What I Want for Christmas

Since I griped yesterday about the holiday gifts I don't want, here are:

Ten Things I Do Want for Christmas

Coffee: I have all the tea I can possibly drink for the next year, but I actually don't have much coffee. I don't need a big package of it, as I drink only two cups per day. If you can find an interesting variety* for cheap, I'd love to try it.

DVD Movie or Show: I love historicals, mysteries and nonfiction documentaries about history. You don't have to buy this one, either, if you have a movie or show on DVD you're done watching, pass it along to me.

Holiday Book Date: Here's the easiest gift ever. Go to a thrift or used book store, buy any book that you think I'd enjoy reading (the cheaper the better), wrap it in plain brown paper and write "Blind Christmas Date" on the outside. If you can't afford a used book, give me one you already own.

One Yard of Fabric: This is a gift I often exchange with quilter friends during the holidays: 36" of fabric in the color and/or print of your choice. It's another easy gift to thrift; just go to the bedding section of the store and look through the sheets. At my Goodwill they usually run about $2 to $5. My only request is that you make sure it's cotton or linen.

Ornament: There's always room on my Christmas tree for another ornament. Love the homemade variety especially.

Plant: We have a little garden in which we grow herbs and veggies; anything that grows in our zone (9b) is welcome. I don't keep plants in the house because of the pups, but I have some on my porches if you'd rather go for a decorative plant.

Photo Brag Book: If you have some cool pics to share from the past year, a vacation, or things you've accomplished, get a little album from the dollar store and fill it with pics. If you can't afford prints, print out your pics on a home color printer. Bonus points for add little captions to the pics to tell me their backstory.

Seeds: Another nice thing for our garden. We love green beans, cucumber, carrots, lettuces, melons and peppers of the not-so-hot variety.

Something Written: I love letters, poems, songs, stories or whatever you want to share with me. Bonus points for handwriting this gift.

Sugarfree treats: Anything made with stevia is welcome (I do love Russell Stover stevia-based candies, and Vortmann's sugarfree cookies.) Sucralose is okay, too. I prefer not to eat anything with asparteme in it.

*Please, no pumpkin spice flavored coffee.

Image credit: Yevhen Buzuk from Pixabay

Comments

Love Triangle

The Inheritors (also known as The Heirs ) is an older k-drama that is more like an American soap opera, and yet has one of the best high-school love triangles I've ever seen. As the illegitimate son of a wealthy conglomerate chairman, Kim Tan (Lee Min-ho) was exiled to study in California so that his older half-brother could be groomed to step into their father's shoes. Instead he mostly surfs and goofs off. He meets Cha Eun-sang (Park Shin-hye), who comes to LA in order to escape her dismal life in Korea while bringing wedding money to her older sister, only to find out her sister has lied about her marriage, and is living in squalor. After the sister takes the money and runs off, leaving Eun-sang with no place to stay, Tan ends up alternately taking care of her and making her situation worse. He also falls for her, but she finally connects with a friend and returns to Korea. The money her sister took ends up forcing Eun-sang and her speech-impaired mom to mov...

Glorious. Kinda

Writing up my thoughts on the Chinese drama You are my Glory is going to be one of those head-scratchers; I liked it, it got annoying, I liked it anyway, it got more annoying. In the end I was left feeling like most of the last third of the series was smacking me on the nose for being a romantic and wishing, not for the first time, I was a screenwriter who could get hired to fix this script. Anyway, okay. The premise for this series is actually pretty good: poor but brilliant aerospace engineer Yu Tu (played by the fabulously handsome Yang Yang) crosses paths with fabulously wealth but not-too-bright actress Qiao Jingjing (portrayed by the genuinely pretty Dilraba Dilmurat) who was his high school classmate. He's looking for a new job that pays better; she's in hot water due to an inappropriate product endorsement snafu, and they end up spending a lot of time together. It's a cross between Notting Hill and Apollo Thirteen, sorta kinda. Yu Tu is in a life crisis ...

Make It Yourself

As we head into December, here are ten ideas for easy handmade gifts: Cookie Exchange: If you live close to your friends invite them over for a cookie exchange. Basically everyone bakes a set amount of their favorite cookies, and these are exchanged at the gathering by lottery, sharing a little from each batch with everyone, or however you want to do it. You can also exchange recipes, too. My neighbor did this once and it was wonderful. Favorite Recipe Cookbook : For my favorite person I found a copy of my favorite cookbook from a vintage bookseller (yes, I am that old) and went through it making notes on all the recipes I used, how I tweaked them, etc. Ornament: There are probably a million free tutorials on how to make your own holiday ornaments, so do some research online. I like to make hanging pomanders , which smell heavenly and are biodegradable after the holidays. Mug Rugs: If you sew, making up a set of mug rugs is simple and easy; I add these every year to my ...

Rayen

Search This Blog