Re-gifting We Shall Go...

(To be sung to the tune of Jingle Bells...)

Re-gifting we shall go,
picking through our stash-
what can we give away from this pile of trash?
The socks from Sister Sue?
The mug from Uncle Bob?
What the heck was Mom thinking buying a watch fob?

OH -
Candles, soaps, cocoa tins, lots of shower gels,
Towels, socks and other things covered in jingle bells...


All kidding aside, I admit that I have re-gifted items. I consider it an admirable form of recycling. I also understand that times are tough and not everyone can afford to buy gifts.

I try to honestly inform the person when I re-gift. I tend to say something like,"I got this as a gift and I already have one. I thought you might like it." I don't hide the item away in a closet, wrap it up and try to pass it off as a new gift a year later.

Regifting can be a source of good fun between the right people. My cousin and I traded gifts in the same ducky bag for years until we couldn't tape it together any more. I've also received some packaged foods that have been circulated for at least three years. 

I started to wonder,"How long is a smoked sausage good for, anyway?"  Unlike military MREs (meals ready to eat) the shelf life is actually only about 45 days unless frozen. If you'd like to order fresh Hickory Farms gift boxes there is still time this year - so no excuses for re-gifting. Of course survivalists and folks with a quirky sense of humor might appreciate the gift of some MREs. The site states that MREs "will store for up to 5 years" which makes them  ideal for re-gifting!

My favorite re-gifting saga comes from a friend. She bought a lovely, expensive bowl for her mother-in-law. The next year her mother-in-law gave it my friend's mother (obviously forgetting who had given it to her.) My friend's mother later gave her the bowl - never knowing her daughter was the one who purchased it in the first place!

Re-gifting we shall go,
picking through our stash,
what fun it is to give away our unwanted trash!

The Santa Claus Syndrome

What is it about a mall Santa Claus that turns parents into idiots?  We've all seen it - the crying children with the parents desperately pleading for a smile.  One of the funniest Christmas cards I've ever received was from my friend Kerrianne. It featured her adorable twin girls sitting on Santa's lap - each lunging in opposite directions with looks of terror on their faces. Fall on the floor funny. However, the kids will probably be in therapy some day.

Just Google "santa with scared children" and you'll come up with hundreds of images.  Here are some of the funniest I've found. http://www.bite.ca/bitedaily/2010/12/top-10-photos-of-traumatized-kids-on-santas-lap/

Have you ever seen the famous Santa Claus scene in the 1983 movie, A Christmas Story? If you haven't seen it, spend three minutes to watch this YouTube clip. It sums up the basic insanity of lining children up to sit on a strange man's lap. Any other time of year we'd drag our kids away as quickly as possible.

Santa arrived at our local mall on Sunday. I accidentally witnessed it. I was on the second level with Danielle & one of her little friends so we could look down as Santa rode a tiny train through the mall. I thought it was charming. The two kids were terrified. The literally covered their ears and hid behind me. So much for photos with Santa this year - guess I just saved 20 bucks.

Other, less emotionally volatile kids, were lined up to be among the first to see Santa. I was horrified by how some of them were dressed. I wished I'd been able to sneak out my camera phone so you could see some of the hideous things these poor children were forced into. Kevin said I should have boldly walked up and said,"Your daughter's outfit is so distinct, unique (substitute your own superlative...) Do you mind if I take a picture to show my Mom?"

I'm torn between which was worse - the 3 or 4 year old boy forced to wear a green velvet little Lord Fauntleroy suit (cringe) or the 7 or  8 year old girl who was apparently wearing her mother's vintage 1970s Christmas outfit complete with white leather jazz oxfords. This poor unfortunate child was dressed in nifty black and white checked overalls with a large Santa applique and a red turtleneck.  I'm hoping that there was a family tradition or at least a funny story to explain this sartorial disaster. At five Danielle has enough fashion sense to fight her way out of such an atrocious outfit. Honestly, people, these were bad looks way back when. Trust me, they have not improved with time.

My thought for the day," Going to see Santa is scary enough,

don't add to the horror by dressing your children like demented elves."