Christmas Presents
Posted by Anonymous on Nov 25, 2007 · Member since Dec 1969 · 11789 posts
I really want to give something special this year to my mom, dad, sister, and friends but, when ever I try to make something like a scarf I don't finish in time. I was thinking maybe I could ask:
What are the vegwebbers looking forward to this holiday season?
My boss is notorious for giving embarrassingly extravagant gifts for birthdays & Christmas, so when it was list-making time I just asked for basic cooking/kitchen needs (thanks to vegweb now I'm actually COOKING!! :D)
My mom & I have had a long-standing agreement to not exchange gifts, although the rest of our family & co-workers ignore that. I think I'm going to pull a baypuppy & give homemade vegan treats to everybody.
I'd love to have these!!! http://www.allisonsgourmet.com/vegan-fudge.html
and the peanut butter cookie from the peanut butter cookie of the month on this site! these look delicious
that sushi shirt is too cute.
i'm getting a video ipod from mom and dad.
and gift cards to hobby lobby, target, ulta, DSW, etc.
im asking for some cookbooks, and a winser pilates dvd set.. plus my parents get me a visa gift card thing that i can use anywhere instead of a bunch of small ones for specific stores. i plan on using to put towards a digital camera or maybe a super warm coat.
I am thinking of making "normal" tasting cookies for my friends. (They tried my gluten free ones and were all ewww)
Any suggestions for vegan cookies/treats?
i always ask for books. novels, graphic novels, cookbooks.
i made my dad a sweater/hat (crochet) for christmas
i'm getting my mom a gift certificate for the Teddy Bear Workshop, because she's been four years old since she was... probably four.
My non-veg sister actually wants me to sponsor a farmed animal at the local farm sanctuary as her xmas/birthday present (her bday is jan 14). i was surprised... she wants to sponsor a pig, but i can only afford a turkey :D
my brother, as always, needs clothes. what can i say, he's single and 22.
cookies! i love me some cookies. i'd make either "happy chocolate chip" or "chocolate chip cookies the way they should be", best oat cookies, awesome chocolate cookies, and peanut butter fudge cookies, depending on their preferences. i'm making my sister snickerdoodles for her birthday because they're her fav.
oh, and gingerbread cookies. duh. i make them from the krusteaz mix (vegan!) with subs.
I was considering knitting something for each of my family members, but then sanity kicked in.
So instead, I am giving each of them a coupon for a free knitted item from moi.
That way they can pick out exactly what they want, and I can make them at a more leisurely pace.
But I am big on things like that. Coupons for taking people shopping at a certain place, eating at a certain place, etc.
For my friends, probably baked goods of some sort...
Right now I am trying to throw together a rough draft of a novel I've been planning to write for the past few months to give to my family. I'm going to send it away and get it bound and everything. I really need to start working a little bit faster on that one though.....
Even though my mom knows that I don't do holidays, I've never been able to get her to not buy/give me something. (she gets a lot of joy out of being a giver) Usually I just tell her cash so that it's added to whatever fund I have going at the time (ie..vacation..car repair..new windows..etc) So this year my mom and step-dad offered to buy my twin and I a joint x-mas/b-day gift of a riding lawnmower. My twin turned it down saying it wouldn't be fair to me since I no longer co-own the house with her. (She very nicely took over the total morgage payment when I stopped working full-time to go back to school..isn't she the best?) So instead I suggested a treadmill that both of use could use to better get in winter workouts since the weather sucks so much in MI. My mom wasn't a fan of that idea. So now I have no clue what she'll do. She wants a list of 10 things but I don't know what to tell her since I don't need anything. So I might request either paying for getting my kitten fixed or have it donated to the local va hospital where I volunteer at.
I just realized I need to start shopping. I have a short list:
1. My husband's family does a secret santa thing so I only need to buy for one of his family members, his sister, who mentioned she wants a good hair straightner.
2. My husband: we are getting eachtother a trip to costa rica in the spring so I'll just pick out some other random small things like clothes, books & a video game.
3. My dad: Work boots
4. One sister: an ipod
5. Other sister: cash towards a new computer
6. My mom: NO CLUE!!!! she is always so hard to buy for! She has no interests or hobbies. Any ideas?
6. My mom: NO CLUE!!!! she is always so hard to buy for! She has no interests or hobbies. Any ideas?
My mom wouldn't like those! :) Not that she isn't handy...but she prefers to get additions to her Barbie collection.
my mom wanted a kitchen faucet for Christmas! :D
sounds like my mom... but she's more into power tools ;D
The faucet sounds like something I would ask for....One valentine's day I specifically asked my Smooch for a food proccessor. I had to assure him it was not a test & I really wanted one. He got me the proccessor & flowers & dinner out too :-*
Anyhow, any ideas for my mom???? She's really overweight, so I can't really pick out clothes. She's a substitute teacher. She likes to go out to the movies, but my dad is already getting her movie tickets. She can be really hard to please. In case you haven't already guessed, I have pretty much NOTHING in common with her.
At one of my jobs (at a Movie Theater), we are having a "White Elephant" exchange, and I think I am just going to make a bunch of different vegan treats and put them in nice bags. I mean, who couldn't refuse a vegan cookie??
Good Idea. I forgot- I need a work xmas gift too, under $20.
not sure who all this can apply to, but one year i bought all of my pet owner friends gifts for their pets - and that was 'their' present. it was actually well received, though i felt a bit nerdy at first; i mean, who wouldn't be grateful for a collection of toys and yummies for their furry friends?
i'd be stoked if someone saved me a bit of dinero by purchasing some of those goodies for my pets as a gift for me - i don't need any toys, but my pets sure do!
not sure who all this can apply to, but one year i bought all of my pet owner friends gifts for their pets - and that was 'their' present. it was actually well received, though i felt a bit nerdy at first; i mean, who wouldn't be grateful for a collection of toys and yummies for their furry friends?
i'd be stoked if someone saved me a bit of dinero by purchasing some of those goodies for my pets as a gift for me - i don't need any toys, but my pets sure do!
My parents do this for us every year- gifts for their grandkids!!!
And I usually make homemade treats for their dog.
Anyhow, any ideas for my mom???? She's really overweight, so I can't really pick out clothes. She's a substitute teacher. She likes to go out to the movies, but my dad is already getting her movie tickets. She can be really hard to please. In case you haven't already guessed, I have pretty much NOTHING in common with her.
maybe give her a giftcard to a bookstore or some dvds of her favorite movies. or you could give her a homemade coupon for an evening out with you.. just the girls sorta thing.. make or take her to dinner, a movie or get pedicures together. i'm sure she would appreciate getting to spend the time with you.
i like the "gifts for pets" myself.
i have thought for a couple years about doing the kid adoption things they do at the mall (the angel trees and whatever) and "giving" that to people on my list who don't really need more stuff.
like, I spent the money i would spend on you on Becky, a 6 year old i adopted. i got her a cool stuffed animal and a nice sweater with barbie on it. here is a picture of me holding it.
ha ha, maybe next year. i can only imagine how hard it is to be a kid who has to depend on giving trees for the holidays, esp when they go to school and see all the kids who got more than what they needed. so many of the trees... the kids ask for clothes and practical stuff instead of toys because that's what they need....
Baypuppy, I have 'adpoted' a child from an angel tree every year since I can remember. Part of having a caring, good mom (thanks, mom!)... anyway, I still adopt a child every year, and while they ask for clothes most of the time, I always ensure a few toys are included, too. If it's a pre-teenish girl, I'll usually throw in some jewelry or lip gloss or something... it's sad that kids have to conform to our materialistic society, even when it's not a realistic option for them.
I thought about giving a similar gift to all of my family last year; I was going to donate to the humane society in their names (like $10 from aunt so and so, $10 from cousin so and so, etc.) but chickened out at the last minute. I'm just not sure how well received it would be if I said "thanks for all the prezzies, guys! now, my gift to you is... a donation!" Now that I'm thinking about it, though, this might be the year to find out! Swapping a donation for another kid adoption is probably better, as I can avoid any potential protests ('I would've donated to such and such, not what she chose!').
thinking aloud here, so sorry. but this is good, because it's spurring ideas as to how to get around giving more useless crap to my family members, none of whom are in such desperate financial need that they're hanging their wishes on any angel trees!
yeah, i should probably talk about it more during the year, rather than suddenly spring it on everyone. trouble is, i don't think about the holidays until, well, holiday time!
apples - woo!!! my parents give me good stuff i'll use - like books and fruit! - and i love that. the first year i lived in california, they sent a box of florida oranges to me! yay! and now that they're in georgia, they give me peach salsa, pecans, etc.
local foods for prezzies is a swell idea!
I thought this would be a cool present for someone, but couldn't think of who else would like it, so my husband & I are "adopting" an animal from a wildlife shelter near us. They try to rehabilitate animals that are orphaned or injured, then release then back into the wild, but some animals are too hurt or were domesticated before they got them so they cannot be realeased, so they stay at the shelter there. You pick an animal from their list & contribute money that supposedly then goes towards the food & care of that animal & in return you get a certificate, photo of the animal and a pass to go visit them all year.
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