Staff
Writer
Phil
Hunnicutt
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Parents: The Most Difficult People to Get Gifts
For
| Published 12/12/03
Graphic By: Baudi Ratcliffe-Hollins
When I turned 18, I realized that just going through the motions of caring about getting them a present. Golf balls for dad and dinky house decorations for mom were getting old and predictable. While it's supposed to be the thought that counts, the same gifts year after year shows that either 1) your parents are boring, 2) you're not thinking, or 3) you're just too drunk to think while you're shopping.
The real trick to parental gift giving is getting to know your parents as more than those people who raised you. This can be difficult, because you probably didn't get to know them really well as people, and you were probably too self-absorbed to pay attention to what they really enjoy. When you get home for Christmas break, take a few days to learn about your parents' interests before you go purchase a gift.
Another thing that I've found to be a problem is accessibility. Sometimes, especially when you're in a one horse town, you can't find what you want to get someone. This should be obvious to most people, but a lot of people just can't seem to fathom using the Internet as a way of getting Christmas gifts. Why get your mother a novelty spatula from Wal-Mart when you buy something really special and unique without having to waste the gas or braving the cold? The internet is full of deals this time of year, and 90 percent of the time, there will be a shipping option that fits your needs - unless you want to get your father, who is a WWII fanatic, a genuine german tank, because foriegn shipping takes a good long while.
There it is. Go forth, and shop with a little care this time. If you
already screwed up, there's always next year.
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Responses: Year: Whim Elder Comments: Here's another helpful hint from your Elder :P GIFT CERTIFICATES. You almost cannot go wrong. If you can't figure out the exact best gift for Mummy or Dad-ums find out which stores they like to shop at and get them a gift certificate there. That was they will get something they truly want and you didn't even have to sweat about it. And if you don't know where they like to shop, I believe American Express (or one of the credit cards) is actually doing general all purpose gift certificate they can use anywhere. Yeah you could give them money but getting a gift certificate has more style.
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