Anonymous wrote:It was Christmas morning and our kids just finished opening their presents, left the room and my DW and I were talking about next year having another child (she was 3 months pregnant at the time). I said to her "wouldn't it be great if he had twins to celebrate next year?" She then told me the sonogram confirmed twins. They turned 18 this past summer and while all those children destroyed our marriage, it was by far the best present ever!

Those children didn’t destroy your marriage, lousy parenting did. You reap what you sow.

It was Christmas morning and our kids just finished opening their presents, left the room and my DW and I were talking about next year having another child (she was 3 months pregnant at the time). I said to her "wouldn't it be great if he had twins to celebrate next year?" She then told me the sonogram confirmed twins. They turned 18 this past summer and while all those children destroyed our marriage, it was by far the best present ever!

For many years our gift giving was frustrating because it was hit or miss. Then we made it easy by developing lists but that was pretty boring. Now we don’t exchange gifts and we focus our gift giving on others and it works out great. We are very blessed with what we have and having more isn’t important. We are in our 60’s and all we want is to be healthy and be with our children and grandchildren on Christmas. That’s the best gift!

Anonymous wrote:Ok, I would look at fitness equipment she doesn't have, small stuff like ankle weights with adjustable weights, resistance bands, foam roller, maybe TREX if you have somewhere to hang it, new running watch or Fitbit. Running socks. We've had good luck with D!cks Sporting Goods curbside pickup so you don't have to worry about shipping delays.

Look for a best travel writing of 2021 book list and order from that.

I think experience presents are a bit dicey this year.

I’m a DW and into fitness and I think a nice upgrade to my how gym sounds great. And if you have space for it, maybe a rack for hand weights or a place to hang a yoga mat on the wall so it doesn’t need to be rolled up? And my dream is a big mirror so I can see if I’m using proper technique. Definitely not as nice as a solo staycation but I would still love it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m very high risk for Covid and with Omicron I cancelled our flight home for the second Christmas in a row. I was crushed because all of our kids and grandkids live near each other but airport crowds and a three hour flight scared me. So my husband chartered a plane and we arrived yesterday. I know it was a fortune but I’ve never been happier.

Your husband is amazing. Hope you have a great visit with the family.

If my husband did that for me I’d welcome him to the mile high club! Seriously, you are very lucky to be married to someone who can both afford it and understood how important it was for you to be with your family. It’s safe to say he really loves you.

We both take a day off together for ourselves… get
Massages, eat a lavish meal in peace and watch a movie.

Anonymous wrote:I’m very high risk for Covid and with Omicron I cancelled our flight home for the second Christmas in a row. I was crushed because all of our kids and grandkids live near each other but airport crowds and a three hour flight scared me. So my husband chartered a plane and we arrived yesterday. I know it was a fortune but I’ve never been happier.

Your husband is amazing. Hope you have a great visit with the family.

If you’re going to do flowers, be sure it comes in a nice vase or be sure you have a nice vase, and you add water and arrange them in the vase. This way the recipient doesn’t have to do work to enjoy their gift.

An electric blanket that he set up himself (he put it under the sheets).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a woman and I would love a "bouquet-of-the-month" because I love fresh flowers plus a beautiful, high quality set of PJs.

Where does one buy very nice pajamas?

Lake Pajamas

Soma are good too

I’m very high risk for Covid and with Omicron I cancelled our flight home for the second Christmas in a row. I was crushed because all of our kids and grandkids live near each other but airport crowds and a three hour flight scared me. So my husband chartered a plane and we arrived yesterday. I know it was a fortune but I’ve never been happier.

Mac laptop

I'll let you know once it happens. My spouse is absolutely horrible at gift giving and I don't think I've ever received something from them that felt personal or special. Honestly, I can predict what I'll get each year with about a 75% accuracy by just googling "Best Christmas gifts for husband/dad in 20XX" and noting the top results in the $50-100 range. That's not to say I actually get anything on Christmas because many years I'll get a printout of an order confirmation email that clearly shows it wasn't even ordered until the 23rd or 24th, if I'm lucky they will have at least thought to put the printout in a card. When I ask why they've gotten me some random gadget, they almost always say something like "lots of guys like this." I've told them many times how their dispassionate and late gifts that are completely divorced from my actual wants and needs make me feel forgotten and even unloved, but there is always some excuse about how busy things were the past few weeks and next year they'll do better.

Dear Santa, all I really want for Christmas is my spouse to get me something that shows they put some thought into it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Extra points if it's the kind of thing that can be purchased late ... like Dec 22

Can you tell us something about your spouse, like hobbies or gifts they've liked in the past? I love the Fine Gardening subscription I get every year, but that's not everyone's hobby.

Thx, I've done well with concert tickets, cooking lessons for two, etc in the past. She's into fitness, travel, writing, etc. Def buys what she wants throughout the year, and answers "I dunno" to what she wants.

Thx for the help brainstorming!

Sounds like we enjoys excursions with you. I would do the staycation in a hotel or B&B idea.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a woman and I would love a "bouquet-of-the-month" because I love fresh flowers plus a beautiful, high quality set of PJs.

Where does one buy very nice pajamas?

Lake Pajamas