The gift of ingenuity
A good gift need not be expensive, but requires resourcefulness.
COMING from a non-Christian family, the first time I shopped for Christmas gifts for my boyfriend (now husband) and his family, the experience was more anxiety-ridden than anticipatory.
With no previous experience in gift-shopping for these special people, a barrage of questions swirled in my head. Would his sister like a pink or black cardigan? Would a lipstick or perfume do for his mum? Is his brother allergic to nuts in the chocolate? What, his dad loves cigars? What type of cigars should I buy?
Yet, the biggest anxiety was in choosing the right gift for my beau. I remember the drama in searching for his first Christmas present.
The year was 1990. I was in Honolulu for work and had a day left to search for the elusive gift before coming home to Christmas Day.
The shopping haven that Honolulu is, one would have thought that buying gifts would be a breeze. But on my last day there, I was pacing up and down the shops at Ala Moana Center, wringing my hands as I couldn’t decide what to get for him.
Choosing a gift for somebody should be easy. However, this was not just anybody. He was the man I had just fallen in love with, and was dying to impress.
I could have chosen just any shirt, belt, electronic gizmos or EDT, but I wanted something that would make him go, “Wow, this is a girl who reads my heart!”
At the eleventh hour at the airport, as I was heading to the boarding gate, I saw a shop selling coral handicrafts.
A unique seashell lamp at the window display beckoned me. I recalled my boyfriend had just revamped his room.
Instantly, the “this is it!” euphoria hit me. I paid for the lamp and hugged it like a long-lost treasure before catching the plane.
On Christmas day, I was close to hyperventilating when watching my boyfriend unwrap my gift. His reaction was almost Oscar-worthy: “Wow, I don’t know what to say! I just love it! Love it!”
Many Christmases have passed since the first presents were exchanged. From buying Christmas gifts for just him and his family, I have grown to be the gift-bearer to his three dozen extended family members. So, have my gift-shopping skills improved?
Well, I am now a champion in getting presents ready one month before Christmas. But after 25 Christmases together, there is only so much ingenuity in evoking a “wow” from hubby when he opens my gift.
Frankly, we are sometimes too embarrassed to admit that we are sick of the predictable gifts that Christmas is synonymous with. Think chocolates, perfumes, wallet, belts, etc.
So imagine my delight when I stumbled upon an article written by Susan Dominus, sharing her ingenious and pocket-friendly ideas for Christmas presents.
Susan and her husband had the recession to thank for when they started unearthing things (that had been forgotten) in their home and re-inventing them into Christmas presents for each other.
Her husband found an old stereo bought from a street sale but it was not set up as it lacked an antenna. He fixed it and gave it to her for Christmas.
Meanwhile, she found planter pots that were purchased but never used. So she got it potted with fresh plants for Christmas.
Borrowing from Susan Dominus’ idea, I searched my storeroom for something that could be transformed into a great gift (while praying hard it would not be great grief when hubby unwrapped it later).
I found a new Ikea lamp without a bulb but I had no skill or patience to fix it. I saw an Adidas limited edition soccer ball that was half-deflated (but thought hubby would not fancy that at his age). There was a Chinese painting waiting to be framed up but it looked so dated. I was about to give up when I accidentally kicked something.
It was an unopened box of a 2,000-piece jigsaw puzzle of Charlie Brown of Peanuts fame, conducting an orchestra. Hubby was crazy about it two years ago. When he bought it, I had predicted that my king procrastinator would never get started on it, never mind complete it.
True enough, the unopened box gathered dust for months before it got chucked into the storeroom.
As I picked up the box, I had a light bulb moment. How about getting Charlie Brown and his coterie of musicians fixed up? The idea took off when I paid a student who needed extra cash, to do it for me.
She did an excellent job and I now have a novel gift for him. I wait with bated breath, anticipating hubby’s surprised expression when he unwraps it.
In view of the current economic situation, one can be resourceful when it comes to gifts.
A good gift need not be expensive but it requires ingenuity: a potted plant of a favourite flower, handmade soaps, a customised cap, a collage of memorable photos, a digital photo book of holiday photos, or even handmade cookies inside a hand-painted glass jar.
Of course, you can also have a jigsaw puzzle bearing the picture of your loved ones.