Surprises
Am I the only person who tries not to work out what their presents are before Christmas? I always loved the surprise and the opening of the presents more than the actual gift. When I was little I lived in the kind of area where most people were poor but somehow wound up with £500 worth of presents each year. In my family instead of consoles and computers galore we'd get a set amount to spend from Grandparents and parents - so we could have a larger present or smaller ones. I'd get something like £80 worth of tat just so I'd have more presents to open on the day.

I also loved the whole stocking thing (orange? yes please) and I've somehow managed to make a good run of getting one. I'm 22 and this is the first time I wont be able to blag it - my brother now has a baby so me and my younger sister cant really play on my Mums fear of her kids being grown up anymore.



It also takes me HOURS to choose what to buy people, because I have to know that the openee is going to actually like and be surprised by the present. I hate the whole general gift ideas (body lotion kits, socks, dust catchers, liquor sets, Boots 3 for 2) and I do not do token gestures. One of my Aunts is the queen of token gestures and I'd rather get nothing than another voucher for House of Frasiers.

For my 21st birthday my housemate got me 21 gifts in a kind of pass the parcel set up. A massive box with handmade wrapping paper and then lots of different layers. I think it was partly her knowing me far to well after 4 years of living together, and partly thanks for when I'd told her to get her boyfriend 21 things for his birthday a couple of years earlier.
(ignoramusaurus, Wed 2 Dec 2009, 15:12, 3 replies)

When I was 21...

My friends got me 21 cans of individually wrapped beer and hid them all over the house we were staying at on holiday for the weekend. Every time I found one I had to sit there and drink it. It was awesome.
( Turquoise Hexagon Sun has just dropped acid on, Wed 2 Dec 2009, 15:31, closed)

when my mate turned 21 we got him a silver cigarette case
and rolled 21 joints to go in it.

awesome present
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Wed 2 Dec 2009, 16:52, closed)

That was one of the sections in my *pass the parcel*!
minus silver cigarette box - she did write messages on each spliff.
(ignoramusaurus, Thu 3 Dec 2009, 11:29, closed)