian but she just loves chicken too much! To eat that is. She doesn't really like any other kind of meat.

We have the Cranium game and I think all the others made by the same company. We like Cranium but my parents have bad eyes and can't read the cards. So we aren't able to play it.

We've done the herb garden but it just doesn't work in our kitchen window. The Chia pet didn't either. It's a garden window and while houseplants seem to work well in it, nothing else does. I still have the catcus that were grown from seeds when we first moved here. That was a Christmas present in NY that she showed no interest in whatever. I just went ahead and planted them after we moved here. The cactus are a couple of inches high now and have produced some nice flowers.

[sa1937]

I wonder if Santa would hire me on for the winter season?

I think you'd have as good a shot at it as anyone!

[GFinDC]

Gee Eff,

Did my 14 year old ask you to post those ideas?

Nope, but all men think pretty much alike at certain times. Except those smart guys and them philogizers and such. Them ideas are pretty much male centric I suppose. But practical too!

Are we from the same home town???

Haha, I don't know. SE Ohio? The hill country?

Depends . . . How tall are ya?

Oops, 6'1", prolly too tall.

She would never do any fishing or hunting. Her dad would like to take her. She said she would be a vegetarian but she just loves chicken too much! To eat that is. She doesn't really like any other kind of meat.

We have the Cranium game and I think all the others made by the same company. We like Cranium but my parents have bad eyes and can't read the cards. So we aren't able to play it.

We've done the herb garden but it just doesn't work in our kitchen window. The Chia pet didn't either. It's a garden window and while houseplants seem to work well in it, nothing else does. I still have the cactus that were grown from seeds when we first moved here. That was a Christmas present in NY that she showed no interest in whatever. I just went ahead and planted them after we moved here. The cactus are a couple of inches high now and have produced some nice flowers.

I never heard of growing cactus from seeds. I picked some up in the desert driving back East from California a long time ago. They lived for years in tire planters back home in Ohio, snow and all, they were tough, and prickly. Flowered too. Cactus are kind of neat plants.

I don't have much in the way of garden space either. My row house yard backs up to another house's side, so the morning sun only hits it after clearing the house tops. But I have an apple tree and a Thompson seedless green grape vine that do great back there. Hardly any sun gets to the ground, between the dwarf apple tree that's 30 feet tall, the photinia bush that's 25 feet tall, and the grape vine and the wisteria vine. My back deck can support a few potted flowers but they do better if they are the shade loving varieties. My neighbor has more sun and can grow tomatoes on their deck.

Maybe she could do catch and release fishing. That's not so bad, but maybe not too. Lots of people do that now, using barbless hooks so the fish are not injured much. But it doesn't sound like her thing.

Hmmm, Cranium with her school mates instead of parents? Or read the cards for the parents? I just got Cranium and haven't played it yet. I kind of wonder if the clay is gluten-free, but couldn't find anything on that yet. There's actually a group of people around here who do knitting. Like wow! huh? A knitting group. They get together and go out for knitting parties. Maybe she'd like to learn knitting and make herself a scarf or hat or whatnot? I know an artist who makes knitted art pieces too. It seems like it would be a relaxing thing to do. Hmmm, I think yarn was tossed earlier though.

Then again she might like making her own wine at home or gluten-free beer. Or beekeeping? Ant farming? Bowling? Air guitar? The best ones are really inexpensive.

Ok, maybe I got one. How about a DVD of Flashdance? If she likes dancing that might appeal to her. Maybe too adult though.

I think you said yours is not a religious family, but maybe her own bible? All the cool kids have them these days.

Oh, what about a gift certificate for Glutenfreemall? She could order her own goodies for Christmas snacks.

I think you'd have as good a shot at it as anyone!

Goof (I mean good) for me! :-)

[Juliebove]

Nope, but all men think pretty much alike at certain times. Except those smart guys and them philogizers and such. Them ideas are pretty much male centric I suppose. But practical too!

Haha, I don't know. SE Ohio? The hill country?

Oops, 6'1", prolly too tall.

I never heard of growing cactus from seeds. I picked some up in the desert driving back East from California a long time ago. They lived for years in tire planters back home in Ohio, snow and all, they were tough, and prickly. Flowered too. Cactus are kind of neat plants.

I don't have much in the way of garden space either. My row house yard backs up to another house's side, so the morning sun only hits it after clearing the house tops. But I have an apple tree and a Thompson seedless green grape vine that do great back there. Hardly any sun gets to the ground, between the dwarf apple tree that's 30 feet tall, the photinia bush that's 25 feet tall, and the grape vine and the wisteria vine. My back deck can support a few potted flowers but they do better if they are the shade loving varieties. My neighbor has more sun and can grow tomatoes on their deck.

Maybe she could do catch and release fishing. That's not so bad, but maybe not too. Lots of people do that now, using barbless hooks so the fish are not injured much. But it doesn't sound like her thing.

Hmmm, Cranium with her school mates instead of parents? Or read the cards for the parents? I just got Cranium and haven't played it yet. I kind of wonder if the clay is gluten-free, but couldn't find anything on that yet. There's actually a group of people around here who do knitting. Like wow! huh? A knitting group. They get together and go out for knitting parties. Maybe she'd like to learn knitting and make herself a scarf or hat or whatnot? I know an artist who makes knitted art pieces too. It seems like it would be a relaxing thing to do. Hmmm, I think yarn was tossed earlier though.

Then again she might like making her own wine at home or gluten-free beer. Or beekeeping? Ant farming? Bowling? Air guitar? The best ones are really inexpensive.

Ok, maybe I got one. How about a DVD of Flashdance? If she likes dancing that might appeal to her. Maybe too adult though.

I think you said yours is not a religious family, but maybe her own bible? All the cool kids have them these days.

Oh, what about a gift certificate for Glutenfreemall? She could order her own goodies for Christmas snacks.

Goof (I mean good) for me! :-)

I'm pretty sure she would never go fishing in any way shape or form. I have a fish phobia so I know I wouldn't take her!

As for the bible, it's a book and she hates books.

I don't buy many DVDs. I think they are pretty much a waste of money. She does buy them for herself sometimes but I don't know about that one.

She would also not like a gift of food because this is something she would expect me to buy for her.

[mushroom]

Julie, at the risk of sounding like an ogre, can I suggest that you just give the child money and let her buy something that she might like herself, or can deposit in a savings form of her choice, or take you to lunch, or do whatever she feels like doing with it? It sounds to me like this would be the best thing to do for this child - give her control over her present so she does not have an opportunity to reject it or object to it???

This is not meant to be hurtful, but merely an option to ensure that she is not dissatisfied with her gift. She could even then donate it to a charity if that would make her feel better, but it would give her the opportunity to handle the gift a she sees fit.

[ravenwoodglass]

Julie, at the risk of sounding like an ogre, can I suggest that you just give the child money and let her buy something that she might like herself, or can deposit in a savings form of her choice, or take you to lunch, or do whatever she feels like doing with it? It sounds to me like this would be the best thing to do for this child - give her control over her present so she does not have an opportunity to reject it or object to it???

This is not meant to be hurtful, but merely an option to ensure that she is not dissatisfied with her gift. She could even then donate it to a charity if that would make her feel better, but it would give her the opportunity to handle the gift a she sees fit.

There are puzzle type contraptions that you can even put the cash into. You could get some different ones and wrap them seperately with different amounts in them so she would have packages under the tree. You said she does like some DVDs so ask for a list of some she would like and some music CDs also. She should be able to give you a list for those.

[Juliebove]

There are puzzle type contraptions that you can even put the cash into. You could get some different ones and wrap them seperately with different amounts in them so she would have packages under the tree. You said she does like some DVDs so ask for a list of some she would like and some music CDs also. She should be able to give you a list for those.

She has all the CDs and DVDs she wants right now. Perhaps she will find some new ones between now and then. She hates puzzles so I wouldn't get those things. I have gotten them for neices and nephews. She also dislikes getting money because she feels it is too impersonal. She accepts it from our relatives who live far away because she knows that they couldn't possibly know what to get for her.

But thanks to Dragon Tales, she thought she should get a flower from the Tooth Fairy. So the Tooth Fairy never gave her money. Just little gifts.

[Lisa]

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She could even then donate it to a charity if that would make her feel better, but it would give her the opportunity to handle the gift a she sees fit.

SUPER Idea! Give her some money. She can donate 1/2 of that money to a good cause or charity of her choice and spend the other 1/2 on a gift of her choice.

For an example, donate the the local SPCA. Go there with your daughter and see where her donation will go. Or buy some cheap towels, so they can bath the animals when they come in, buy some dog or cat food. Spend a day a month helping with the daily care or just show some love to the animals who are awaiting adoption.

What a marvelous idea.

BTW: I LOVE your suggestions GFinDC!

[psawyer]

Juliebove, you asked for suggestions. You have received a lot of them, and you have rejected each and every one. It seems to me that people who are trying to help are wasting their time. There is no point to continuing this topic.