With Christmas right around the corner I thought it'd be fun to know 2 things! (Since we haven't had a Q of the D for awhile I figure we can ask 2 questions in one post)

What was the best gift you have ever given?
What was the best gift you have ever received?

the best christmas gift i've received was a sheet of audrey hepburn stamps. i love that when my friend joanna saw them, she thought of me and bought them. i already had some, but i loved getting them from her.

the best gift i've given? that's a harder one. my grandfather always smiles really big when i give him his yearly banana bread... maybe that's it?

For good friends of mine, I gave them a 12x18 framed print of their 2 yr old daughter. Lorraine was crying profusely when she opened it.

Best gift received? Artist's box set from my mom and dad 2 years ago. That was the year my ex and I separated, and I went through a rough time. I made a list of "100 things to do before I die", and learning to paint and draw was on there. Unfortunately, I have been so busy with other things, I have not gotten to do much with it yet. Maybe in 2006.

My best Christmas gift was when the last of the first three Star Wars came out (Return of the Jedi) and my mom and Dad bought my brother and I stuffed ewoks for Christmas!

Given -- Probably would be the present I gave my wife 2 years ago. I gave her VIP seats to all events at the 2006 US National Figure Skating Championships to be held in St. Louis (which will also be the Olympic qualifier). Maria, my wife, is big time into figure skating so that gift (although yet to be realized) was quite a hit (both with my wife...and to my credit card!).

Rec'd -- could have been this pedal car fire engine I received in 1970...my mom says I used to ride it 2 or 3 blocks away from home (guess I had an important fire to put out...or, actually, some cute pig-tailed 3 year old to impress with my wicked awesome firetruck...yeah, that was probably it... )


Or, could have been the plastic pinball machine that I received in 1975 -- where I learned the lesson that the picture in the catalog can make something look much cooler than in reality. (figured a bunch of wedding photographers could relate to that... )

Or, could have been the Spirit of '76 HO guage train set that I received in 1976 -- a gift that allowed me to bond, albeit briefly, with my normally very distant / silent grandfather. (He was a man of few words...obviously, I take after my grandmother!)

Or, could have been the portable typewriter that my mom gave me in 1982 or 83 (when I was in high school and had so many term papers to type) -- a gift that was so very disappointing at the time...but eventually taught me the humble lesson that "you can't always get what you want...but sometimes you get what you need." (...hmmm...Rolling Stones song come to mind)

BUT...

I'd have to say, without a doubt, the best Christmas present I ever recevied was the positive pregnancy test result my wife got on Christmas Eve in 2002 (after several miscarriages)...eventually that + EPT became my daughter Katia -- who after 8 surgeries, 100 nights in the hospital (cumulative, spread out over the last 28 months), and nearly $400,000 of CIGNA's money, has truly proven to be a miracle in our lives.

Okay, DJ, why do you do this to me? Give me something to write about and WATCH OUT!

(Thank goodness Norton AV scan just kicked off...I need to go spend some time with my kids before bed!)

Given- A trip to Chicago, Jackie Kennedy exhibit, shopping, and a very expensive meal for my best friend! This was the best one because I got to go too!! Or a prom dress that I made(won't do that again!!) for my sister!!

Recieved A DVD player(when they first came out!!) or rollerblades when I was 10! I LOVE giving soooooo much better than getting!!



That's great!!!!!

I brought my mom and sis opal bracelets back from Austrailia. I was there over Christmas so they were Christmas gifts/ souveniors. They both have birthdays in October so that makes them extra special.

Recieved... hmmm. can't think of anything.

Given: This actually was not a Christmas gift, I think I gave it to my friend for her birthday. When I was in college a huge fire wiped out hundreds of homes in Santa Barbara, including the neighborhood I had lived in. My mom had moved a year before, so while my old house burned, we weren't living there anymore. One of my best friends lost everything. The only thing she was able to grab was her riding boots as she ran out of the house, even had to leave one of their cars behind because they didn't have time to look for the keys. We had been good friends since 7th grade and pretty much my memories were her memories. I even had a lot of pictures of her riding horses and showing them, which was her passion, even though I didn't ride, because my sister rode a the same stable as her. I went through all of my old negatives (my family had mocked me for years about keeping them and tried to get me to throw them out. The rest of my family isn't really into photos ). I spent several days finding the ones that documented her life. I had pictures of her proms, graduation, riding victories, parties we had, all kinds of family and school activities, even holidays and vacations our families had spent together, and a lot of fun goofy ones. I had prints made of everything I could find and put them all in an album for her. I was able to give her a little part of her life and memories back.

The best gift I have ever received was Jesus Christ dying on the cross in my place!

Lynn,

That is so cool you did that for your friend. I bet she was overwhelmingly thrilled!

Can't think of any thing I've given right now...I did give free wedding services this year to a couple at our church. She has followed my work for years and when her oldest daugther was getting married, priced my services, bu couldn't afford me. I told her not to worry, pay me what she had budgeted and I'd do it anyway. Had to I couldn't have stand to attend and see what she had gotten with her $900.

But received? I'll have to think about this one. There's been so many good ones.

Given - Goats to people in Africa through World Vision
Recieved - Tickets to my first NHL (Winnipeg Jets baby!!) game with my dad when I was 4. Coolest thing ever!

With Christmas around the corner again --- love to start up this topic again-
- however --- would love to know the BEST gift and WORST gift you ever received.

For me it was-
Best : when I was 12 years old I got this super cool Optimus Prime - it was about 12 inches tall. I absolutely loved it and still remember opening it up and how excited I was to unwrap it and play with it.

Worst: When i was 15 - my aunt gave me a double pack of Shampoo and Conditioner.

i think i posted my best gift on here a few years ago and it would still stand... a sheet of stamps.

but my worst? let's see, it could be the pancake pan (i don't really care for pancakes). it could be the scissor set. it could be the partially used pack of greeting cards. it could be the fancy travel facial tissues.

but i think it might have to be the teal sweatsuit covered in teddy bears and stop signs, surrounded by glittery gold puffy paint exclaiming 'don't do drugs' 'be cool, stay in school' and the like.

Optimus Rules! I had one too when I was around 6 years old. I got it when I was really, really sick... I remember the smell of that new toy still. Ahhhh, memories.

But my BEST gift ever was my Nikon n50 kit. My parents blew the Christmas budget on my dream. My sisters got crappy gifts that year. And still hold a little resentment towards me. Thanks Mom & Dad! You picked the right gift!

My worst gift - a rubber chicken. It was a joke. I was a senior in HS and my dad thought it would be funny to wrap this rubber chicken in a massive box (I thought it was a tv or something). He even dressed the think in a top-hat and coat.

I think that the best gift I've given & received are all rolled into one - I gave birth to my first son and the first grand child on both sides on Christmas night 1991. It was a problematic pregnancy with me being on bedrest for close to 8 weeks and we spent those being scared and worried. We were able to go to my parents an hour away for Christmas, my water broke during christmas dinner and during the melee my 'little' brother a Marine who was home on leave from the Middle East was left to clean up dinner! Although Colin is going through some growing pains now and is facing growing up and rebelling as all teenagers do, I still think he's the best christmas present I've ever gotten.

Too Funny... wish my worst was a gag gift... i had to smile and act like I loved it...Can you explain how a sheet of stamps is the best gift... just curious... - were they collector stamps? do you collect stamps?

i sure can.

i am not a gifts person, like i said. which makes it really hard to buy me gifts (which is part of the reason i wish people would just not buy them). because i don't like a lot of extra junk and usually, if i need something or want something really bad, i'll get it, whether i'm able to purchase it right away or save for it. so i don't usually need/want anything anyway.

anyway, my friend joanna was at the post office mailing a package and she saw this sheet of audrey hepburn stamps. she knows i'm a big fan. and because they made her think of me, she got them for me. i loved them! i actually already owned two sheets i was working on using, but just the fact that she saw them, and knew that it would let me know that she thought of me in her daily life (we didn't ever get to see each other...) was what made the gift special. she could have given me a pack of gum and it would have been the same. it's not about the actual gift.

make sense?

That's awesome.

It is the THOUGHT that counts.

Julie - that is awesome. That would be an extra special gift.

Given Engagement ring
Received Answer

sad. That is, if I read your response correctly.

Not really the answer was yes.


Then again it was about twenty odd years ago and we are still not married but it was still the best.

hmmm - details please?

Pete's a commitaphobe.......




best recieved: Smash up derby Hotwheels set just last year
best given: Calvin and Hobbes Omnibus to my wife - she's ambivalent to Calvin and Hobbes, me, I love it!

worst recieved: a new dress (my wifes payback for the infamous Calvin and Hobbes incident of 05)
worst given: Herpies...... ok not really but I'm struggling for an answer and about to take the kids to their swimming lessons so what.....sue me.

No I am not I've only got two legs. Besides I'm ignoring you.

Given:

My hubby and I met in a creative writing class, so the first christmas we shared together I wrote him a whole book that was our own personal love story. I made him cry and he said it was the most amazing gift anyone had ever given him... which is good because it took quite a bit of time to compose!

Received:

Probably my engagement ring... that and one year I got a bow and arrow from my dad that he had in boyscouts, and I was pretty stoked about that!

what? what did you say?? I can't hear you? *fingers in ears* la la la la la la LA LA LA LA LA LA LA


I'm rubber and you're glue, bounces from me and sticks to you........
(contrary to sageajawea's popular opinion I'm actually 11 and three quarters...... not 12 years old!)



whoops - sorry Kadie, that was aimed at 'Thad the Impaler of not yet discovered worlds' not you.

Now your just being childish. * BIG NOSE *

As I am older than you I'm off out for a pint or ten so thank you for making me smile.

p.s. Bring your conkers tomorrow ive got a hundreder

*giggles* mine is sooo much bigger than yours.....and my dads a cop.... so there!

I'm out now.....back to the real thread sorry....