Presents

Thought I`d share with you today a look at the Christmas Presents I received. As you can see there are a lot of chocolates and biscuits!

These are a close up of some of my favourites from the presents.
I think the present that surprised me most was when I went into the office where I work on the Friday before Christmas and found a box of chocolates and a box of biscuits with a Christmas card from my boss. That really made my day as it was so unexpected.

And, below is the oddest present I received. I still can`t work out, why the chap gave me a ball of string and a set of record cards!, along with 2 hand warmers and a set of playing cards. - very odd.



Wonder what other bloggers favourite, surprise, and oddest presents were?

Not a hankie in sight!

Not a hankie in sight.... lots of nice presents again this year, my favourites being a wooden carving of two dolphins playing. I love the sight and feel of well carved wooden items, as well as being a joy to sit and look at, they make me want to touch and feel them whenever I walk pass them. There`s just something so calming about stroking wood.

My other favourite was a book by Alan Titchmarsh entitled Nobbut a Lad. I`ve not started reading it yet, I`m saving that pleasure for after the Christmas holidays for the long days of January.

Other presents included, an electronic Suduko game (don`t think I`ll do that for long - not that I can`t solve the puzzles, but I can`t see how people can be so hooked on those puzzles - give me logic puzzle books anyday, now those I can spend hours enjoying!), chocolates, toiletries, and other bits and pieces. But it struck me, how there was not a box of handkerchiefs in sight.... yet as a child one Christmas I opened parcel after parcel and found hankies after hankies after hankies! Infact I`ve still got many of them in my drawers - there were far too many to use - and thinking about it, what a present to give a young child - I wonder what todays children would say if they were given lots of hankies!!

Why presents?

Why do we give presents?

I don`t mean what`s the history behind giving presents, what I mean is why do we give presents to who we give presents to.

The answer to that, for me, has to be that I give presents, especially at Christmas, to relatives and friends for one of two (or often both) of these reasons -to show my love for them, and/or to thank them for help and support they`ve given me during the year.

These last two or three years I`m becoming infuriated. Why?...... because of the way charities for overseas work are trying to cash in on the idea of giving presents, by advertising that instead of giving gifts to our families and friends we give them the money to buy tools, livestock, seeds, even toilets for people overseas and just give our friends and relations a card saying that that is their present.

I`m not going to mince my words (and I apologise if I offend any readers) but I HATE this scheme and think it so greedy on the charity`s part trying to make people feel guilty about giving to their loved ones here, that they should be giving to them instead. It really puts my back up, and gets me so mad. And I certainly won`t be supporting them in any way.

Yes, I know that charities need the money, but surely once a year its good and better to acknowledge our friends and relations and show them how much they are appreciated by giving them a gift, however small, but a "real" item, not a bit of paper. (unless of course its a £20 note!!)

My suggestion to the charity`s is that they suggest that on our list of people to buy presents for that they suggest we add them (or give details of names of people and items needed), to the bottom of our Christmas Present buying list. Surely that would be a better advertising way?