I told my family several years ago that I did not want any 'stuff', nothing they could go to the store and buy, nothing that has to be dusted around.
All I want from anyone on any gift-giving occasion when a person feels the urge to 'gift' is
Time. So if you are thinking about what a person like me would enjoy receiving, now you know.
If you want to make something good to eat, and call me or bring it over for us to share and laugh together, that would be great - but please not anything that I will have to find some place to 'put', and then have to pick up and dust under.
And the more I think about it: the more I have decided that Time is the best gift any of us can give to another: just your undivided attention - lunch, or a cup of hot tea, or a walk in the park together.
I've heard from a very reliable source that 'food' (of the home-made variety) is the perfect gift, because you devote your time to making something tasty/special, and then give it to someone you care about enough to want to charm their tastebuds, see their eyes light up, watch them smile and say: "Ooh, wow! Can I have more???"
There were some years when I spent hours and days in the kitchen making treats to give to people that I never got a response from when Paul had to provide gifts for business. Devoted lots of effort to planning, shopping, cooking and then cleaning for holiday parties. Thankful that era is over - but look back and remember how much of my time was spent in trying to do something different that people would really enjoy, and cannot recall hearing more than a 'thanks' when they walked out the door. So, in the future, my efforts will definitely be aimed at people who really express their delight for homebaked goodies...in a Meg Ryan way!
... so there are exceptions to the Rule of Time...
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