When I was a kid, I was the queen snooper. I don't know what it was, but the thought of presents being in the house and ME not knowing where and what they were was just more than my meddling little mind could stand. I was caught creeping around in the basement, poking under my mother's bed, ransacking closets....and of course I had thought up a plausible excuse before-hand so I could flatly deny the gift-snooping accusations....though nobody was that stupid.
I grew out of that (thank goodness) and now I'm terribly the opposite. I don't even like to ask for specific things because I like being suprised so much. My mother gets really irritated because I won't give her a specific list. (Unless I need something, but then, my parents usually know that too, so I don't have to ask.) My Amazon.com list doesn't count because I don't update it that much and I'd STILL be surprised to receive any item from that list.
So now I'm a "don't you dare tell me or hint or anything!!" type of girl. What type of giftee are you?
Posted by Intelligence3 (Member # 6944) on :
As a child I was a snooper (I actually used to steam open the tape holding the christmas wrap and seal it up again). Now I am happy with whatever I receive. The only Christmas gift I "can't live without" is the subscription my Mom gives me every year to The Economist, but I of course would just pay for that myself if she wasn't so generous as to renew it for me every year.
The best Christmas gift ever was my niece, Lily, who was born Christmas Day two years ago. My sister, a Lutheran minister, presided over the midnight service while having contractions, then went to the hospital afterwards.
She's the bees knees, baby. My niece, that is, though my sister is pretty cool, too. Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
My dad could always figure out whatever his present was. No matter how obscure - he'd shake it and smell it and tell you exactly what it was. One time I got him a pair of boots and wrapped them in a really big box with a bunch of rocks. He shook it and said, "Sounds like a pair of boots and a bunch of rocks.
One year, though, we succeeded. We bought him "the perfect gift." It was a pepper grinder and on the packaging were written the words "the perfect gift." He totally didn't guess it - it was great. It was the perfect gift. So for years, while we were sitting around the dinner table, he would say, "Hey - would you mind passing me the perfect gift?"
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
I used to snoop, but I was stupid and my parents always figured it out. Maybe it's because I would try to help their self-esteem when I found it was something I didn't really want, by saying something like, "You know what I've always wished I had? A tiny little porcelain bell with my name on it."
So then I resorted to begging. I'd pick out one present that had been under the tree and say, "Please tell me what it is! Just this one! I won't ask about any more, I swear!" Then my mom would say, "You really want to know what it is? Fine, it's underwear!"
I'd be crushed, but when I'd open it later it would be a video game or something. I hadn't been playing Nintendo long enough to memorize the shape of the boxes yet, I guess.
Now, if I find out what I'm getting I get really angry. My husband knows this, and every year declares loudly, "Your presents are in the feta cheese bucket I brought home from work! Stay away!"
I appreciate that.
Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
yeah, my feelings at finding out what I'm getting approach something like anger too.
Annie, your boot/rock story is hilarious. Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
quote: As a child I was a snooper (I actually used to steam open the tape holding the christmas wrap and seal it up again).
Steam? Why steam? I just pealed the tape off ever-so-carefully.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
I shake, poke, sniff, and pinch, but never sneak. The surprise is usually better than the gift itself, to tell the truth. Posted by Intelligence3 (Member # 6944) on :
quote: Steam? Why steam? I just pealed the tape off ever-so-carefully.
Pealed? What do bells have to do with it?
I later learned to peel the tape without tearing the paper. Mom used strong tape. I was totally paranoid that Mom would go under the tree and check the packages to see if I had opened them.
I think I saw someone steaming an envelope open on TV once and got the idea from there. (Well, it didn;t say "kids, don't try this at home.")
[ December 18, 2004, 01:57 AM: Message edited by: Intelligence3 ]
Posted by dread pirate romany (Member # 6869) on :
Oh, I always looked.
Posted by Space Opera (Member # 6504) on :
I like to be surprised. I do a give a list to my in-laws, but that's only because experience has taught me that if I don't I end up with things that just aren't for "me." I guess they noticed it too, because they started requesting lists and are now very happy when I make a big deal about getting a certain something that I wanted.
Mr. Opera has never gotten a list, and never asks me what I want. Somehow he still gets me the perfect gift every single year. One year my gift included books from Card's Bean series, which I didn't even know existed. I wish I had that gift-giving talent!
space opera
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
Presents never materialise until Christmas Morning anyway, so no peeking for me.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
I used to be really terrible. Many was the year that my sibs and I completely and carefully unwrapped everything to find out what we were getting, then rewrapped it all and pretended to be surprised.
As I've gotten older, I've discovered it's become hard for me to put together a list of things I'd like to find under the tree. I don't feel right asking for things I need, but at the same time the things I want but don't need are few and far between. So most years my parents just get me gift cards and let me figure it out on my own time.
This year I actually had a list, though, and I know I'm getting at least two things from that list. My mom already ordered the season pass for this year's Broadway in Chicago series, and I have a "raincheck" on patio furniture. =) yeah, I suppose that one is a borderline need but maybe not. LOL
Posted by BelladonnaOrchid (Member # 188) on :
I never used to want to know when I was a kid.
Now, though, I always play at wanting to know when it's going to be a surprise, but I don't really. For the most part I now am responsible for picking out my own gifts and acting surprised when I open them.
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