Holiday gifts for neighbors?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Omg no please just stop. It’s not about the money - but this season is just death by a thousand cuts of “to-dos.” Make it stop.

+1

[Anonymous]

OP, it’s a nice idea but for me, if my neighbors gave me a gift they’d be giving me stress, because then I’d have to reciprocate and thus spend time and energy trying to figure out what to get them. Just give a card and at most a few cookies if you’re already baking.

[Anonymous]

Ugh, no. Just stop

[Anonymous]

A handful of my real life friends have moved into the neighborhood, so I make them and the nice neighbor across the street that keeps up with my mail/packages a box of homemade cookies the week before Christmas.

[Anonymous]

We usually do something small like home made cookies and/or a packaged treat for the 3-5 neighbors closest.

[Anonymous]

OK, total honesty: I thank people who bake us cookies, etc. (so nice that they thought of us!) and then quietly throw the baked goods/food in the trash. No joke. I think a lot of people aren't comfortable eating food cooked in aquaintances'/coworkers/neighbors kitchens. Plus...more cookies?! I get it that they do it to be nice and appreciate the thoughtfulness but honestly wish they wouldn't spend the time, waste the food ingredients and money, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you do holiday gifts for neighbors? Or just provide a card?

I make cookies and treats for neighbors, in little tins or bags.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OK, total honesty: I thank people who bake us cookies, etc. (so nice that they thought of us!) and then quietly throw the baked goods/food in the trash. No joke. I think a lot of people aren't comfortable eating food cooked in aquaintances'/coworkers/neighbors kitchens. Plus...more cookies?! I get it that they do it to be nice and appreciate the thoughtfulness but honestly wish they wouldn't spend the time, waste the food ingredients and money, etc.

You're a jerk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OK, total honesty: I thank people who bake us cookies, etc. (so nice that they thought of us!) and then quietly throw the baked goods/food in the trash. No joke. I think a lot of people aren't comfortable eating food cooked in aquaintances'/coworkers/neighbors kitchens. Plus...more cookies?! I get it that they do it to be nice and appreciate the thoughtfulness but honestly wish they wouldn't spend the time, waste the food ingredients and money, etc.

You must be one of those people who find the 'no real eggs, butter, milk or other actual food items were used in the baking of' supermarket cookies with shelf life of 150 years more palatable than home made cookies.

Btw, oven temperatures much lower than those we use for pretty much all cooking or baking kill the bacteria and viruses within minutes.

[Anonymous]

We give cards to several neighbors. We're better friends with our next door neighbors and kids are pretty good friends. Sometimes we exchange cookie plates but its not every year. If we get it together to make cookies to give away we always give them some. It would feel awkward if they gave us a gift.

[Anonymous]

I will probably host something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. I don’t know my neighbors. I’ve only lived in this building for a decade.

Your post made me laugh. We did a gesture our first Christmas here for our immediate neighbors and not a single person said thank you or reciprocated. It's been 10 years since. I don't think most people live in the storybook neighborhoods anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you do holiday gifts for neighbors? Or just provide a card?

We have one neighbor in her 80's and I bake extra cookies, and various nut breads for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I don’t know my neighbors. I’ve only lived in this building for a decade.

Your post made me laugh. We did a gesture our first Christmas here for our immediate neighbors and not a single person said thank you or reciprocated. It's been 10 years since. I don't think most people live in the storybook neighborhoods anymore.

If a neighbor made a gesture I would of course say thank you. But ... I'm never going to make the first move. I keep to myself.

[Anonymous]

I'm close with a number of our neighbors. Five of us do a gift exchange every Christmas. We draw names so it's only one small gift and we try to tailor it to the person. Several of them are the type to hand out small individual gifts to a group of us. I'm not that type but I thank them. No homemade cookies, though. The ones who do gifts for all do something like holiday soap, candles, and knit gloves.