We gave:
an audio CD of Time Traveler’s Wife and a handmade cotton scarf for the english mum
an audio CD of Personal History and a crystal lightcatcher for the stateside mum
two books by Daschiel Hamlett and Raymond Chandler to the stateside dad
Dylan’s latest Bootleg series and some stemless wineglasses for the english dad
a Switching to the Mac guide and a prosperity frog (and some candy) to the stateside brother
a cute mug and some dessert plates to the (newly homeowning) english sister
For Stuart, I gave:
an awesome handmade wool tweed newsboy cap
a tee shirt with a sewer cover on it that he’s still trying to ascertain why he got it (it’s funny!)
a japanese designed screwdriver set from MoMA design store
penguin boxers
This year, I got:
three Eddie Izzard DVDs from Stuart (YEAH!)
handmade soap from Stuart
a beautiful kelly green cotton cotton scarf from Stuart
my favourite Van Cleef & Appel perfume from my mother
an 160GB external hard drive from my parents
a kelly green cashmere sweater from my parents
more books than you could shake a stick at from my brother (James Frey, Zadie Smith, John Le Carre and Jane Austen)
the Essential Johhny Cash from my brother
Raymond Chandler, Daschiell Hamlett and Joan Didion from my english mum and dad
a beautiful art deco inspired silver necklace and earrings from my english mum and dad
a Lexar Jump Drive from my english mum and dad
new Sony headphones from my english mum and dad
We (the married state) got:
a new stainless steel soap pump from my parents
a new spice rack from my parents
550-thread count sheets from my parents
a new onion chopper from my parents
a book of penguins from Jen
I write this list almost every year because I like remembering what I was able to think up for my family as much as I love getting all their thoughtful surprises. But what I really got this year was another precious few hours with my family, laughing and surprising each other and delighting in the awesomely gift-oriented thing that is christmas. Gifts!
i make toys but i’ve got aspirations
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a bowl of penguins? even more fun than a box of pandas!
Did the Time Traveler’s Wife go over well with your British mum? I’ve been thinking about getting that (in book form) for my own mother but couldn’t decide if she would like it.
I got a bajillion books too, including the new Zadie Smith and the new Joan Didion. Hooray for reading!!! And how amazing is the Didion book? That woman is my idol.