Since I am an appalling gift-giver (forgetful, stingy, un-crafty, not-punctual, and lazy), and since I have just received the best gift(s) ever, I have some tips for how to be a good gift-giver. (Sorry, Tara, I had to open them all before my birthday because, a) I was too impatient, and b) I needed to know what they were for this post). I’ll list the basic tenets first (many of these apply to other aspects of life) and then show how Tara’s gift-giving is just SUPERNAL (heavenly, celestial, divine).
How To Be a Good Gift-Giver
- Know your recipient
- Plan ahead
- Include gift receipts
- Good things come in (multiple) small packages
- Select gifts that your recipient needs but won’t indulge in for herself
- Presentation, Presentation, Presentation
- Select items you would honestly love to receive
Two days before my birthday (my 30th, woe, woe), I got a box in the mail. I opened it and found six individually and differently wrapped gifts of odd shapes and sizes (numbers 2, 4, 6). The first thing I opened was something I recognized by weight and shape, and was, as I IM’d Tara minutes later, the sweetest thing anyone had ever sent me. It was two cans of
caffeine-free Mountain Dew (number 1). (I’d take a picture of the actual cans, but, alas, they are already gone. Such is the fleeting nature of pleasure, I guess).
My next (and smallest) gift was some lip balm … ok, couldn’t continue until I went out to my car to retrieve it and applied another coat. mmmmm. Just as Tara stated in her review, it smells good, feels good, and looks good. Who could ask for anything more? (numbers 5, 7)
Then came a dvd of selected Food Network episodes. Now I remember her asking if there were any shows in particular I missed since we no longer have cable, but I was not suspicous at the time — probably because she followed number 2. There were also two new romance books by one of my favorite writers, Nora Roberts (love her alter ego J.D. Robbs too). Dilemma: I’ve already read these two books, and don’t need them for my permanent collection. Solution: number 3, which she also followed, comes in super-handy.
The final two gifts, which I just opened, where a pair of flip-flops (my favorite thing about Florida is never having to wear socks) and a T-shirt which … well, let me just say that I wish I knew my way around an iron-on transfer! A few notes: I love t-shirts (and short sleeves), green is my favorite color right now, and it fits perfectly. And it’s so personal and thoughtful. Man, I’m getting teary-eyed all over again.
I think the saying is “to know her is to love her,” but I feel well-loved from such evidence that I am well-known. Thanks, Tara! (I better get thinking about what to do in October; I’m pretty sure last year I sent — hmmmm — hope I sent something).
I should also give credit to my always-generous parents and in-laws, and to Marcy for asking if I needed a copy of Some Kind of Wonderful, and Dick for giving me a podcast and some dark chocolate for our anniversary. Dick’s podcast was great. He said he’d been planning a post similar to the one I wrote, so he had to make his audio to be different. I’ll post soon about how romantic it is to have an anniversary dinner with three hooligans, one of whom cannot be torn away from her potty.
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Happy Birthday, Shannon! Yes, you have discovered (and the rest of the world through your blog) what an awesome, great, fabulous, and loving friend my wife, Tara is.
That’s great! There’s a hat on CafePress I want that says “I’m Blogging This.”
One of gifts I’ve every recieved was a stapler, from Barb. No I wasn’t in dire need of a stapler or anything, but Office Space is my favorite movie, and this is Milton’s red metallic Swingline stapler!
Kudos to Tara! What an awesome shirt! I’m too lazy to send a package, so I’m glad someone else did! Since you don’t need SKOW on DVD do you need AofGG? If not, I’ll buy you something when you get here!!! We can leave the kids with dads and go shopping!