I have fond memories of when my two sons were little and they would wake us up very early Christmas morning so they could rush into the living room and rip & tear through rapping paper as fast as they possibly could. I remember there wasn’t a great sense of recognition on their face for any one gift after the initial, “Oh, it’s a…,” because the next present was calling to them begging to have its festive wrapping shredded in like fashion.
By the time the flying bits of red and green wrapping paper and silver and gold ribbon hit ground and settled into a pile, there was usually that one present which had captured their interest. Of course, it would be played with relentlessly while the others pretty much stayed in their boxes. Until either it broke or bedtime came that evening, whichever occurred first.
We don’t have that type of family dynamic at home anymore and the resultant rush to the Christmas tree, with both sons being young men now. So, a light bulb lit up over my head when I got an e-mail regarding my County work team’s holiday celebration. I got really jazzed about taking this idea home with me to see how my family members might react.
The work team I am part of is actually housed at the main office in Riverside, and they are having a holiday gift exchange. The instructions are simple enough, which is to bring a gift (the clause is that it not cost over $25), and that it be generic (suitable for anyone who receives it). A game is promised to distribute the gifts, some version of which we have all played at office parties.
I said to myself, “Why not do this at home?” It certainly lets you get a handle on holiday spending. And, if you are like me, you would much prefer buying your own “major” present. It would save the awkwardness of having to inform your family that, “You don’t have to buy me a present this year, I’m going to get myself a …” Particularly when the cost of the item is way more than they ever contemplated spending on you! And, their preference in gift giving would have gone more to something that appealed to them, and which of course you would have no use for at all!
Pardon me, I am starting to vent, back to the appeal of the work gift exchange brought home…
Even if you get your own big gift of the year, they feel obligated to buy you something else; you know, so you have something to open Christmas morning. Tell me, how cool would it be to pick your gift from the presents other people have unwrapped, as many of the office games allow you to do? Or, trade in your crummy gift for the secret pleasure promised by an unwrapped gift? And, if all else fails you can sometimes finagle back the item you brought, realizing among all the other gifts it is the most perfect match for your taste in an under $25 present!
Well, to me this seems like a win-win proposition all the way around! But then, it occurs to me that I may be missing out on the spirit of holiday gift giving. I am really not all that cheap, it is just that I like to give presents all year long, and I am too impatient to wait for birthdays and Christmas.
I don’t know… Should I submit this quandary for the sage advise Ann Landers? I can just see the article heading now, “River City Picks Nix Nick’s with Clause.”