What did you find under and around the Christmas Tree?
It’s Boxing Day and that’s a great time to look back at Christmas and remember how great it was and appreciate many things.
Your gifts…
As I asked a few years ago, what did you get for Christmas that …
- showed the most thought and knowledge about you?
- was the most fun?
- was a complete surprise?
- means the most to you?
And what present did you GIVE that gave the most joy?
Your day…
And I’d love to hear about your Christmas celebrations yesterday. Did you start any new traditions or try something different this year?
What made your day special?
This is the last time I’ll see a friend in a long time. I don’t think the gift itself came in a box really, just offered to spend the entire day with him since he said his other Christmases always felt very forced. I think that was my favorite present to give. As far as what I got, I really enjoyed a lot of peppermint patties. I left santa a bag full of sweets so he could grab and go too.
Your favourite gift sounds wonderful , sorrowscal. I think the giving of time and/or experiences sometimes gets lost amongst the desire for more tangible stuff. I bet your friend will treasure memories of that day ore than a box of chocolates or a book or whatever you may otherwise have given him.
I’m glad you enjoyed your peppermint patties, too 🙂
I also got a lot of tangerines and I’m not sure if I should candy the peels or not. Thanks to that one conversation, I’m really confused about whether or not I should eat the peel when it’s been candied. So I might just make him and everyone who spent Christmas with me some chocolate dipped tangerines instead.
Sorry – I didn’t mean to confuse you about candied peel! But chocolate dipped fruit of any sort sounds delicious to me!
I’m so sad that Christmas is over, it is one of my favorite times of the year. I love all the prepping and baking and giving. I received a treasure chest of chocolates, which is my favorite thing to eat. It was very sweet of my husband to put it in a beautiful treasure chest for me to enjoy for years to come. We give each other simple gifts and save the big ones for the kids.
I agree, Juno – I love Christmas!
I thought you were just saying you got lots of chocolate (as did I!) but you really got a treasure chest of it – that’s really cool!
This year was, as always a great Christmas! This year, I let my kids stay up so that they could do the “Christmas countdown” whilst I ate some mince pies enjoying the atmosphere of excitement! My wife and I also hosted a Christmas party of sorts this year rather than attending one, which was fun (but also too stressful to attempt it again!).
I bet the kids loved the Christmas countdown, jcc 🙂 If they’re like my kids, though, that means very little sleep before they were waking you up to see what Santa had left for them…
1. The gift that I got that showed the most thought was probably the jewellery I received from my partner’s brother and sister in law. I could tell they had spent a long time picking out the perfect pieces and they noticed how much I love my earrings.
2. The most fun was actually a present for my partner which I stole which was a “redneck button”. You press it and it yells out bogan insults at other cars, hilarious!
3 & 4. The gifts that mean the most to me are always the ones from my parents and every year they surprise me by spending too much money! I tell them not to worry as I am now an adult but they still spend too much.
Was such a great Christmas this year spent with two families over two days. I hope you all had an amazing Christmas too 🙂
It sounds like you had an awesome Christmas, admired_gurly 🙂
It’s very sweet that your partner’s family put so much effort into choosing something for you and you’re lucky to have parents who care so much and enjoy treating you!
I am intrigued about the stealing aspect of the redneck button, but had to smile at the button and your laughs at it!
The gift I received that showed the most thought was – coffee gift cards! Seriously, I love coffee and spend too much on it each month so this is a great gift.
The most fun gift I got was a set of “Christmas Crackers”. We have never had these before and it was fun to try them out.
The most fun we had was attempting to go Christmas Caroling in our neighborhood. It was kind of a bust but fun nonetheless.
A complete surprise was realizing during caroling that my kids don’t actually know the words to most Christmas Carols! Oops, I just thought they had picked them up over the years but when I heard what they were singing – oh my goodness, talk about misheard lyrics!
What meant the most to me was just being with family.
And the present that I gave that was the most joyful was a series of chapter books that my daughter had been coveting. As an avid reader myself, I am delighted to see my kids becoming avid readers as well.
What a great Christmas Susie 🙂
Coffee gift cards sound ideal for you, and being with family is a wonderful gift in itself, I think.
Never had Christmas crackers? Wow, that is do different than me as I can’t remember a Christmas where we haven’t had crackers (or bonbons as we’ve always called them) at at least one event, and often three or four times a year! I collected some bonbon jokes this year, too, if you want to groan and laugh!
Yes, I know what you mean – I didn’t really teach my kids carols as such and then suddenly realised they didn’t know them. I think they spend less time learning them at kinder/school than I did, too. I spent time this Christmas helping them learn a few specific carols, especially those my daughter performed at her kinder concert! But I’d love to hear some of those funny lyrics, Susie!
As an avid reader, too, I also love seeing my children fall in love with books. None of my kids go to bed without a book in hand and loved getting more books as Christmas gifts. I bet your daughter was happy with that gift – I wonder if any of the series is yet unread? My second daughter has already finished all the books she got for Christmas!
This christmas I didn’t really get much was was kinda sad but however, I did get to go travel with my family which was a lot better of a gift. Happy new years y’all!
Hi Johhny, I think travelling with your family is a great gift – you may not have found it wrapped under a tree, lol, but I bet you have a lifetime of memories now. Happy new year to you, too!
It’s great to see so many people sharing great Christmas gift experiences 🙂 Which means it’s way past time for me to share mine, too!
I liked a timber lazy susan my Dad gave me because it showed he knew what would work with the lovely timber table my husband made for me – which in itself was thoughtful as I have really missed having an outdoor table.
Hmm, can I say that some of the most fun gifts weren’t actually given to me? I’ve had a lot of fun playing Lego with my children, and loved seeing their excitement at getting such gifts. Most gifts I got are lovely but practical rather than fun – even the book I was given was too serious to call fun (it being about the Burma railway…)
A beautiful terracotta and blue birth water holder was a surprise and made me (and the birds in our area!) very happy.
The card my son made and presented with pride and the skirt from my daughter probably mean the most to me of this Christmas’ gifts.
My younger children were so thrilled by Lego we gave them and the gifts I helped the kids make for their grandparents were great at making those grandparents smile. But I think the most joy I saw from a gift I gave this year was a couple of chickens to a family in South Africa via Oxfam – my mother in law was absolutely thrilled by knowing we did that in her name so it was a gift that has given in many ways.
The gift that I received that showed the most thought, and was also the biggest surprise, was a new steering wheel for my car, believe it or not! My partner knows me so well, and knows that I hated driving without cruise control. Our parents are one to two hours away from us, and driving down to visit was just dreadful. My leg would cramp up, my ankle would throb, and my speed always varied! He did a bunch of research, and figured out that the easiest fix was to switch out the steering wheel for one with all the buttons – who would’ve thought!
We always have the most fun opening stockings with my parents. Seeing all of the thought that was put into each little knick-knack is so heart-warming. From New razors to our favourite chocolates, everything is always perfect.
The present that I gave which was the most joyful was a photo mug that I had made for my partner’s mom. It was my first time seeing her cry when she opened it.
All around, it was such an amazing holiday season. I feel so blessed to have this kind of love in my life.
You do sound very blessed, Patsy 🙂
I love how your partner thought about you and found a way to solve a problem for you, as well as surprise you! It sounds like you are surrounded by thoughtful people with your parents planning such great stockings.
Bring your partner’s mum to tears is pretty special – well done on getting her something she valued that much!
I had a very nice time this christmas.I was away from my family for the first time since 6 months and going home for christmas was a blessing. I had a wonderful meal with my family members and spend some quality time with them. I received gifts from all of them which was pretty exciting. We went to the christmas carnival in the evening and had a gala time:)
I’m so pleased for you at being able to be with your family for Christmas, Celine. It is a special time to spend with people we care about and love.
I’d love to hear more about that Christmas carnival 🙂
Hello!!! It’s been a while! I was thinking of this place and wanted to respond to some things when my computer broke for a bit. No worries, I’m getting that taken care of. I feel out of place now that I’ve moved up to North Carolina, I thought I wasn’t going to see or do any Christmas boxing of decorations this year. The train and the move tired me out so mostly I just watched, but I loved getting to see my family work together like that.
It’s great to see you back, Sorrowscal – welcome! I hope your computer is quickly fixed.
Well done for just sitting and watching when you needed to rest – it sounds like you still got the enjoyment of Christmas decorations with your family.
Oh! I also wanted to say one more thing about the candied peel! Thanks to that discussion, I had a great idea about what to do with the tangerines nobody ever seems to eat for Christmas. I covered them in chocolate for a friend’s birthday party! It went over really well. I wonder if I mentioned this already? I don’t think I have, but thank you for the indirect idea.
The best gift I received was a collection from my children. They made me all their own gifts by hand. They also drew me beautiful pictures. Both my children have autism and so this was really a warming gift.
Hand made gifts by your children is always very special and it’s great you got to enjoy that delight this Christmas, kcareconnections 🙂
I love helping my children make gifts, too, to share that delight with others – I used to do it in childcare, too, so the parents got something made for them with love.
My favorite gift at Christmas time has always been to see my son get spoiled by all my family members. We visit them and they always buy him a lot of gifts that I cannot afford and he loves it. It is the one time he gets lots and lots of everything he wants and I just love it!
It is hard to resist spoiling children for Christmas as it is wonderful to watch their delight and wonder on the day! I’m glad you and your son had such a lovely time with your family, Oraclemay 🙂
This was a great Christmas as always! The best gifts were all the ones from my boyfriend because it was all things that, at one point or another, I had said I wanted. Even something as random as a label maker that I had only mentioned once in passing! It was nice to know that he listens that closely to what I say!
What a great boyfriend, syrkt, to listen to you, remember what you’ve said and then act on those memories. I’m glad you had a great Christmas with him.