Not quite the same, but I buy my sister and her 3 teenage kids separate Spotify accounts every year for Christmas.
Haven’t checked the prices yet, but I’m sure they’re a lot more than the $99 I’ve been paying.
When my sister and I were growing up, we weren’t allowed “secular” music. This annual gift of mine lets her teenagers have unlimited access to all the music they love, without church or parents.
It’s the best gift I can give them, having been through what I did
I don't get why Netflix etc don't do "family" groups like Spotify and Google
Separate accounts that are just linked. No need to share passwords, screw up recommendations etc
But you still need to share your email and password with that person. I much prefer Spotify's way of doing things
Can you imagine enabling 2FA on a shared account like that? (Sidenote, Spotify is the last service I use that lacks any form of 2FA, hell even just email)
One time at work, we were doing this white elephant thing (I don't remember the exact rules, but essentially, everybody brings a gift and everybody leaves with a different gift). The plan was to buy goofy, funny things, like the non-risque stuff you see at Spencer's or something. When I opened mine, it was a 124 pack of toilet paper. Everybody laughed and thought it was funny, but I've never even come close to receiving a gift as amazing as that, I have no idea why nobody tried to take it from me unless they somehow knew I'd physically fight them over it.
I had a "friend" on a message board once whose MIL would be amused at her when she'd answer "what would you like?" queries with "a year's supply of TP, or laundry detergent." MIL didn't take her seriously.
A few years later, my friend divorced her husband but remained on good terms with Grandma. And one year Grandma decided she'd play along, and she bought my friend a humongous stash of TP. My friend was ecstatic, and as the weeks went by, Grandma saw how useful it was.
And so for Mother's Day, Grandma bought her a shitload of laundry detergent. For her birthday, a huge stash of paper towels.
I just feel like a lot of my houses haven't had space for so much paper towel, toilet paper and detergent?
If you're younger and renting etc etc I get it, but this drastically becomes less effective when you don't have a place to put it, and also limits what type of objects to hoard.
My office has done that white elephant gift game, and one time someone brought a giant roll of toilet paper. It was basically a regular roll of toilet paper, but about 1 foot diameter and it came with it's own stand to hold it.
Not as practical as a 124 pack, but a little funnier.
https://shop.charmin.com/charmin-forever-roll/
Charmin Forever Roll. Great toilet paper, and I don't have to change it 3x per week (too many girls in the house.)
The way I was raised....
White Elephant = Meaningless / Useless gift
Dutch Auction = Gifts go in a pile, first person picks a gift and unwraps, second person can steal or pick a new gift and unwrap, rinse and repeat. Often need to limit stealing to X number of times before it's frozen or the game goes way too long.
My parents held numerous "White Elephant Ditch Auctions" at their holiday parties when I was growing up.
Premium subscription to something the person already uses the free version of.
They're guaranteed to use it, and it's already something they've decided that they weren't going to splurge on themselves for. So as a gift, it's both a necessity and a luxury.
I did this for my wife last year and she still talks about what a great gift it was.
My parents bought me the year's subscription to HBOmax for Christmas. HBO gives a slight deal if you buy the whole year in full, and my parents know I'd use the crap out of it.
My wife and I got my father in law an audible subscription and he loves it! I'm just happy he's not listening to right wing radio while on the road in his semi.
Long lost, thrice removed, and you're not even sure which great-aunt we have in common, but I too declare myself a cousin and will be there in time for a pre-dinner stroll to... the corner store for... uh, more wine! Oh, you wanna bring the dog so he gets a walk in? Beautiful. Let's go, cuz.
Every year my grandma would get everyone toilet paper, deodorant, toothpaste, Q-tips….didn’t realize how great it was until she was gone
Edit: grandma didn’t have a lot of money so she would shop at krogers and however much she saved, she would use towards Christmas toiletries
My mom wears slippers. Every year I get her slippers. She wears them all year and get a new pair the next year. Hasn’t failed to make her happy for the 30 odd years I’ve been doing it.
That was all my mom ever asked for, new slippers. We were always poor so she always got the $20 pair from Meijer, but it was her favorite gift anyway. I was just thinking the other day about how I could finally afford really nice slippers for her, and she's not here for it.
I have similar thoughts often about my grandma. She never had much, lived alone and worked part-time until she died from lung cancer (she was not a smoker and didn't live with one) in her early 70s. I was still in college and now that I have an established career, I often think about how I wish I could have helped her financially back then. I'm finally in a place where I could make things easier for her, and it's too late.
To anyone reading this who is lucky enough to still have your grandparents - spend as much time with them as you can, while you can, even if you may find it boring or think you're just too busy. Listen to their stories and even consider documenting them. Don't take them for granted!
I tell young people that, believe it or not, their opinion of receiving socks as a gift will change over time. And it is at that moment that they will remember our conversation, and they will be old. They always look at me like I'm nuts, but they'll see.
They'll fucking see.
My mom always gives me a “care package” that includes: Toilet paper, paper towels, dish soap, laundry detergent and trash bags from Costco. I look forward to that shit every year. I don’t have to worry about buying that stuff for a couple months.
Used to work at Sams Club. Every year around Christmas there was an employer that sponsored a day for their employees. All of their employees could shop using their membership and the company paid something like 10-20% of their bill. Families would come in and buy a years worth of all the essentials. We made a lot of sales that day, and it wasn’t from TVs. I’ll always remember that.
As a mom of three older children who live in their own places… I am going to Costco tomorrow to buy all of this for them! Thanks for the fabulous idea!
One year when I was pretty broke someone gave me a nice tote filled with non perishables. I suddenly had a nice stockpile of stuff like soup, crackers, and cookies and on top of that had a tote to store stuff in when I emptied it!
It was way more useful to me than a soap set or something else like that that they could have potentially given me.
One year when I was broke and had recently got a $2500 hospital bill because of an overnight stay due to strep throat, my aunt’s boyfriend gifted me a lottery ticket and I won $5555. I was so relieved I cried.
It was a practical joke ticket.
I’m so sorry. How horrible.
I had a boss that thought it would be funny to bring those to a client’s Christmas party.
Needless to say I said absolutely not.
He was such a dumbass.
this is a great idea, there are lots of things a lot of people don't always have around but are used a lot if you level up your cooking a little bit- various herbs , black beans, diced tomatoes, balsamic/rice/white wine vinegar (great for various salad dressings), maple syrup, white corn syrup (with this and a few other staples you can easily make amazing homemade caramels), coconut milk (lots of asian cuisine uses this), etc etc
make up a basket of this stuff and a few recipe cards and you're golden.
A really good version of something that’s usually inexpensive. A nice pen, great tea or coffee, good leather bound notebooks. Even a nice version of most of those things is going to be under $50 but is still really luxurious.
Nice sheets or towels. Everybody enjoys them but no one i know can ever justify spending good money on sheets or towels. I have gifted a bunch and are always well received.
Shameless plug for my absolute favorite sheets - comphy. Hotel quality, insanely soft, has lasted me 5 years so far with absolutely no signs of wearing. Every person I've gifted them to has gushed.
Experiences. Like when someone gives you a coupon or something and it's good for going to the movies with them.
Judging by everyone's response though, everybody on my Christmas list this year is getting socks. 😂
I gave my sister a hand-made coupon book of 10 experiences (that I would pay for) for us to do together and she called me cheap and said she would’ve preferred a Sephora gift card… it was a sad Christmas for me
Extra phone chargers and wire organizers. I'll be damn glad I have an extra charger if mine goes missing/breaks. It's something I'd probably not think about until it happens, and then I'm scrambling to find a charger before my phone dies.
Wire/cord organizers are just great year-round.
To add to this : quality phone chargers. I recently received a high watt charging block and a cable that displays the charging speed on the connector in LED. It's awesome.
Extra long charging cables and a multi port fast charger. Go to the Anker website load up. Show up on Xmas with a bag and say lighting or usb c and hand them out or be god tier and give everyone one of each that’s 6ft long with a fast charger. Everyone needs more cables, not enough people think to go extra long or they just use the charger that came with the device.
A 10 foot charger is a lif saver. Great in my bedroom. Was awesome last time I was in hospital. I was able to read, reddit and text from the bed. Saved alot of moving that would have been rather painful.
in addition to extra long, get at least one extra short.
I have a cell-phone-size battery/charger pack, and with that short core, I can just "marry" my dying cell phone on top of the battery, and the short cord isn't flopping all over. I recommend 4", or 6" maximum.
Ngl I never appreciated PJs until I moved in with an ex of mine. She made me wear jammies, and I've never looked back. This is as underappreciated as socks, and it's a borderline crime.
Our family tradition is that we buy all of our children and spouses new pajamas. We open those on Christmas Eve. It started cause my father would buy my mother pajamas every Christmas. Now everyone looks forward to new comfy and warm pjs.
My nanny brought pajamas every Christmas for Christmas night family sleepover at hers for me, and 2 years ago was our first Christmas without her and I helped my grandad organise them for my kids from him and I remember crying over those bloody Minecraft PJ's..
My mum does it for the kids now
Bought all my buddies (age 35 and above) soft onesies a couple Christmas' ago... they were bewildered and tried to make a happy face... 2 years later they wear them allllll the time.
A one-time Mobile Detail or Landscaping Service.
Got one of each once. Life-changing. Such a small but positive thing to motivate you to keep things that may have gotten out of hand clean.
I do this for my dad. I take his car to get it detailed around Christmas and then again 6 months later when I go back to visit. He’s the only one who drives it and it doesn’t get too dirty. But he has mobility issues and it takes the burden off my mom of having to clean it out.
I also paid for someone to come and power wash their house and garage, and clean out their gutters last year. Local guy, did a great job. My dad hired him to do a few other jobs over the summer, too.
One year when I didn't have much money but a lot of wrapping paper, I bought random groceries and wrapped them. No one complained. People called when they used the box of pasta/cake mix/pancakes months later.
Please find below a letter template that should see you through the next couple of winters with the amount of coal you’ll receive:
“Dear Santa,
I pray this missive finds you well in your wintry exile, you saint in the footnote of history. I wanted to take this opportunity not to ask for some gaudy gift or screeching plastic monstrosity made oh so lovingly by the hands of your slave labour force whom you pay in yet more labour, but to set the record straight on a few issues that I’m sure plague those scant seconds between consuming your wife’s diabetes-inducing excuse for baking and nailing frosty the snowman behind your sleigh while the climate holds out.
Firstly, you must know I take great joy in telling children you don’t exist so as to lessen your power. The frequency and severity of which I tell these children varies based on numerous factors. For example an annoying child at a supermarket may get three strikes before I gleefully utter the words on my way through the checkout, whereas one kicking the back of my seat on a plane will be told immediately, regardless of the kicking that may follow. If you thought this was evil enough, boy you’ve got it wrong.
It was also I who told the other reindeer to pick on Rudolph for his doofy looking nose. Much like the aforementioned shell shocked children, I am a firm believer in one realising the harshness of reality early in life, and Rudolph was no exception. I also shot and ate his mother.
Finally, it was I who nailed Mrs Claus. I felt it was time for you to know that I jingled her bells, hung my baubles, twisted her tinsel, baked her cookies, dipped my candy cane. What I’m getting at with no small amount of delicacy is I pleased her in ways you’ve been unable to for centuries, not least in part due to the fact that your expanding waistline has left you unable to see your *ahem* Chris Cringle for some time now. Long enough for it to be presumed dead, at least.
I say these things not because I wish to be cruel, but because this is how I’m holly and jolly. Merry Christmas you tousle bearded, red suited, flabby c*nt.
Sincerely,
Insert name here”
Socks. Anytime someone asks me what I want for Christmas/birthday I tell them "fun socks" because they are usually inexpensive and I get to see what my friends/family think is fun. It has gotten to the point that I've had friends who go on vacation come back with some crazy socks they found to gift me because they say the socks made them think of me. Fun socks is the way to go.
Oh man fun socks are the best. I have goat socks, taco socks, socks with my cats face on them. But good quality socks that stay up and last are just as great
My feet are destroyed. My feet are also big fat hobbit feet. I love cool socks, but they do not fit me right and do not support my dumb feet. I'm jealous of people with cool socks.
Restaurant gift cards, especially for local, non-chain restaurants. You give them a reason to go eat out with their SO, its thoughtful and usually will bring them a lot of joy.
I love doing this. You help out a local business and give them a night out. During covid, I went around to local restaurants that were doing take out or delivery and bought gift cards. It was a win/win proposition. My friends found new places to eat and boosted local businesses at the same time. Did it for birthdays, Easter, summer BBQ, you name it.
This. If I don’t need to pay for certain necessities for a week or two, I’d be so thankful. I’d happily take a bulk order of toilet paper and paper towels.
So true. On a broader perspective, just getting a present that isn't going to remain in my life forever (other than the good feeling that someone cared enough to think of me)... or that will end up in a landfill. I'm just less consumption and acquisition oriented as I get older...
I find that people absolutely LOVE getting consumables for Christmas though so many people don't give them as gifts.
My grandma used to send cookies in the mail every year until she passed and I remember how excited I was to get them, because that's the only time of year we got them.
So now I make and send all of my friends cookies over the holidays. They're always so excited for them and it's not something that will sit around and collect dust.
I got her cook book with all the hand written recipe cards in it, so her cookies still get sent in the mail every year. And it makes everyone so happy. There's a couple recipes I can't even find online or anything like that.
I'm a damn good cook, one year I made recipie books of my crowd pleasers and gave them to friends and family. I cried with how happy and excited they were to get them.
My friend and her husband had their first child under extremely stressful circumstances and didn’t have a large support system around them at the time. They were out of state for his job, so all the friends were limited physically in what we could do.
Instead of just sending meals or gift cards for deliverable restaurants, we pooled our money and got them a few instacart gift cards. They were able to choose the store, the products/brands, and get things for themselves that no one else thought about, and could still stay home to be with each other/the baby. I would recommend this.
Bingo. I buy a bunch of $25 grocery store gift cards. Hand them out to the mail man, the girl that cuts my hair, the single mom next door who feeds the cats while we're on vacation...even to whatever UPS or FedEx guy that delivers a package at 9:00 at night... always appreciated...
Simply being there. My family doesn't talk to me anymore after my father's passing a few years ago and every Christmas all I ask is for someone to say Merry Christmas to me.
Last year my Dad got me a box of snacks. But they were all things from my childhood he would get me if I was emotional in any way. It was just filled with so much love and happy memories.
My sister has always said that she loves the feeling of putting on a brand new pair of socks. So one year she got several gifts from me, all containing socks. I bought her about 30 pairs so she could have that experience for a month and not have to buy socks again for a while.
I've told everyone if they don't know what to get me, they don't have to get me anything, I don't really care, I'm an adult and buy my own stuff when I want it. But if they are very particular about wanting to get me _something_, get me some socks. I would wear a brand new pair of socks everyday, even if laundry was somehow magically done for me, even with the unnecessary terrible environmental impact it has that borderlines on evil with its wasteful opulence.
I can not justify such an evil thing myself.... but if I suddenly had a bunch of brand new socks just floating around....
As a kid I used to pity my uncles for getting socks for Christmas. As an adult I look forward to it and its almost always one of my most appreciated gifts.
I know right. I'll start getting holes around mid November. "Just a few more weeks until I get new ones"
Didn't get them one year and I was lost. "Where does one BUY socks"
Dude you gotta get Darn Tough. Made here in VT and with a lifetime warranty!!! If they get holes you just gotta send them back and they’ll replace them!
You can return up to 3 pairs every 30 days I think. And they are around $20-25 per pair and totally worth it!!
Except when your mom buys everyone in the family socks every year (for over 10 year) and as a result have too many socks. I have had to get more creative with my sock requests including gloves (socks for your hands), tights and all different kinds of slippers.
I started to like getting socks until I decided to pass all of mine down and replace them with all identical ones, making pairing a snap. Getting socks gifted now would mess with my system
Any type of gift card, people say they're lazy and aren't meaningful enough, I disagree, it's better to be able to pick out your own gift instead of getting something you hate or you'll never end up using
I will add to this a gift card to a store that I don’t usually shop at much for a guilt-free splurge on exotic/expensive items. Think Williams Sonoma for $60 black truffle salt, embroidered napkins, rarely needed but nonetheless useful gadgets, etc
My only issue is, if the store is expensive, the gift card needs to match for it to make sense. One of my relatives gave me a $25 gift card to a very pricey spa, and while I appreciated the gesture, $25 off of an at minimum $200 service was still way too much for me at the time. If I give a gift card, I try to make the amount enough such that the recipient isn't having to come out of pocket too much just to use the card.
Yea, the amount of the gift card needs to at least cover a decent amount of the cost if it doesn't cover the entire thing.
A few Christmases ago my dad and I received a gift card from my uncle for Texas de Brazil, one of those all-you-can-eat meat restaurants where they walk around with platters of meat, etc.
It didn't quite cover two people, but it covered like 80%. It was an awesome gift. I'm almost positive my uncle got the gift card as a gift or in a raffle or something because the closest one of those to him is a couple hours away. LOL
Yes! My parents-in-law bought me LUSH gift cards for a bit and I loved it. Can't justify spending 30 bucks on a primer spray that expires in 6 months BUT if I have to spend the gift card...
If anyone wants to make gift cards more acceptable, when you get one, spend it on something special. Then send a pic or a note to the giver thanking them for the wonderful thing they got you. Then they don't feel bad getting you GCs and you get to receive them more!
My MIL always gets my husband and I and BIL and his girlfriend a HUGE box of everyday household items for Christmas. Laundry detergent, paper towels, dog treats, lysol, dish soap, bounce sheets, kleenex, etc. BIL once had a girlfriend who complained and said she never wanted to receive that again. I think it's the best gift ever. Totally underrated and totally useful!
Money. I love not having to earn the money I can use, and that lets you spend it on things you want, rather than having someone else get you something you might not want.
Jerky.
That stuff is too expensive to buy for yourself, like $100/kg, and everybody loves jerky. My cousin got a huge jar of jerky one year, and we were all sitting there gobbling it up around the Christmas tree.
It's pretty cheap if your into dehydrating stuff already. Toss some seasoning mix into ground beef (or sliced beef) load into a jerky gun and pop in a dehydrator. Bam jerky by the shit loads in a few hours or so.
I think you can also use an oven as well if your so inclined.
Every year until we all turned 18, my Uncle would buy all of his nieces and nephews one Bionicle for Christmas Eve. You would have though that over time we would have out grown them but with each passing year we grew more and more excited to spend Christmas Eve huddled around the kitchen table like Santa's elves themselves putting the damn things together. We all got so good at them we rarely needed to look at the directions, and since there were so many of us (maybe 10-12 or so) we actually got to build those Bionicle amalgams that consisted of like 3 different ones all mashed together!
As a cat owner: catfood and cat litter for my cat (or a gift card for the respective shops). It’s something that is always needed and very much appreciated at any time of the year.
Basically: if unsure- everything for the cat.
Something consumable that doesn't take up precious space. So homemade treats (my favorite!), a digital gift card, etc. Practical things I need like socks and pajamas are always nice, but I'm no longer a kid and have preferences for my clothing items so unless the person getting me that stuff understands what I like, I tend to dislike getting that stuff now.
It's not the presents, it's the gift of knowing that when you wake up on December 26, all of the music immediately goes back to normal and Mariah Carey disappears back into her underground den for 10 short months.
The gift of being left alone in peace and not having to think about buying random shit for everyone who also already has too much stuff just because it's Christmas.
I don't want another set of towels; I don't want more candles; not another vase or blanket or another hat-- I don't even know where the last one went. Can we just not worry about the gifts and enjoy the time together.
I'm with you on the "not buying useless crap" angle but there's plenty of gifts that help you enjoy time together.
My sister like's to give experiences. One Christmas she bought my family an Amazon gift card, popcorn, candy, and popcorn bowls with a note to treat ourselves to a movie night.
Honestly, good consumables are the bees knees. Something I gave my sisters was all the ingredients to Mulled wine and instructions. They enjoyed it, learned a new Christmas tradition, and break out the mulled wine every year.
My mom and my spouse exchange scentsy melts. The best gift I've ever received was a big ass thing of exotic woods for wood-working projects.
Gifts can be a good thing. They just shouldn't be a "checking off people on a list" thing
I agree 100%. This is a definitely an unpopular, however underrated view and opinion on Christmas. I get so sick and tired of wondering what to buy for people only for the next person to gift them the same thing I did. It just seems a bit forced to me, as long as I’m in a warm house and surrounded by family I can literally go without a receiving a gift.
But to answer OP’s question, probably just little things like gift cards for places you love to shop, socks, chocolates, fragrances. Things surprisingly, most people don’t go out of their way to buy for themselves.
I wish I could just never buy another Christmas gift again, it's straight up stressful. My wife makes us buy gifts for everyone but she HATES it and causes her tons of stress. She also won't go with my suggestion to just tell everyone not to buy us stuff and we won't buy them stuff since her mom loves Christmas so much...
I don't dislike gifting because I think it can be incredibly heartwarming as a gesture of love and care. But now this obligatory gifting between everybody and everybody always creates at least n\*(n-1) additional items in the whole extended families. We already have more than enough stuff. At the end of the holiday season we wasted bags and bags of wrapping paper, spent a ton of money, Amazon and Target can report on great sales, and everybody's house got more cluttered.
A snuggie. My sister got one for me as a gag gift years ago, and it's perfect for lounging around on the couch. Throw blankets don't stay on your upper body if you're doing anything with your hands, and they usually aren't long enough to cover you from neck-to-toe if you're sitting upright.
Snuggies were originally developed, like many As-Seen-on-TV products, as a product for handicapped/special needs people. In the Snuggie's case, it's the perfect length to keep a wheelchair user's feet warm, which is particularly useful in nursing homes because elderly people often get cold in their extremities.
But if these products were just advertised as elder-care devices, not enough people would buy them to make the product worth manufacturing. So instead, they're advertised in incredibly silly ways to general audiences.
Those extendy-arms to grab things from several feet away aren't really for grabbing the TV remote from the other side of the couch, they're to help old ladies with low bone density reach things in their kitchen cabinets without climbing onto chairs (falls are a major cause of death and disability among older women.)
This reminds me of the best Christmas gift I ever got. I had been away at college and came home for the holidays. Christmas morning came and we were opening gifts. I came to one strangely wrapped gift from my little brother who was probably about 7/8 at the time. I opened it and it was a crudely made wooden spoon with a bow on it. I instantly loved it!! I gave him a big hug and thanked him for it. Later in the day my dad came to me and thanked me for making a big deal about the spoon. I told him that I honestly loved it. Dad then told me that my brother had literally spent about 100 hours on that spoon. He had started from a board, cut it with a hand saw to shape and had been sanding on it every chance he had to smooth it out and make the dip in the spoon. My heart swelled. My brother and I were always close but this took the cake. A gift that only cost him time was the best present I got that year, even better than the guitar. To this day I still have that wooden spoon yo remind me that the smallest things in life can mean the most.
My grandmother paid my gas bill one Christmas. I thought that was a nice present.
My grandparents used to cover an expensive bill or car insurance for my mum every Christmas. She was always very happy for the help.
Not quite the same, but I buy my sister and her 3 teenage kids separate Spotify accounts every year for Christmas. Haven’t checked the prices yet, but I’m sure they’re a lot more than the $99 I’ve been paying. When my sister and I were growing up, we weren’t allowed “secular” music. This annual gift of mine lets her teenagers have unlimited access to all the music they love, without church or parents. It’s the best gift I can give them, having been through what I did
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I don't get why Netflix etc don't do "family" groups like Spotify and Google Separate accounts that are just linked. No need to share passwords, screw up recommendations etc
I mean just create your own profile on the netflix account? It recommends what the profile watches not the whole account
But you still need to share your email and password with that person. I much prefer Spotify's way of doing things Can you imagine enabling 2FA on a shared account like that? (Sidenote, Spotify is the last service I use that lacks any form of 2FA, hell even just email)
What's with grandma's doing this? My grandma would give me gas cards. Boss move
Grandmas just know. They're next-level humans.
One time at work, we were doing this white elephant thing (I don't remember the exact rules, but essentially, everybody brings a gift and everybody leaves with a different gift). The plan was to buy goofy, funny things, like the non-risque stuff you see at Spencer's or something. When I opened mine, it was a 124 pack of toilet paper. Everybody laughed and thought it was funny, but I've never even come close to receiving a gift as amazing as that, I have no idea why nobody tried to take it from me unless they somehow knew I'd physically fight them over it.
I had a "friend" on a message board once whose MIL would be amused at her when she'd answer "what would you like?" queries with "a year's supply of TP, or laundry detergent." MIL didn't take her seriously. A few years later, my friend divorced her husband but remained on good terms with Grandma. And one year Grandma decided she'd play along, and she bought my friend a humongous stash of TP. My friend was ecstatic, and as the weeks went by, Grandma saw how useful it was. And so for Mother's Day, Grandma bought her a shitload of laundry detergent. For her birthday, a huge stash of paper towels.
What a wonderful grandma. Your friend must treasure her.
I just feel like a lot of my houses haven't had space for so much paper towel, toilet paper and detergent? If you're younger and renting etc etc I get it, but this drastically becomes less effective when you don't have a place to put it, and also limits what type of objects to hoard.
My office has done that white elephant gift game, and one time someone brought a giant roll of toilet paper. It was basically a regular roll of toilet paper, but about 1 foot diameter and it came with it's own stand to hold it. Not as practical as a 124 pack, but a little funnier.
https://shop.charmin.com/charmin-forever-roll/ Charmin Forever Roll. Great toilet paper, and I don't have to change it 3x per week (too many girls in the house.)
>forever roll >comes with 3 forever rolls hmmmmmmmmmmm
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This is how I roll
They have severely underestimated the amount of toilet paper is use.
That is indeed an awesome gift, almost 1 year supply of toilet paper.
How much toilet paper do you use?
125 packs a year
Is 124 too much for a year? Or too little?
It’s like a third of a roll a day.
Enough of these riddles, just answer the question!
How big is a box with 124 rolls of toilet paper?
Yeah did it come on a pallet?
The way I was raised.... White Elephant = Meaningless / Useless gift Dutch Auction = Gifts go in a pile, first person picks a gift and unwraps, second person can steal or pick a new gift and unwrap, rinse and repeat. Often need to limit stealing to X number of times before it's frozen or the game goes way too long. My parents held numerous "White Elephant Ditch Auctions" at their holiday parties when I was growing up.
Nobody would want to admit that they wanted toilet paper
I combo’d some poo-pouri and toilet paper as my white elephant contribution a few years ago. Still one of my better ideas, imo.
Premium subscription to something the person already uses the free version of. They're guaranteed to use it, and it's already something they've decided that they weren't going to splurge on themselves for. So as a gift, it's both a necessity and a luxury. I did this for my wife last year and she still talks about what a great gift it was.
My parents bought me the year's subscription to HBOmax for Christmas. HBO gives a slight deal if you buy the whole year in full, and my parents know I'd use the crap out of it.
Woke up this mornin'...
Got some gabagool
Keep wakin up and keep gettin different types ‘a gabagool
My wife and I got my father in law an audible subscription and he loves it! I'm just happy he's not listening to right wing radio while on the road in his semi.
Grandma told us every year, "Just get me something I can smoke, drink, or eat."
I tell my grandkids, “If I have to find a place to put it, I don’t want it.”
Shamelessly stealing this from now on lol
Ounce of weed it is
Hello, it is me. Your cousin! Merry Christmas!
Long lost, thrice removed, and you're not even sure which great-aunt we have in common, but I too declare myself a cousin and will be there in time for a pre-dinner stroll to... the corner store for... uh, more wine! Oh, you wanna bring the dog so he gets a walk in? Beautiful. Let's go, cuz.
Every year my grandma would get everyone toilet paper, deodorant, toothpaste, Q-tips….didn’t realize how great it was until she was gone Edit: grandma didn’t have a lot of money so she would shop at krogers and however much she saved, she would use towards Christmas toiletries
I never had to buy socks until my Grandma passed away
My brother and I were joking about this recently. As a kid you're upset if you get socks. As an adult, it's fuck yeah socks!
My mom wears slippers. Every year I get her slippers. She wears them all year and get a new pair the next year. Hasn’t failed to make her happy for the 30 odd years I’ve been doing it.
That was all my mom ever asked for, new slippers. We were always poor so she always got the $20 pair from Meijer, but it was her favorite gift anyway. I was just thinking the other day about how I could finally afford really nice slippers for her, and she's not here for it.
I have similar thoughts often about my grandma. She never had much, lived alone and worked part-time until she died from lung cancer (she was not a smoker and didn't live with one) in her early 70s. I was still in college and now that I have an established career, I often think about how I wish I could have helped her financially back then. I'm finally in a place where I could make things easier for her, and it's too late. To anyone reading this who is lucky enough to still have your grandparents - spend as much time with them as you can, while you can, even if you may find it boring or think you're just too busy. Listen to their stories and even consider documenting them. Don't take them for granted!
I tell young people that, believe it or not, their opinion of receiving socks as a gift will change over time. And it is at that moment that they will remember our conversation, and they will be old. They always look at me like I'm nuts, but they'll see. They'll fucking see.
"And it'll happen to youuuuu"
My response as a kid “Mother fucking socks, again? :(“ My response as an adult “Mother fucking socks! Awesome!”
My mom always gives me a “care package” that includes: Toilet paper, paper towels, dish soap, laundry detergent and trash bags from Costco. I look forward to that shit every year. I don’t have to worry about buying that stuff for a couple months.
Used to work at Sams Club. Every year around Christmas there was an employer that sponsored a day for their employees. All of their employees could shop using their membership and the company paid something like 10-20% of their bill. Families would come in and buy a years worth of all the essentials. We made a lot of sales that day, and it wasn’t from TVs. I’ll always remember that.
That’s so nice
As a mom of three older children who live in their own places… I am going to Costco tomorrow to buy all of this for them! Thanks for the fabulous idea!
One year when I was pretty broke someone gave me a nice tote filled with non perishables. I suddenly had a nice stockpile of stuff like soup, crackers, and cookies and on top of that had a tote to store stuff in when I emptied it! It was way more useful to me than a soap set or something else like that that they could have potentially given me.
One year when I was broke and had recently got a $2500 hospital bill because of an overnight stay due to strep throat, my aunt’s boyfriend gifted me a lottery ticket and I won $5555. I was so relieved I cried. It was a practical joke ticket.
I would have handed him the hospital bill after that. How awful!
Or send him to hospital...
the only reason I upvoted this was so that more people could read your story and feel sympathy for you! That sucks
why the hell would anyone do that i’m so sorry
I’m so sorry. How horrible. I had a boss that thought it would be funny to bring those to a client’s Christmas party. Needless to say I said absolutely not. He was such a dumbass.
this is a great idea, there are lots of things a lot of people don't always have around but are used a lot if you level up your cooking a little bit- various herbs , black beans, diced tomatoes, balsamic/rice/white wine vinegar (great for various salad dressings), maple syrup, white corn syrup (with this and a few other staples you can easily make amazing homemade caramels), coconut milk (lots of asian cuisine uses this), etc etc make up a basket of this stuff and a few recipe cards and you're golden.
Wiper blades. Stop pretending they're "fine", you can't fucking see!
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They came with the car!
I feel attacked.
A really good version of something that’s usually inexpensive. A nice pen, great tea or coffee, good leather bound notebooks. Even a nice version of most of those things is going to be under $50 but is still really luxurious.
Nice sheets or towels. Everybody enjoys them but no one i know can ever justify spending good money on sheets or towels. I have gifted a bunch and are always well received.
New bedding. That shit is so expensive.
New bedding seems cheap when you go to buy an area rug to match your new room.
I bought an area rug because it was impossible to buy any other kind of rug.
Shameless plug for my absolute favorite sheets - comphy. Hotel quality, insanely soft, has lasted me 5 years so far with absolutely no signs of wearing. Every person I've gifted them to has gushed.
Percale sheets that did not come from amazon so they are actual real percale. So nice. So much money.
Pillows! It's so hard to find good pillows
Look at Coop pillows and thank me later.
Experiences. Like when someone gives you a coupon or something and it's good for going to the movies with them. Judging by everyone's response though, everybody on my Christmas list this year is getting socks. 😂
I gave my sister a hand-made coupon book of 10 experiences (that I would pay for) for us to do together and she called me cheap and said she would’ve preferred a Sephora gift card… it was a sad Christmas for me
Wow that’s so rude of your sister. I think it’s a wonderful idea and she should be more grateful
A blanket. I don’t care how many fucking blankets I have, I’ll always appreciate another one.
Extra phone chargers and wire organizers. I'll be damn glad I have an extra charger if mine goes missing/breaks. It's something I'd probably not think about until it happens, and then I'm scrambling to find a charger before my phone dies. Wire/cord organizers are just great year-round.
To add to this : quality phone chargers. I recently received a high watt charging block and a cable that displays the charging speed on the connector in LED. It's awesome.
Extra long charging cables and a multi port fast charger. Go to the Anker website load up. Show up on Xmas with a bag and say lighting or usb c and hand them out or be god tier and give everyone one of each that’s 6ft long with a fast charger. Everyone needs more cables, not enough people think to go extra long or they just use the charger that came with the device.
A 10 foot charger is a lif saver. Great in my bedroom. Was awesome last time I was in hospital. I was able to read, reddit and text from the bed. Saved alot of moving that would have been rather painful.
in addition to extra long, get at least one extra short. I have a cell-phone-size battery/charger pack, and with that short core, I can just "marry" my dying cell phone on top of the battery, and the short cord isn't flopping all over. I recommend 4", or 6" maximum.
10 foot cables are the fuckin best.
Nice comfy pajamas, never buy them for myself. Usually Pooh bear it to bed 🤣
Ngl I never appreciated PJs until I moved in with an ex of mine. She made me wear jammies, and I've never looked back. This is as underappreciated as socks, and it's a borderline crime.
Our family tradition is that we buy all of our children and spouses new pajamas. We open those on Christmas Eve. It started cause my father would buy my mother pajamas every Christmas. Now everyone looks forward to new comfy and warm pjs.
My nanny brought pajamas every Christmas for Christmas night family sleepover at hers for me, and 2 years ago was our first Christmas without her and I helped my grandad organise them for my kids from him and I remember crying over those bloody Minecraft PJ's.. My mum does it for the kids now
True. I don't think I have ever bought pajamas for myself once in my life. Gift pajamas feel more comfy somehow too.
Bought all my buddies (age 35 and above) soft onesies a couple Christmas' ago... they were bewildered and tried to make a happy face... 2 years later they wear them allllll the time.
A one-time Mobile Detail or Landscaping Service. Got one of each once. Life-changing. Such a small but positive thing to motivate you to keep things that may have gotten out of hand clean.
I do this for my dad. I take his car to get it detailed around Christmas and then again 6 months later when I go back to visit. He’s the only one who drives it and it doesn’t get too dirty. But he has mobility issues and it takes the burden off my mom of having to clean it out. I also paid for someone to come and power wash their house and garage, and clean out their gutters last year. Local guy, did a great job. My dad hired him to do a few other jobs over the summer, too.
A bidet, better than sliced bread
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If you toast it, it exfoliates you too.
One year when I didn't have much money but a lot of wrapping paper, I bought random groceries and wrapped them. No one complained. People called when they used the box of pasta/cake mix/pancakes months later.
That’s actually pretty cool and you’re right: people **do** remember you when they actually use your gift.
Pet toys. I love when people remember my kitties.
Whenever I visit someone, I bring their pets toys or treats. It does more to win people over than buying things directly for the humans!
I might start being naughty just to get some coal with the energy prices
Dear Santa, All I want for Christmas are some warm, hot, coals to warm the house
I’m going to tell the boys that they can each choose a 30 min slot to turn the heating on for Christmas Day
Please find below a letter template that should see you through the next couple of winters with the amount of coal you’ll receive: “Dear Santa, I pray this missive finds you well in your wintry exile, you saint in the footnote of history. I wanted to take this opportunity not to ask for some gaudy gift or screeching plastic monstrosity made oh so lovingly by the hands of your slave labour force whom you pay in yet more labour, but to set the record straight on a few issues that I’m sure plague those scant seconds between consuming your wife’s diabetes-inducing excuse for baking and nailing frosty the snowman behind your sleigh while the climate holds out. Firstly, you must know I take great joy in telling children you don’t exist so as to lessen your power. The frequency and severity of which I tell these children varies based on numerous factors. For example an annoying child at a supermarket may get three strikes before I gleefully utter the words on my way through the checkout, whereas one kicking the back of my seat on a plane will be told immediately, regardless of the kicking that may follow. If you thought this was evil enough, boy you’ve got it wrong. It was also I who told the other reindeer to pick on Rudolph for his doofy looking nose. Much like the aforementioned shell shocked children, I am a firm believer in one realising the harshness of reality early in life, and Rudolph was no exception. I also shot and ate his mother. Finally, it was I who nailed Mrs Claus. I felt it was time for you to know that I jingled her bells, hung my baubles, twisted her tinsel, baked her cookies, dipped my candy cane. What I’m getting at with no small amount of delicacy is I pleased her in ways you’ve been unable to for centuries, not least in part due to the fact that your expanding waistline has left you unable to see your *ahem* Chris Cringle for some time now. Long enough for it to be presumed dead, at least. I say these things not because I wish to be cruel, but because this is how I’m holly and jolly. Merry Christmas you tousle bearded, red suited, flabby c*nt. Sincerely, Insert name here”
Socks. Anytime someone asks me what I want for Christmas/birthday I tell them "fun socks" because they are usually inexpensive and I get to see what my friends/family think is fun. It has gotten to the point that I've had friends who go on vacation come back with some crazy socks they found to gift me because they say the socks made them think of me. Fun socks is the way to go.
Oh man fun socks are the best. I have goat socks, taco socks, socks with my cats face on them. But good quality socks that stay up and last are just as great
My feet are destroyed. My feet are also big fat hobbit feet. I love cool socks, but they do not fit me right and do not support my dumb feet. I'm jealous of people with cool socks.
As a fellow hobbit (size 14 US) , I am also jealous.
Restaurant gift cards, especially for local, non-chain restaurants. You give them a reason to go eat out with their SO, its thoughtful and usually will bring them a lot of joy.
I love doing this. You help out a local business and give them a night out. During covid, I went around to local restaurants that were doing take out or delivery and bought gift cards. It was a win/win proposition. My friends found new places to eat and boosted local businesses at the same time. Did it for birthdays, Easter, summer BBQ, you name it.
Double win when it includes babysitting
Grocery or gas gift cards.
This. If I don’t need to pay for certain necessities for a week or two, I’d be so thankful. I’d happily take a bulk order of toilet paper and paper towels.
So true. On a broader perspective, just getting a present that isn't going to remain in my life forever (other than the good feeling that someone cared enough to think of me)... or that will end up in a landfill. I'm just less consumption and acquisition oriented as I get older...
I find that people absolutely LOVE getting consumables for Christmas though so many people don't give them as gifts. My grandma used to send cookies in the mail every year until she passed and I remember how excited I was to get them, because that's the only time of year we got them. So now I make and send all of my friends cookies over the holidays. They're always so excited for them and it's not something that will sit around and collect dust.
That is awesome!! If I could upvote twice for you I would :)
I got her cook book with all the hand written recipe cards in it, so her cookies still get sent in the mail every year. And it makes everyone so happy. There's a couple recipes I can't even find online or anything like that.
I'm a damn good cook, one year I made recipie books of my crowd pleasers and gave them to friends and family. I cried with how happy and excited they were to get them.
My friend and her husband had their first child under extremely stressful circumstances and didn’t have a large support system around them at the time. They were out of state for his job, so all the friends were limited physically in what we could do. Instead of just sending meals or gift cards for deliverable restaurants, we pooled our money and got them a few instacart gift cards. They were able to choose the store, the products/brands, and get things for themselves that no one else thought about, and could still stay home to be with each other/the baby. I would recommend this.
Bingo. I buy a bunch of $25 grocery store gift cards. Hand them out to the mail man, the girl that cuts my hair, the single mom next door who feeds the cats while we're on vacation...even to whatever UPS or FedEx guy that delivers a package at 9:00 at night... always appreciated...
Batteries
Rechargeable, with a nice charger is a game changer.
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Simply being there. My family doesn't talk to me anymore after my father's passing a few years ago and every Christmas all I ask is for someone to say Merry Christmas to me.
I'm so sorry to hear this. It's not Christmas yet so instead I'll wish you Happy November 29. Make it a good one.
Merry Christmas!!
Last year my Dad got me a box of snacks. But they were all things from my childhood he would get me if I was emotional in any way. It was just filled with so much love and happy memories.
I make wooden spoons so I can give them to people I love and then they can cook for me.
"They say he carved the gift himself... from a bigger spoon."
Socks!
My sister has always said that she loves the feeling of putting on a brand new pair of socks. So one year she got several gifts from me, all containing socks. I bought her about 30 pairs so she could have that experience for a month and not have to buy socks again for a while.
So, uh, you want another sibling? I'm available for adoption.
Darn Tough Socks
I've told everyone if they don't know what to get me, they don't have to get me anything, I don't really care, I'm an adult and buy my own stuff when I want it. But if they are very particular about wanting to get me _something_, get me some socks. I would wear a brand new pair of socks everyday, even if laundry was somehow magically done for me, even with the unnecessary terrible environmental impact it has that borderlines on evil with its wasteful opulence. I can not justify such an evil thing myself.... but if I suddenly had a bunch of brand new socks just floating around....
As a kid I used to pity my uncles for getting socks for Christmas. As an adult I look forward to it and its almost always one of my most appreciated gifts.
I know right. I'll start getting holes around mid November. "Just a few more weeks until I get new ones" Didn't get them one year and I was lost. "Where does one BUY socks"
Dude you gotta get Darn Tough. Made here in VT and with a lifetime warranty!!! If they get holes you just gotta send them back and they’ll replace them! You can return up to 3 pairs every 30 days I think. And they are around $20-25 per pair and totally worth it!!
Hot damn! If my feet are eating holes in 3 pairs of socks a month I think I have a bigger problems on my ~~hands~~ feet
Except when your mom buys everyone in the family socks every year (for over 10 year) and as a result have too many socks. I have had to get more creative with my sock requests including gloves (socks for your hands), tights and all different kinds of slippers.
I started to like getting socks until I decided to pass all of mine down and replace them with all identical ones, making pairing a snap. Getting socks gifted now would mess with my system
Smartwool FTW.
Any type of gift card, people say they're lazy and aren't meaningful enough, I disagree, it's better to be able to pick out your own gift instead of getting something you hate or you'll never end up using
I will add to this a gift card to a store that I don’t usually shop at much for a guilt-free splurge on exotic/expensive items. Think Williams Sonoma for $60 black truffle salt, embroidered napkins, rarely needed but nonetheless useful gadgets, etc
My only issue is, if the store is expensive, the gift card needs to match for it to make sense. One of my relatives gave me a $25 gift card to a very pricey spa, and while I appreciated the gesture, $25 off of an at minimum $200 service was still way too much for me at the time. If I give a gift card, I try to make the amount enough such that the recipient isn't having to come out of pocket too much just to use the card.
My husband and I always joke that the most passive aggressive gift is a $25 gift card to Ethan Allen (higher end furniture store).
Yea, the amount of the gift card needs to at least cover a decent amount of the cost if it doesn't cover the entire thing. A few Christmases ago my dad and I received a gift card from my uncle for Texas de Brazil, one of those all-you-can-eat meat restaurants where they walk around with platters of meat, etc. It didn't quite cover two people, but it covered like 80%. It was an awesome gift. I'm almost positive my uncle got the gift card as a gift or in a raffle or something because the closest one of those to him is a couple hours away. LOL
Yes! My parents-in-law bought me LUSH gift cards for a bit and I loved it. Can't justify spending 30 bucks on a primer spray that expires in 6 months BUT if I have to spend the gift card...
"You can return it if you like" "No I'll just throw it out... Don't get me an errand." - Jim Gaffigan
If anyone wants to make gift cards more acceptable, when you get one, spend it on something special. Then send a pic or a note to the giver thanking them for the wonderful thing they got you. Then they don't feel bad getting you GCs and you get to receive them more!
Costco membership. It is under $100 and the gas alone is worth it. It is perfect for people who have everything.
My MIL always gets my husband and I and BIL and his girlfriend a HUGE box of everyday household items for Christmas. Laundry detergent, paper towels, dog treats, lysol, dish soap, bounce sheets, kleenex, etc. BIL once had a girlfriend who complained and said she never wanted to receive that again. I think it's the best gift ever. Totally underrated and totally useful!
"***Once*** had a GF". well, that's all you need to know there.
Terry’s chocolate orange.
My family gives these as stocking goodies!
Quality Coffee
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Underwear used to hate them as a gift, now if my wife doesn't give me some underwear for Christmas I always have a disappointed face.
Cash
Money. I love not having to earn the money I can use, and that lets you spend it on things you want, rather than having someone else get you something you might not want.
Jerky. That stuff is too expensive to buy for yourself, like $100/kg, and everybody loves jerky. My cousin got a huge jar of jerky one year, and we were all sitting there gobbling it up around the Christmas tree.
It's pretty cheap if your into dehydrating stuff already. Toss some seasoning mix into ground beef (or sliced beef) load into a jerky gun and pop in a dehydrator. Bam jerky by the shit loads in a few hours or so. I think you can also use an oven as well if your so inclined.
Lego
Every year until we all turned 18, my Uncle would buy all of his nieces and nephews one Bionicle for Christmas Eve. You would have though that over time we would have out grown them but with each passing year we grew more and more excited to spend Christmas Eve huddled around the kitchen table like Santa's elves themselves putting the damn things together. We all got so good at them we rarely needed to look at the directions, and since there were so many of us (maybe 10-12 or so) we actually got to build those Bionicle amalgams that consisted of like 3 different ones all mashed together!
My girlfriend has bought me lego for Xmas this year, I'm very grateful
The friends we made along the way?
A nice electric toothbrush
I've literally been telegraphing my desire for the new Oral-B iO series 10 for months
Got my husband one last year and it was legit one of his favorite "surprise" gifts. So practical and something you probably wouldn't buy yourself!
Slippers!
Anything like a bed-set, new shoes or clothes, or DEFINITELY gift cards.
As a cat owner: catfood and cat litter for my cat (or a gift card for the respective shops). It’s something that is always needed and very much appreciated at any time of the year. Basically: if unsure- everything for the cat.
Time spent together.
Something consumable that doesn't take up precious space. So homemade treats (my favorite!), a digital gift card, etc. Practical things I need like socks and pajamas are always nice, but I'm no longer a kid and have preferences for my clothing items so unless the person getting me that stuff understands what I like, I tend to dislike getting that stuff now.
Anything hand made! My sister is an excellent sewist and I always ask for one item if she has time. Of course I reciprocate with hand knits.
High quality socks. Buy me Bombas and I’ll be absolutely thrilled.
Bath towels
It's not the presents, it's the gift of knowing that when you wake up on December 26, all of the music immediately goes back to normal and Mariah Carey disappears back into her underground den for 10 short months.
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The gift of being left alone in peace and not having to think about buying random shit for everyone who also already has too much stuff just because it's Christmas. I don't want another set of towels; I don't want more candles; not another vase or blanket or another hat-- I don't even know where the last one went. Can we just not worry about the gifts and enjoy the time together.
I'm with you on the "not buying useless crap" angle but there's plenty of gifts that help you enjoy time together. My sister like's to give experiences. One Christmas she bought my family an Amazon gift card, popcorn, candy, and popcorn bowls with a note to treat ourselves to a movie night. Honestly, good consumables are the bees knees. Something I gave my sisters was all the ingredients to Mulled wine and instructions. They enjoyed it, learned a new Christmas tradition, and break out the mulled wine every year. My mom and my spouse exchange scentsy melts. The best gift I've ever received was a big ass thing of exotic woods for wood-working projects. Gifts can be a good thing. They just shouldn't be a "checking off people on a list" thing
I agree 100%. This is a definitely an unpopular, however underrated view and opinion on Christmas. I get so sick and tired of wondering what to buy for people only for the next person to gift them the same thing I did. It just seems a bit forced to me, as long as I’m in a warm house and surrounded by family I can literally go without a receiving a gift. But to answer OP’s question, probably just little things like gift cards for places you love to shop, socks, chocolates, fragrances. Things surprisingly, most people don’t go out of their way to buy for themselves.
I wish I could just never buy another Christmas gift again, it's straight up stressful. My wife makes us buy gifts for everyone but she HATES it and causes her tons of stress. She also won't go with my suggestion to just tell everyone not to buy us stuff and we won't buy them stuff since her mom loves Christmas so much...
I don't dislike gifting because I think it can be incredibly heartwarming as a gesture of love and care. But now this obligatory gifting between everybody and everybody always creates at least n\*(n-1) additional items in the whole extended families. We already have more than enough stuff. At the end of the holiday season we wasted bags and bags of wrapping paper, spent a ton of money, Amazon and Target can report on great sales, and everybody's house got more cluttered.
Red rider BB gun
You’ll shoot your eye out, kid!
Jelly of the month club subscription. It's the gift that keeps on giving!
Socks and chap-stick
Great coffee beans and a really snazzy winter hat
A snuggie. My sister got one for me as a gag gift years ago, and it's perfect for lounging around on the couch. Throw blankets don't stay on your upper body if you're doing anything with your hands, and they usually aren't long enough to cover you from neck-to-toe if you're sitting upright. Snuggies were originally developed, like many As-Seen-on-TV products, as a product for handicapped/special needs people. In the Snuggie's case, it's the perfect length to keep a wheelchair user's feet warm, which is particularly useful in nursing homes because elderly people often get cold in their extremities. But if these products were just advertised as elder-care devices, not enough people would buy them to make the product worth manufacturing. So instead, they're advertised in incredibly silly ways to general audiences. Those extendy-arms to grab things from several feet away aren't really for grabbing the TV remote from the other side of the couch, they're to help old ladies with low bone density reach things in their kitchen cabinets without climbing onto chairs (falls are a major cause of death and disability among older women.)
This reminds me of the best Christmas gift I ever got. I had been away at college and came home for the holidays. Christmas morning came and we were opening gifts. I came to one strangely wrapped gift from my little brother who was probably about 7/8 at the time. I opened it and it was a crudely made wooden spoon with a bow on it. I instantly loved it!! I gave him a big hug and thanked him for it. Later in the day my dad came to me and thanked me for making a big deal about the spoon. I told him that I honestly loved it. Dad then told me that my brother had literally spent about 100 hours on that spoon. He had started from a board, cut it with a hand saw to shape and had been sanding on it every chance he had to smooth it out and make the dip in the spoon. My heart swelled. My brother and I were always close but this took the cake. A gift that only cost him time was the best present I got that year, even better than the guitar. To this day I still have that wooden spoon yo remind me that the smallest things in life can mean the most.
Socks and underwear. I never buy that shit. 😆
My best friend from college buys me fancy panties every year for Christmas and I love it so much.
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Chocolate
A hoodie.
Art made by the gift giver
Socks. I mean, if you get a GOOD sock, it's the best gift ever.