Gifts you don’t want under your tree
packing. Decorations specific to every tree and room are boxed together.
Christmas comes with a number of traditions for the Penfold family of five. ‘‘On Christmas Eve, we put on a brand new pyjamas and settle in to watch the Princess Bride over platters laden with cheese, berries and crackers. That is our favourite movie. Skot sang the theme song at our wedding 22 years ago and now we all watch the movie every Christmas with our children.’’
Often, the Penfolds open their home to friends and neighbours, raising funds for local causes.
‘‘People love to come and see the interior and we sell goodies so we can donate the proceeds to people less fortunate.’’
As for the Christmas menu, there is always a table laden with food though not all traditional fare. ‘‘Skot adores sausages and steak. We’re not big on fruit cake so dessert is usually a galette with lots of fresh berries.’’
We’ve all been there. Tearing open that eagerly awaited present and having to paste the smile on our faces once its contents are revealed. Here’s our non definitive list of gifts to avoid to ensure the smile is genuine.
Exercise equipment
Unless the recipient is a fitness fanatic, dumbbells, Fitbits and sports bras all send the same message. And when you’re tucking into your fifth rumball and trying to nab the seat closest to the cheese plate, ‘‘do some exercise, fatty’’ is not the message you want to hear.
Cleaning implements
Vacuum cleaners, irons and cleaning products make truly terrible Christmas gifts. They should be paid for out of the usual household budget, not the Christmas budget. Christmas is a time for showing your loved one how much they mean to you, not how much shiny floors mean to you. inflatable pool you’ve bought our kids who are far too young to swim in it unsupervised
anyway.
Noisy toys
On the subject of kids, drum kits, recorders and anything that plays loud dinky tunes should also be struck off your gift list. For most parents, Christmas marks the start of a long spell of ‘‘quality’’ time with them and it will be noisy enough. Also, don’t buy them anything messy, hard to store or so full of sugar it makes your teeth ache looking at it.
Live animals
Every year there are pleas from the SPCA – don’t buy pets for Christmas. January often sees an influx of unwanted pets being taken in, which is heartbreaking for staff and often the owners. While the squeal of delight at the puppy with the bow around its neck might be a cute moment, there’s 15 long years of responsible dogownership after that.