Present fun..

I pride myself in giving good thoughtful presents. No I dont have loads of money and I am not lavishing all my friends with exotic vacations and gift cards for one night stands with Calvin Klein models, even though deep down that is what they want.

I am just very observant and if you spend any amount of time with anyone, you get to know that person, and subtly they give you clues on what they want or need. Even though I love receiving gifts, the smile a person gets when they open a good gift is priceless.

That is one of the reasons I don't like gift cards. Unless specifically requested for a reason (like amazon ones, so I could trim down the 192 books on my wish list), gift cards seems like the person forgot about it, and at the last minute grabbed something.

Well my parents have decided to stress me to a maximum. I listen to them and know what they like and yet I cant come up with a good gift for them. They don't really have any hobbies except watching movies, going out to dinner, grilling, kitchen gadgets, wine and cheese and now the harley.
He has everything he could possibly want to have a better movie experience at home than at the theater, since he is a really good cook there is very few restaurants he likes and will enjoy without winning and complaining about the food. If he gets one more grilling set, he will spork someone. If they get one more kitchen gadget, they will have to start cooking in the living room. All that is left is wine and cheese and harley. Sad to say the last gift they got was a wine and cheese basket :(

My father has hit a midlife crisis at 51, and went out and purchased a used harley, and then sold that one and bought a brand new one. With it he got the boots to go with it, the jacket, the shirts, the nice cool helmets, and even borrowed my sewing machine to sew on a nice harley patch on the back of his leather jacket. This new hobby is time consuming. Before they use to keep the kids the whole weekend, now they take them on friday night and give them back Sunday afternoon because late sunday they have to go for a ride. They have taken trips to Key West, Port charlotte, St Augustine and are even planning a cross country one to go see the Grand Canyon.
Even though, I am extremely afraid of motorcycles (I lost a cousin in a bike accident when I was younger) and there is a clause in my marriage that states dh is not allowed to get a motorcycle ever. Even though he was well aware on when he signed it, its been a clause he has been fighting for 10 years on it. I still haven't broken ;) While, I am deathly afraid and have prayed more for their safety in the past couple months than I did all their lives, I am very happy my dad got one and my mom loves riding it. They just look so cute in their harley gear.

But anyways, back to the present giving. Every holiday or birthday has become a nightmare. I have absolutely no clue what to give my parents. Their harley hobby is too expensive....uhh $75 for one harley shirt?? Are you kidding me??

I have searched high and low on what to get them and have listened to them and racked my brain. They have absolutely everything they could possibly want and what they don't have, I cant get it for them without a small loan.

I have resorted to asking them what they want, and like every parents they say the norm.."Don't spend money on me I don't need anything save your money". Well that is no fun. You are taking away my joy of buying a thoughtful present.

So back to the drawing board we go, me racking my brain and coming up empty.

I personally think I should start buying off the wall gifts, so maybe next holiday, they will tell me. Reverse psychology kind of deal.

I know buying my dad a massage will take care of that. Even though he could really use one since he has back issues, my dad is very old school and going to a massage is right up there with getting your nails ripped off. No fun at all. There is no way he will let anyone rub him down. If I add some mud or oil to the package, oh man. He will try grounding me until next week.

And for my mom, conservative one that she is , a nice pretty see through lingerie with some hooker heels, will freak her out and make her blush until next week.

Unless I come up with a very very good idea soon, I really think I am going to have to resort to giving them a gift card, or even worse another wine/cheese basket. How sad is that??

At least I can count on my husband to give me the high I get from giving a good present. He just received his box for father's day, and in it was a hand held portable ac. How awesome am I?? The perfect gift for someone that is sitting inside a office in 109 degree temps with a crappy ac that keeps shutting off when its about 92 degrees inside. I couldn't see his face, but the excitement in his voice, was all I needed to know I hit jackpot with that one.

Are your family members hard to shop for??

Love A