Zesty Armpit Dance

There's a lil' something for everyone, but not a whole lot for anyone.

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Christmas-hater needs advice

It's no secret that I'm not a big fan of Christmas. To me, it's a holiday that's totally disconnected from its origin that has become part of the American culture largely because Americans love shopping. Most families buy each other a lot of stuff that they don't need or want because they are driven by the cultural pressures to celebrate this holiday. An example of this is at my workplace, where we are forced to join in on the 'Kris Kringle Exchange.' You know, you draw a person's name from a hat and have to buy them something because it's Christmas and that's what people do on Christmas. This is almost painful for me. Given the choice, I would honestly select the "Indian sunburn" option, if it existed. Shit, I'd even take an extra day of menstrual cramps.

So this year, I picked the name of my coworker's wife. Don't ask my why randomly selected spouses names are in the hat, for I have no clue. I don't know the first thing about this woman's hobbies, style, interests, or lifestyle. All I know is that she married the man whose name I picked in last year's exchange. Because he's the IT guy, I got him a subscription to Wired magazine, which went over well. But I'm all out of clever ideas for this family. This i know: The have two kids age 4 and 2, they don't drink alcohol, and they listen to Christian music.

gulp.

All signs are pointing to gift card, and this is NOT the kind of thing you can sneak by with a gift card. This isn't the cool game where you get to snatch the bottle of booze away from a person and give them your snowglobe. It's a gift exchange for keeps, where you are committed to shopping for the name you selected. Last year, there were necklaces and fishing poles and gifts based on inside jokes being passed all around.

Please help me survive this Chrismas. What would you buy ($20-25 limit) for a 35-ish year old woman that fits this description? Oh yeah, I must add one more thing...the obligatory "Bah humbug!"

3 Comments:

  • At 8:24 AM, Blogger srah said…

    Trip to a spa? Sponsor an animal in Heifer International? I don't even know what price range these things are in and therefore if they fit your criteria. Cheese of the Month Club?

     
  • At 11:59 PM, Blogger Freewendy said…

    Update: I went shopping tonight and found nothing. I considered a deck of Bay Area Backroads cards, but decided that their family isn't outdoorsy enough.

    I also learned today that she doesn't work. Right, a stay at home mom. What do they want? What do they need that I could possibly provide?!?!? Dammit i hate this!

     
  • At 10:19 AM, Blogger Freewendy said…

    Another update (as if you care): i decided to buy her something that i think EVERYONE needs to have. i got her the As Seen On TV Sandwich Maker. Not one of those fancy paninni grills, just the ol' fashion grilled cheese machine. I threw in a Gourmet Sandwiches cookbook to try to make it look like it wasn't all about that drunken, late-night, post-sex, gooey grilled cheese sandwich, being that she's Christian and all.

     

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