Today we had our usual family supper (we do this every Sunday now because apparently we don’t see enough of each other) my sisters, their kids, husbands/boyfriends and of course my parents and I. It went really well tonight (not that it goes bad usually or anything) my mom made an amazing meal, I can’t remember what the meat was at all but it was cooked to perfection, we had the usual potatoes, and what not too. This supper was the most important of all of our suppers any month/week of the year because it was what I call “early Christmas”. We do this every year with my sisters because they go away, and my parents are divorced so I alternate between my dad and my mom. This year we did it different, we drew for names at our last supper, and then whoever we got we bought for. This is the best way to do it I think because then everyone gets something, and only the little kids get a huge amount of gifts. Anyways, we did out early Christmas and I found that this year was the year of “practical” gifts. My nephew for example got a lot of drawing stuff, such as pencils, and “teach you to draw” books, which is great for him because he loves to draw and its more of a challenge for him than video games or Lego. My niece got…well…toys that teach, which are cool, books, and a clock thing that teaches you how to tell time (she is one…kind of early). My other nephew Nash got clothing and lots of it! I got (my mom always buys me too much) perfume, mascara, foundation, chocolates, toothbrushes, slippers, a house coat, Dragon software (turns speech into text), a Nintendo DS, 3 games (all of which challenge the brain), an accessory kit for the DS, a cook book, socks, and undies of course. I want to note that I did not ask for most of this, oh and Jason my sisters boyfriend got my name, and so he got me some stuff to decorate my bathroom with (which is still being built).
The cook book I got!
Alright so I am going somewhere with this I swear! I noticed that the stuff that people give at Christmas time is mostly practical, technology wise or not, and not only practical but a better gift than some electronic device that someone will never use (my step-dads Sirius radio). I love it when my mom gives me socks for Christmas, refills on my perfume and makeup because I will use it! Also the technology I got is very practical for someone like me, the Dragon software is going to be great for taking/making notes in and out of class. I will be able to say my notes and they will turn into a Word document (so much easier to read than my chicken scratch). I know some of you who may read this are thinking, “why on earth would a 19, almost 20 year old girl need a DS?” well you see I wanted it to use it to challenge my brain. I know that the games are challenging and often hard because I worked at Best Buy and have tried a few of them. I wanted it to challenge myself, and my step-dad; because a brain that has no challenge turns into nothing useful really. When I’m not in class or studying I want to do something that will not turn my brain to mush, like watching TV, and I need a change from reading all the time.
The point to my rambling: I think that more people should give gifts that they know a person will use, a gift that is practical, and “cool”. People should want to know that this gift will be well worth the money they spend on the said gift because most people put a lot of hard work into that gift, and it feels good to know that you have helped someone. I couldn’t have told my mom to buy me the Dragon software because I know how much it costs, the DS I didn’t ask for either, I had simply talked about buying one for myself when I started working again, and everything else was just my mom being a mom. Anyways, I hope that everyone out there in the world bought meaningful, practical, and “cool” gifts this year for their loved ones. Instead of making them temporarily happy, change their life in a small way, and I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas or week off school!
Courtney Lee's Blog 