My family is one of the many that opens presents on Christmas Eve. This used to be so that we could exchange presents from each other the night before and have a royal Santa fest the next morning, you know, so that we wouldn't forget who to thank for what. But now, it's just "tradition." Dad waiting until the 24th to buy a present for mom? "Tradition." Waiting for Bro to wrap his presents so that we can all sit around and unwrap them? "Tradition." Mom forgetting where she hid presents so that at least one of us has a promise of presents that might not appear until our next birthday? "Tradition."
And something that is quickly becoming a tradition? My sister's gift-giving habits. Sis gets people really nice presents that she would like, and that she wants the recipient to like as well. This year was quite an example of that. Besides what she got my little brother (a hoodie that he picked out) every present she gave was something that she would like herself.
My mom got a beautiful glass hummingbird feeder. It's really pretty, but does my mom feed hummingbirds? No. Has she ever? No. Would this particular feeder look great hanging over my sister's flower pots on her porch? Yes.
She got our Bro a black fleece pullover from a sporting goods shop. Does Bro wear fleece jackets? No. Are they particularly popular in Phoenix? No. Did she get him one last year that he returned? Yes.
I got a sage green set of towels by Ralph Lauren. Is my bathroom decorated in sage green? No. I live alone with my cat, do I need fancy green towels? No. Does my sister have the same set of towels in a different color? Yes.
Speaking of what she already has, my sister got Dad a polo shirt from a golf course where she does fund raising events. Does she have the same shirt? Yes. Does my dad golf all that much? No. Has he ever been to the course? No.
But my sister means well. Like I said, all her presents are beautiful and semi-expensive. She puts thought into each one. The golf shirt speaks of wealthy business men who gamble away large sums of money at charity events, people who are generous and fun-loving. The kind of person my sister would like my dad to be. The hummingbird feeder is graceful and elegant, just the thing to accent a beautiful window view and cause someone to sit and watch out in a moment of quiet reflection, lost in memories of beautiful days. The kind of moment my sister would like my mom to have. The fleece is rugged and functional and relaxed, stylish in her city- exactly the way she wishes our brother would dress. And the towels? Well, Sis would like to impart some of her decorating style upon me, someone really pretty clueless as to what looks good where. The towels I have are a collection of 5 mismatched colors in varying degrees of fray and tatter. Maybe I should start over with sage green.