December 23 – Christmas Sweetheart Memories
Do you have a special memory of a first Christmas present from a
sweetheart? How did you spend your first Christmas together? Any
Christmas engagements or weddings among your ancestors?
I don't recall specifically how we spent our first Christmas as a couple. I know we started dating in November, and no one around us was certain how serious we were, so I'm sure it was pretty limited. I know I visited her house a couple of times during the season, and she came to my house once or twice, but I don't remember if either of us were present at the other's main Christmas celebration.
I think I may have been at hers. As I was from a small, local nuclear family with a fairly quiet Christmas celebration, I remember being somewhat overwhelmed by the frenetic activity of her large, extended family's boisterous gift opening tradition. My family had five people, hers had over forty. My family went in turns, opening one gift at a time around the circle. Hers was a mad free-for-all of people opening all of their gifts at will, and often included tossing wrapping paper wads at each other, with loud conversation and thanks over it all.
I don't remember what she got me, but I do remember what I got for her. It was a stuffed bear with a comical facial expression. She still has it. It's a little worse for wear, but still in decent shape.
There are no Christmas weddings or engagements on either side, so that aspect isn't something we celebrate at this point in time. In the future, who knows?
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2012 by Daniel G. Dillman
Showing posts with label gifts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gifts. Show all posts
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Monday, December 10, 2012
Advent Calendar - Dec 10th
December 10 – Christmas Gifts
What were your favorite gifts, both to receive and to give? Are there specific gift-giving traditions among your family or ancestors?
My theory of gift giving is that the gift should be something the receiver would want (obviously), something they will use, but something that they either cannot afford to get for themselves or something they would not just run out and get. Maybe they think it's too expensive, or not practical. Doesn't mean they don't want it, just that they haven't convinced themselves to buy it for themselves, or can't afford it.
Sweaters are a no-no. Socks and underwear are right out! Generally, clothing does not fit my idea of a gift. Clothing is a practical thing one needs on a daily basis and should buy one's self as needed. Household appliances don't generally fit this, either, as they tend to imply doing housework, which pretty much no one enjoys that much. However, a particularly special item might be acceptable in some cases. This is hard to explain for something so clear in my mind!
For kids, toys are an obvious choice. Not the only choice, though. For instance, if a boy is in Cub or Boy Scouts, camping gear would be a great gift idea. A gift should be for something a person likes to do, not something they have to do. A new pair of shoes might not be a good gift, but a new pair of ski boots might!
My family didn't have any special gift traditions other than letting each kid open one gift on Christmas Eve. That was more to get us to stop pestering the parents than any particular tradition. My in-laws have a tradition of one or more anonymous gifts showing up from "The Elf". Usually it's somewhat of a gag gift, though not usually junk or useless. It's something to make the receiver spend the rest of the day trying to figure out who "The Elf" might actually be.
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2012 by Daniel G. Dillman
What were your favorite gifts, both to receive and to give? Are there specific gift-giving traditions among your family or ancestors?
My theory of gift giving is that the gift should be something the receiver would want (obviously), something they will use, but something that they either cannot afford to get for themselves or something they would not just run out and get. Maybe they think it's too expensive, or not practical. Doesn't mean they don't want it, just that they haven't convinced themselves to buy it for themselves, or can't afford it.
Sweaters are a no-no. Socks and underwear are right out! Generally, clothing does not fit my idea of a gift. Clothing is a practical thing one needs on a daily basis and should buy one's self as needed. Household appliances don't generally fit this, either, as they tend to imply doing housework, which pretty much no one enjoys that much. However, a particularly special item might be acceptable in some cases. This is hard to explain for something so clear in my mind!
For kids, toys are an obvious choice. Not the only choice, though. For instance, if a boy is in Cub or Boy Scouts, camping gear would be a great gift idea. A gift should be for something a person likes to do, not something they have to do. A new pair of shoes might not be a good gift, but a new pair of ski boots might!
My family didn't have any special gift traditions other than letting each kid open one gift on Christmas Eve. That was more to get us to stop pestering the parents than any particular tradition. My in-laws have a tradition of one or more anonymous gifts showing up from "The Elf". Usually it's somewhat of a gag gift, though not usually junk or useless. It's something to make the receiver spend the rest of the day trying to figure out who "The Elf" might actually be.
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2012 by Daniel G. Dillman
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Genealogy Oriented Gifts
It's Saturday Night, and time once again for Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun!
Randy chose to gift the Spirit of Genealogy to his recipient. I think almost every genealogy nut would choose the same! We'd all like to have someone we can pass our research and data to when we're gone. We'd all like some help with the research while we're still here!
But duplicating his choice would be too easy... So, I would choose to gift to my parents, each and separately, a well-produced volume of family history and genealogy data for their lines.
My father's mother is the one who gave me the genealogy bug. Her patrilineal line is well documented in a book published back in the early part of the 20th century. Her matrilineal side is not as well documented, but still fairly well fleshed out. My father's father's line is a different story. I've broken several brick walls in it, but I'd really like to get it better documented and cited.
My mother's side is altogether different. Due to a number of factors, the documentation on her lines is sparse. Some of the family was moving fairly often, and things like documentation and photographs get lost in moves. Some were just too busy living to keep records and such. I still have a number of brick walls on that side.
But if we're talking what would I like to give, that would be a great choice!
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2011 by Daniel G. Dillman
Are you done Christmas shopping yet? Put the wrapping paper down, and step up to your keyboard. It's Saturday Night, and time for some Genealogy Fun!!
Rev up the olde thynking cap and cue up the Mission Impossible music - your mission should you decide to accept it - keeping with the Christmas theme - is:
1) Pick out a genealogy-oriented gift for someone you know, admire, appreciate or love. It could be for a family member, someone in the genealogy community, or a friend or colleague. Describe your genealogy gift to them? [Note: you don't have to actually gift them, although it would be a nice thing to do!]
2) Tell us about it in a blog post on your own blog, in a comment to this blog post, or in a comment on Facebook or Google Plus.
Randy chose to gift the Spirit of Genealogy to his recipient. I think almost every genealogy nut would choose the same! We'd all like to have someone we can pass our research and data to when we're gone. We'd all like some help with the research while we're still here!
But duplicating his choice would be too easy... So, I would choose to gift to my parents, each and separately, a well-produced volume of family history and genealogy data for their lines.
My father's mother is the one who gave me the genealogy bug. Her patrilineal line is well documented in a book published back in the early part of the 20th century. Her matrilineal side is not as well documented, but still fairly well fleshed out. My father's father's line is a different story. I've broken several brick walls in it, but I'd really like to get it better documented and cited.
My mother's side is altogether different. Due to a number of factors, the documentation on her lines is sparse. Some of the family was moving fairly often, and things like documentation and photographs get lost in moves. Some were just too busy living to keep records and such. I still have a number of brick walls on that side.
But if we're talking what would I like to give, that would be a great choice!
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2011 by Daniel G. Dillman
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Advent Calendar - December 10, Christmas Gifts
December 10 – Christmas Gifts
What were your favorite gifts, both to receive and to give? Are there specific gift-giving traditions among your family or ancestors?
I don't recall having a favorite gift in either direction. My philosophy on gifts is that it should be something the person wants, not necessarily something they need. This means a vacuum cleaner is probably not a gift, but a snowblower might be. A razor is probably not a gift, but a scanner or tablet computer might be. An exception to this rule might be for wedding gifts, where the gift is probably best if it's both a want and a need.
My in-laws have a tradition where a random gift will show up with someone's name on it from "The Elf". It might be a gag gift, and in fact often is, but it's usually something that is also useful or decorative. The trick is, then, to try to guess who The Elf is. Not everyone gets a gift from The Elf, usually only one or two per year are found.
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2011 by Daniel G. Dillman
What were your favorite gifts, both to receive and to give? Are there specific gift-giving traditions among your family or ancestors?
I don't recall having a favorite gift in either direction. My philosophy on gifts is that it should be something the person wants, not necessarily something they need. This means a vacuum cleaner is probably not a gift, but a snowblower might be. A razor is probably not a gift, but a scanner or tablet computer might be. An exception to this rule might be for wedding gifts, where the gift is probably best if it's both a want and a need.
My in-laws have a tradition where a random gift will show up with someone's name on it from "The Elf". It might be a gag gift, and in fact often is, but it's usually something that is also useful or decorative. The trick is, then, to try to guess who The Elf is. Not everyone gets a gift from The Elf, usually only one or two per year are found.
This and all other articles on this blog are © copyright 2011 by Daniel G. Dillman
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