Christmas is coming do you buy your own present?
 

We don't have gift giving tradition in the family so I'll buy my own present I guess. The good thing about that is that you get what you really want.

How about you?

Anything you like to be given as your Christmas present?
Sure you can tell us, we'll keep it a secret :O:

A book, preferably something about WWII.

Yes, but I do not decided yet what will be this year!

But there are neither nude women in those nor can you get drunk of it.:doh:

We've stopped giving gifts in our family a few years ago when we realised that everyone had next to everything they wanted and finding a useful present really became a PITA.:D

My wife is looking around for a nice Humidor to buy for me.

My gift to myself will likely be a bottle of Amaretto and a bunch of nice cigars.





moderation... of course. ;)

a Nice bottle of Cognac will do it for me.

I'm looking for one too :D but for Christmas I'll buy myself a board game but perhaps a WWII book too

and since I'm not a sophisticated WWII buff I probably would prefer a complete general encyclopedia

http://www.amazon.com/Land-Warfare-A.../dp/1592238297

http://www.amazon.com/Air-Warfare-Wo...d_bxgy_b_img_c

I already own the sea warfare and the content satisfies me enough.
I lost track of Land warfare though and I think it may have been sold.
Not happy with the price though. In Amazon they're listed at 30 bucks but in local bookstore they are selling for a little less than 70 bucks :doh:

Book hunting is thrilling no not the online kind of book shopping but rather browsing racks(shelves) of books in your favorite section of the store and it's almost like an orgy especially when you found books that met your criteria and at the right price [drool, what a sexy book then it came across you to lick it but there's people who might notice LOL]

And I don't believe in e-books, frankly e-books disgust me.....I like the feel of my book and the looks of my book on the shelve at home and not having to concern myself about battery in order to read them.

I don't have any family to speak of - at least none who talk to me. My Christmas came early when I ran into a little money and outfitted my band with extra stuff.

So it will be just another day for me.

Things not going too well with the new-found grandchildren, Steve? :cry:

At Christmas I don't really like asking for anything specific, nor do I feel great at receiving yet another *funny* mug from the Mother-in-Law, or a CD of a band I once mentioned they did one song I liked.

For Christmas this year I'd like to sit down, have a nice cold beer or two, stuff my face with food and watch a good film on the tellybox - with no arguing with the step-kids :har:

Haven't met them. Only pictures.

Well I hope you get some more pictures for Christmas. Or a visit - that, I think, would be the best for any parent/grandparent. :yep:

Apart from step :nope: :)

This is what December looks like to me, as you can see, during christmas I am either at work or asleep.
http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/8962/workb.jpg

I make a list of 3 things I would like. My wife and two daughters pick one of the three off the list. Usually it is a game, good DVD or book. Makes life easy for everyone. :DL

antikristuseke: you work 24-hour shifts? :o


As for me, this will be an interesting holiday season*, since it's the first one I'll be spending away from my family, as my parents have turned snowbird and going to Mexico for the winter. So I will be bumming around the eastern US for pretty much all of December, and will spend Christmas with my friends in Chicago. Should be fun! More than anything, I'm rather anxious about finding other people presents. I'm terrible at finding out/guessing what to get people.

As for me, I dunno. I'm happy with what I got. My reward is 10 days in mid-December in Florida, where I get to enjoy non-winter weather, and mostly just drinking beer + shooting guns with a good friend of mine. Bless the ol' US of A :D

(*and I say that not for political correctness reasons but for the fact that being Russian it's New Years, rather than Christmas that's always been the big one in my family, especially as far as presents. Christmas = just an excuse for a nice dinner!)

No gift giving tradition my family. I will generally buy something around this time for my self since both my birthday and Christmas fall within the same 30 days.

Oh how badly wrong I read that at first.:dead:

If gift-giving is going to happen at all, I firmly believe in asking for specific things, and in getting other people the specific things they've asked for. Amazon Wish List FTW! :yeah:

Although I do try to pick up at least one smallish "surprise" for those closest to me, something I know they will most likely use and appreciate. Since we're close it's not that difficult. But I can't see the point of stressing out trying to guess at every last gift only to have it be a waste of time/money/energy because it's something the other person neither wants nor needs, when there are things they DO want and need but don't have. And I know how hard my close friends and family work for their money, I certainly don't want them wasting it on something for me that I will never use.

Anyway to get back to the OP's topic, I've already bought myself enough presents early this year, what with my TV dying and replacing that and then upgrading some other stuff to go with it.

When I was young I was a fairly typical boy, wanting toys and hating getting clothes as presents. After all, my parents will buy me clothes anytime.

When I was older and my kids were still young, Christmas and birthday presents from them to me usually involved underwear, socks and dry-roasted peanuts. Their mother knew I loved the peanuts, and the others were things I was always in need of. The end results that I went from hating clothes as presents to clothes being some of the best presents I ever got. It's amazing how much difference it makes when it's your small children doing the giving. I really appreciated that stuff, and they knew it.

Another story. When Michelle was three or so I bought her a stupid bear that played different Christmas songs when you pressed the paws and tummy. I'm sure she had never seen anything like it, but when she opened it she said "It's just what I asked for!" :D

Gift giving in my household is still a pretty big thing for the wife and kids but that is probably because I pay all the bills :doh:

I tend to purchase what I want throughout the year regardless of the month/period but must admit to getting a little excited wondering what 'suprises' the wife and kids have bought me.

My boy flew home from Alaska today and flies out again on Dec 18th so I'm quite content right now.

This year I'm on the rota for a 14:30 Xmas Day start and a 15:00 Boxing Day Finish so I guess it'll be the New Year before the celebrations will occur this year.

:har::har:

Jim...you are not alone! It is the same in my household. Everyone thinks the money trail is endless!