Okay, so 'Tis the Season, Right? 'Tis not the season for Re-gifting. Well, turns out, it is.
Bath Salts
Nobody really wants bath salts. Nobody really uses bath salts. Nobody has time for a bath. Bath salts never really melt. They just float around on top of the water or sink to the bottom of the tub, making it uncomfortable to move around. I think that there have only really been a few bottles of bath salts ever purchased and they just keep getting passed around from friend to friend. The bottles may get used once but never again because the crunchy pebbles do not relax you. If anything, they stress you out. First, they won't melt. Second, they hurt your bottom. Third, they are supposed to de-stress but the end up "distressing" the user. Forth, since they never melt, you have to clean the tub and rake the granules down the drain. Last, you have to keep the bottle of bath salts visible in your bathroom, just in case your friend ever needs to use the upstairs bathroom in the master bedroom so that they can possibly, maybe see that you appreciate their gift. Yes, the bottle is dusty and only one scoop has been used but what if Martha shows up to your house and wants to use your bathroom, even though there are 2 other bathrooms in your home and one is downstairs?? They must be on display!!
Christmas Mugs
Doesn't everyone already have 15 odd Christmas mugs in their cabinet already? If you come to my house in July and want a cup of coffee, you will probably drink it from one of our Christmas mugs. There is a Santa one. A snowflake one. A couple of tall snowmen mugs. One with an elf. I can't even find my real coffee mugs because of all of the Christmas mugs in my cabinet. If you are buying me a Christmas mug, go ahead and buy an entire set so that everyone can have the same mug to drink from.
A Single Christmas Ornament
At our age, we are all funny about our Christmas trees. Some people have one Christmas tree and some have 15 but we have our decorations for all of our trees carefully planned out already. Strategically, placed blue and silver trees. A kitchen tree with food items. Our children's tree with all of the ornaments that they have made or collected over the years. Our main tree with all our finest collections of ornaments and bows and such. We don't want a single Christmas ornament to have to hang on the back of the tree!! Yes, that is where a single, but nice, Christmas ornament goes. The dreaded back of the tree.
A Scented Candle
Everyone loves for their home to smell good but that one scented candle that has sat on your bar for the past year, is not the perfect last minute hostess gift. You know that it is dusty. You know that you have dusted off an unlit candle and put it in a used gift bag before. Admit it. Scented candles are pretty and smell good to some people but most people get a headache from a scented candle. Plus, if you are serving food, a scented candle is not a good idea. It changes the flavor of the food because of the sense of smell. Now if you have a room full of people who have mutant noses that have no more sense of smell, feel free, but please spare the rest of us the pain of the migraine from your scented candle. (Now, I am preaching to myself here because I have one candle in my bathroom that is scented and I do light it when people are coming over just in case anyone needs to, ya know, do a quick #2 in the downstairs bathroom that everyone else is using.)
Best Friends Picture Frame
Okay, so everyone has more than one friend who thinks that they are your best friend. When you give Martha a framed photo of yourself and her on vacation together in a "Best Friends" picture frame, you know that will hurt Tara's feelings if she sees that. Maybe you just want to lay claim to Martha. Maybe you want to give ole Tara a hint. Me and Martha are Best Friends and you, Tara, are the other friend. WE are "Best Friends"!! Plus, you just added to Martha's list of items to dust.
"Basically, anything that needs to be fed, watered or dusted is a bad idea."-Susan Radford (The new Emily Post) This includes plants, pets or picture frames. Susan also says that any kind of food or alcohol is proper. Anyone who knows Susan knows that she isn't kidding. You may never drink the bottle of Johnny Walker but someone who visits your home in the next 10 years may want a shot of Johnny Walker. That makes it proper, unless the person that you give it to is a recovering alcoholic. Then you may have made a horrible decision in bringing your dusty bottle of Johnny Walker.
Good ideas:
Who doesn't like a lantern? Who doesn't like a lantern with goodies inside of it?
Another great idea, especially if you are staying overnight. This idea lets the host know that they do not have to get up early in the morning and make a big breakfast. It will be of great relief to the host that you won't be a high maintenance guest.
This is a great idea, especially if you are visiting friends or family who do not drink alcohol. You bring your own, drink it when you feel is proper and leave the beautiful bottle as the gift to the friend or family member. If someone is opposed to alcohol for themselves for religious reasons or for health reasons, this will keep your host from feeling like they have to go and buy alcohol for you to drink.
To me this is the best gift ever!!! It shows me that you are willing to eat off of a paper plate and that you don't expect the fine china to be pulled down from the top shelf. The fine china hasn't been used since...well...never.
I hope these tips are useful and that we are all mindful of others during the holiday season. Make sure that any guest who has a food allergy is accommodated. If you are a strict vegan, bring your own dish of food to share. (You are usually the minority.) If you are at a meal or party where a prayer is said and you don't believe in God, bow your head anyway. (It's the right thing to do.) If you are hosting a party, make sure to have something to drink without alcohol in it. (You never know what someone has been through.) Be mindful of anyone who has lost a family member in the past year. (Don't go on and on about how great your Mom is to a friend who has just lost their Mom.) If you don't love your Mother-in-law, invite her to your house anyway!!! (She may be lonely and you can stand anyone for a couple of hours. Plus, she probably longs to see her son or daughter.) Remember that life is too short to hurt feelings or to waste time feeling hurt. We have to let things go sometimes. We can't change the world but we can change how we react to the world.
Happy Holidays.
Merry Christmas.
Happy Hanukkah.
Happy Everything.
No comments:
Post a Comment