Vickie Fee

The joy of Christmas shopping

We don’t have any little ones on our gift list this year, and I miss shopping for them. When our niece Molly, who is nineteen now, was about two, we gave her a bouncing Tigger doll for Christmas. While enthusiastic with the idea, my husband later became less than enamored with this gift. After I had already wrapped the box and slipped Tigger under the tree, he started bouncing—and singing. He wasn’t moving very far, but he was making quite a racket. Naturally, the first time Tigger sprang into action was after we’d gone to bed. We heard what sounded like something banging and a music box playing, so we rushed toward the sound to investigate, with John in front and me peeking around from behind him. We spotted the box dancing under the tree.

Image by Pixabay

“The wonderful thing about Tiggers is Tiggers are wonderful things,” the box would sing, followed by a giggle.

It was pretty funny, or at least I thought so. But, hubs didn’t seem amused.

“Odd, because toys don’t usually come with batteries included,” he noted.

“This one didn’t either. But I wanted Molly to be able to see Tigger jumping and singing as soon as she opened it, so I put batteries in when I was wrapping it.”

He stared at me for a moment.

“It’s a week until Christmas, you know,” he said.

“Ooh, do you think the batteries might run down before then?”

“I don’t know, but I’d like to sleep before then.”

I grabbed the box and laid it on its side. It went silent. I felt pleased with myself and we went back to bed. Of course, the quiet didn’t last.

The next time it happened, or maybe it was the time after that, hubby leapt up and stormed into the living room. I called out, “If you unwrap it, you have to rewrap it — and be careful with the bow.” I’d used one of those flouncy, curled ribbon kind of bows that I thought was super cute.

In a minute, I heard the back door open. My first thought was if he threw the box in the trash can, I might have to kill him. My second thought was, “Surely he wouldn’t leave me over a little lost sleep, would he?”

I got up to check and heard a car door slam on the carport, followed by the squeak of the back door. Turns out he’d put Tigger into a timeout in the backseat.

“Feel better now, honey?”

“Much,” he said, just before collapsing back into bed.

Image by Pixabay

On Christmas Eve at Grandma’s house, Molly looked absolutely delighted when Tigger started bouncing and singing and giggling. Hubs shot me a knowing smile, and another big grin when Molly toddled over to give us a hug.

Little ones are so much fun to shop for. Maybe because they like stuff that’s more fun than most grown-up gifts. I mean, while we certainly appreciate sweaters and neck ties, it’s just not the same as a Jack-in-the-box, or a Nerf blaster gun or a Nancy Drew video game – all of which we’ve given as Christmas gifts to our nieces and nephews over the years.

When she was six, I gave my niece Madeline an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas because I thought she’d enjoy it and, more importantly, because I had wanted and never received one as a child. Not that I can claim credit really, but as a newlywed  she still enjoys baking. Of course, I also gave her a Nancy Drew starter set one Christmas, which led to her collecting Nancy Drew books.

I’ll likely get at least one gift card this Christmas. Maybe I should use it to buy myself an Easy Bake Oven or a Nancy Drew video game. But, if my husband buys himself a Nerf blaster gun, he may end up in a timeout.

What about you? What’s the best gift you’ve ever given, or received? Or maybe a gift that seemed great but turned out to be not such a prize? Please share in comments.

40 thoughts on “The joy of Christmas shopping”

  1. I’m not so much into things anymore. Last Christmas I was totally surprised while at my son’s home for dinner my husband shows me his phone. It’s tickets to the George Strait concert in Tampa in August. I had mentioned that he was coming to our area but I talked myself out of buying the tickets as they were a lot of money. When I saw those tickets on his phone I gave him the biggest hug and kiss. The concert was amazing and lasted 7 hours. It was so humid out. But I’ve been singing All My Ex’s Live in Texas ever since.

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  2. A number of years ago, I discovered that the Jane Seymour open heart collection had an angel. I fell in love with it. I kept dropping hints that I would really love one for Christmas. All I got for an answer from Hubby was “We need a new front door”, or “We just bought a new furnace”. On the next visit to my cousin’s house, she actually threw a jewelry store flyer at him and said, “She wants this and she wants it in gold”. He gave the same answers.
    Fast forward to Christmas. I got a heavy box about a square foot in size. I opened it and it was a meat grinder attachment to my Kitchen Aid mixer. I was puzzled and said to him. “But YOU wanted this” He just said “Open it and make sure it will fit your machine”. Still confused, I did, and there was a small box inside, and in it was my Open Heart Angel in gold.
    And he loved his meat grinder.
    Carol

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  3. I think the best gift, or certainly one of the most memorable, was the year we bought The Boy his first set of snowboard gear. Helmet, boots, gloves, board. He was around 10. He immediately put it on and posed.

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  4. I remember getting the kids Lego Star Wars things. They’d spend the rest of the day working on them and would be so proud and happy when the assembly was completed. Good memories!

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      1. Same here, Jen! I think they started the really cool sets in the early 2000’s. A few of those sets the kids put together are still in tact!

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  5. When I was growing up, my aunt loved giving us socks (those were the *worst* presents–though I love a comfy pair nowadays). The best gift I got was a stuffed pig–Wilbur, clearly, from Charlotte’s Web.

    As an adult, I hinted to my family that I wanted an ebook reader–and I got two Kindles that year (whoops). That Nancy Drew video game does sound like fun, though–I should put that on my wish list! 🙂

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    1. Jen, about 15 years ago I got a couple of mystery video games. One was Nancy Drew and one was Poirot. (Poirot basically shuffled around an island collecting clues.) It would be totally lame to kids—and to most adults, too. But it was just my speed! LOL

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  6. Vickie, I adore this story! It’s hilarious. I can see it in a Christmas movie. As to the best or worst gift, I think it’s easier to go with the worst gift. When I worked on a show, the showrunners would usually get the writing staff a special gift. On WINGS one year, one of the writers had a label maker and I dropped all kinds of hints about what a great gift that would be. Lo and behold, it was! The rest of the staff hated it. And I’ve used it maybe twice in almost 30 years I’ve had it.

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    1. Thanks, El! A label maker was an integral part of my father-in-law’s life! I still find items that he had attached a label to.
      As far as best gifts ever. One year hubs and I gave his mom a paper shredder. She was SO excited you’d have thought we had given her a puppy!

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  7. I love this story, Vickie–Tigger was always one of my favorites!

    I hated dolls as a kid and cried when my grandmother gave me one for Christmas. But I loved stuffed animals. (Too bad she didn’t give me a Tigger doll.) And I always wanted an Easy-Bake Oven, but alas, I never got that. Or the horse I fervently wished for every single year…..

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    1. Leslie, I don’t think I ever wanted anything as much as I wanted that Easy Bake oven! I’m still convinced a tiny cake baked under that lightbulb would taste better than a seven-layer chocolate cake! LOL

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      1. Vickie, I can attest they are the most delicious morsels you’ve ever put in your mouth. Forget, for a moment, that after you use the two mixes that come with it, you get two tablespoons of batter from every cake your mom makes henceforth and forever. One you got to eat immediately. The other you had to wait for, but it did have frosting …

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          1. I meant to say it was actually my younger sister’s. She also got the Velvet doll with hair that grew. They obviously loved her best. *pout*

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  8. I still tend to go for the fun gifts for others and request them for myself. Granted, nothing like that Tigger, but books and games and movies.

    And I’d be with your husband. Maybe put the batteries in and wrap it on Christmas Eve next time?

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  9. I put in a couple hours of online gift shopping this morning (straight down the rabbit hole), and was exhausted and broke by 9 am. But then I read your post, Vickie, and was immediately cheered. How cute, the energetic Tigger! Best gift? So many, but one year my mom created a mouse house for me (remember those tiny rabbit-hair mice clutching popcorn kernels or an acorn, often seen as bookmarks with long leather tails?). She used a big box partitioned into rooms with dry cleaner cardboard and wall papered them with wallpaper sample sheets. The living room was decorated for Xmas with a Santa Mouse on the roof. It must have taken her hours.

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  10. What a great story!!

    Add me to the list of those enamored with Easy Bake Ovens. That, along with my Snoopy Sno-Cone maker, were the most memorable (and adored) gifts of my childhood.

    On the receiving end, my dad gave my daughter a nearly life-sized giraffe. She loved it–and we had quite the time trying to figure out where to put it!

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    1. A giant giraffe?! Grandpa wins!

      One year my little sister asked for a stuffed raccoon. Not sure what inspired the raccoon request, but they weren’t on the list of popular, or findable stuffed animals. I traveled all over town with my mom and/or dad looking for one. It became a quest. I honestly don’t remember if we ever found something that would pass for a raccoon. But I will always remember looking for it — and how dedicated my folks were to trying to find one!

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  11. This story is so cute and funny! I could hear Tigger as I was reading it.

    For me, one of my favorite gifts was a little doll that had a tiny record in her back. I don’t remember exactly how it worked but when you turned her on, she recited the “Now I lay me down to sleep” prayer. However, that was the same year I sneakily unwrapped and rewrapped every present under the tree and ruined the surprise of Christmas for myself. I never did that again!

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    1. Paula, my sister and I perfected the art of unwrapping and rewrapping our gifts. And apparently we mastered the art of managing to look surprised! LOL

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