Its Better to Give than to Receive

My hands down favorite is the pocket knife I am giving my nephew. It used to belong to his great grandpa, and I've had it since he died (he's my grandpa). Since my nephew just finished his Eagle, it's time he have it.

Can't wait to see his face Christmas morning.

All my 5 year old asked for was a teddy bear. She's completely obsessed with outer space though, so Santa is bringing her an astronaut teddy bear and a telescope. I cannot WAIT until she gets it!!

We celebrate Chanukah, so our gift giving time already happened. I think the present I enjoyed giving the most was the pair of warm slippers which we gave my husband. I snuck off the store with the kids and picked them out with them, then they had so much fun figuring out how they were going to sneak them into the house without him seeing them, where we would hide it, when we would give them, and all that. I guess that's an example of how it's the thought that counts, and the anticipation.

My husband is already playing with his Traeger. :) It isn't like you can hide a smoker so he got it when I bought it. This will make the total outdoor cooking apparatuses count five. He wheeled it around back and said one more soldier for the army. Then took pictures, posted them online, shows every friend that stops long enough for him to pull out his phone.

One thing I love! about grown men is how child like they can be. He looks just like the kids after they get the one toy they really wanted. :)

It has already been given. My daughter and I pooled funds to have a new microwave anonymously delivered to a friend of ours who is the single parent of three special needs kids.

I LOVE giving better then receiving. Getting gifts is nice and all, but my bread and butter is really in the giving.

I made my parents a family tree. I made the tree out of wood. It's taken me forever, and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I can't wait for them to get it! I'm mailing my dad a fart. Yes, there is a company that mails people farts. Yes, he will think it'd the most glorious thing, that has ever happened to him. I'm getting my husband hobbit legos. I expect a super elated little boy reaction. It will be great!!

This year it's the gift for my parents. They have enough "stuff". So I will be getting tickets for a garden tour in May. They will start the day having breakfast in a state park botanical garden. That's followed by a silent auction and plant sale. Then they spend the rest of the day touring homes and gardens in their city. The tour is self paced, so they can go at the leisure. I think they are going to love it!

The hats that I made this year.
I learned to knit recently and knit my nieces and nephews hats for Christmas.

Lol, believe it or not I'm excited about one of my daughters teachers gift. My daughters teacher is obsessed with Michigan (sport team). So while out and about we found MI shaped pasta noodles. I think he'll get a kick out of them, can't wait to hear what his reaction will be.

Other than that my girls are getting ipod touches...so yes I'm excited for that. Although, I know they will be in love and they've been telling everyone they are sure Santa will bring them. So its not such a surprise. I'm thinking of hiding them and finding them later. Not sure yet.

On Christmas morning, we finally get to tell our kids what their big gift is this year. We are taking them on a cruise!! YAY! We booked back in February, so it's been HARD to keep the secret. I can't wait to tell them!

This year, my son especially is old enough to really "get" Christmas for the first time. I'm not so much excited about the gifts he's getting as I am about seeing him open them and understand that those gifts under the tree were for HIM and contained fun things!

Oh, also, my daughter LOVES baby dolls and she has a couple of little second-hand ones, but we got her two baby-sized ones that take a paci and a bottle and all such things, and I am excited for her to open those.

I LOVE to give and wish I had MORE to give, but we all do what we can! As always, I am most excited about Christmas morning w/ just my kids and husband. Kids are both getting what they asked for (Dre beats earphones for son and a new camera for daughter, along w/ lots of other goodies) and my husband is getting a keypad for his new tablet. (he sold his bow for medical reasons and bought a tablet!)

Anyway, I do enjoy getting gifts, but never expect it and am always happy to watch others enjoy their gifts!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, all!
Noelle

I hope I get the gifts finished! I am putting together photo albums for my son and daughter with a picture of them together each year since she was born - so that's 25 years worth of pictures to see how they have grown up over the years.--I am still hunting for a few years that i am missing. Also made one for my son and his wife for the 13 years that they have known each other.
Merry christmas!

i took two days off from work this week and make 20 dozen of tamales... i already gifted them to friends/coworkers.! i was happy to give them something that i actually made. Merry Christmas!

Most excited about telling the kids we are packing up and going skiing/snowboarding with the whole family the day after Christmas. We live very close to a great lil' mountain that has beautiful condos and an indoor water park...they are going to be so stoked! It has been a tradition for years to go to the mountain after Thanksgiving with my husband's side of the family and my stepsons are really good...but this year will only be my kids' (ages 9, 7 & almost 5) second year to go and we couldn't go after Thanksgiving b/c there wasn't enough snow...so they are totally NOT expecting it!

Second most favorite, is to see my 7y/o's face when he sees his new base pedal...he is a lil' drummer dude and has been playing on an old hand-me-down set of his cousin's and he has needed and wanted a new pedal but has no idea that this is the year he will finally get it!!

We already dropped our presents off to the family we adopted through he Salvation Army. Shopping for those kids is always fun and our whole family enjoys that ritual of giving.

On the more material side my oldest is getting very expensive (overpriced IMO) boots she's been wanting for a while and doesn't know they'll be under the tree. Our little girl, 10, is getting a boogie board. I can't wait to see her riding the waves!

Yes! Much better to give. There's one present that our 10 year old is going to go crazy about. A phone , I have mixed feelings about the gift but that 's a whole other thread.

Well our little boys (6 &8) have put ridiculous things like a PS3 or flat screen TV on their lists for years, which they never get, the older little boy asked for a real LA Kings jersey of his favorite player and my youngest asked for an electric scooter. What they don't know is that with finding really good deals and a judicious use of pooling gifts from aunties and grandparents, they're actually getting almost everything on their lists and we're still in budget. So there is a flat screen TV going in the basement which is a gift for all 4 kids, a PS3 that will be a gift for all three boys (plus a game for each of them), both are getting electic scooters and a really nice set of skateboard/bike ramps, on is getting his LA Kings jersey, the other is getting some clothes he wanted and a movie, etc. and some basic toys. I'm so excited that we were able to shop wisely and I think they'll be totally blown away.

Sometimes giving is too much, so I was worried about toy overload! My boys play with the same army men, hot wheels, and legos. My daughter plays with the boys toys too. Though I figured out the one perfect gift for each of them and I'm super excited!!! They have something to open and no toy overload! The oldest is getting a computer game finally "Spores", the middle is going to love his new "Avengers action figures", and my daughter will love her own kitchen set (she's my little helper)!