I think part of being a Southerner is knowing how to give the perfect gifts. Example: house warming parties- bottle of wine (I like to go with a red and a white unless I know what the gift recipient likes for sure); kids birthdays- coloring books, crayons, kids books, anything Melissa and Doug, as well as a "smaller" gift for any siblings; etc etc.
Same goes for Christmas. I get the biggest rush out of giving gifts, more so than receiving them. And really, the rush comes when someone opens their gift and they give you the most genuine expression of surprise and thankfulness. The best example I can give is one year I bought a coffee table book about classic sports cars, thinking I would give it to my dad or brother. It was a rather expensive book, too. But after some thought I realized, as much as my brother and dad might like it- they would not be truly thrilled by it. The person who would be thrilled by it would be my (now ex) husband's uncle. Bruce owns a classic car restoration company (http://www.extrememotorcar.com/ ) and I knew it would just be perfect. The book even went in a chronological order of the years these cars were produced.
When Bruce opened his present, he had this impulsive exclamation of surprise and gave us a genuine thank you that I will never forget. He spent the rest of the afternoon intermittently looking over the book while interacting with everyone. I am still proud of that moment. I can't even remember what I received that year, but I do remember his joy at receiving that book. That is the BEST feeling for me.
One can do the same thing with any gift, and that is what I aim for. To be honest, if I don't get that kind of reception it's a bit of a disappointment and I feel that I have somehow failed in my quest. I like to think this comes, in part, from my Southern heritage. We are taught to always be gracious hosts and guests. Gift giving is much the same: it truly is the thought that counts.
To be perfectly honest, I don't always like to receive gifts on Christmas. I like to be able to give the same kind of surprise reaction to whomever is giving me an item, and I am so hard to surprise and also get so caught up in the giving to others that I often times don't have the energy to give that same reaction that I love to receive. And I am not very good at faking it- but I would not want to let someone else down. Christmas tends to be rather exhausting for me in that regard.
This year, many of my gifts will be hand made. Even without a large budget, I know my family members will appreciate the craft and time that went in to my gifts.
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