Many christmas days I find myself watching my kids faces to see if there were any dissapointments,thankfully I didn`t. However I always got a chance to pick any wee extra they mentioned,for their birthdays as they were born Jan&Feb.

I regularly didn`t get what I asked for,spent years asking for Barbie&Sindy dolls I never got. I got huge scary dolls taller than me(my parents obviously thought big was more for their money haha)or baby dolls to nurse but wasn`t the same telling yer pals so I would tell fibbs (really the barbies & sindy dolls a talked about were my sisterinlaws wee sisters,but as all kids spoke of them so I did, just someone else owned them. even if i did play with them every day haha.

The reason I started the topic was because it gets harder to buy gifts for grown ups & because I had many sad memories of xmas pasts being a dissapointment.
Guess thats why I start lists so soon. My story isn`t all sad & bad cos my niece bought me a wedding Barbie collector doll several years ago to make up for never having one as a kid(she is soooo sweet int she)

Am I bad cos I say to the family to gift me a small 20 dollar token to open & gift me cash to spend at the sales,well this year I told my husband to do the same & he looked astonished & said don`t ye like what I buy ye? of course I do but when we get older we tend to buy as we require on toilrtries etc & usualy we do ok for a wee tait o jewelry.

I just wanted to get me some things that I want when I want them ye know Iam not trying to be ungratefull but the too many xmas pasts lead me to desire this new method,Some wouldn`t like it but am I bad cos I do want that? what do peeps think out there?

I think you're quite right to want to choose your own gifts. I love getting Gift Vouchers, too, Lindamac, as long as they're not for shops that I never use (like the 18th birthday present my sister gave my son - £50 G.V. for the local sports shop, when he doesn't wear sporty clothes!) He put a brave face on it, and thanked them profusely, because it was a lot of money. But none of us ever used them, so I ended up giving him the money to buy something he wanted - he was SO disappointed!

what I do now is ask my grown up weans to write a "wish list" and I too so we all have to think about what we really would like and (maybe) end up with some of it. One time, I nearly ended up wi a foot spa, I was fairly young mum at the time, but luckily the weans met a more savvy relly while on their way to buy who suggested jewellery might be more the thing.

I felt a bit sad that you had sad memories of crimbo as a wean, cos I do too. One time a neighbour was inshowing my mum a wee vanity case with a bit for a brolley to fit inwhich I thought was dead glamoroust . ( I was about 8) her daughter could get in the local factory and she was offering me ma one. Of course I hoped it was for me !! but on the day , my sister got it. I was so disappointed!!

Awe what a shame hen,I have felt this on many occasions too,there was a bike behind my wardrobe (A second hand one as it was dirty) turns out only 1 of 4 got it and it wasn the oldest nor the youngest but the 2nd oldest so he could share with the on younger than he ,the oldest & I the youngest still remember the hush of our quiet sadness on that xmas day but never said anything untill last year.

So many christmases were a let down as were my birthdays in fact I only ever got one gift I liked & that was not even on my list but I loved it,it was called Painters wheels,a wee stick thingy wherin you would apply the differing wheels which had patterns on it to wheel into the paint then onto paper haha I played for hours on end in my room with that getting lost in the majestic colours & fancy rainbows ye know cos they were the best rainbows to me & no one in the world had them but me haha

How sad Linda to be disappointed like that. I can't say that I've ever been disappointed with any gift, perhaps being an only made a difference. Even during the war when I was staying with my grandparents they and my mum and dad always managed to give me something that I would like.

My husband was especially generous at Christmas time. I usually got two outfits to wear which he chose himself. He had good taste and I loved every one of them. He would often put in a wee bit of jewellery too, not the most expensive kind but nice all the same. You can see how much I miss him...haha...

Our children used to look through the Sears Christmas Catalogue and put their initial beside anything that they would like, It gave us an idea of what we could get them. Now my grandsons do the same, it's fun going over it with them

Och Ems don`t you worry furr me yer a wee doll furr caring, so that ye urr,but the christmases Iam talking of were the ones of when I was wee. I met My Neil on Christmas eve of 1979 & I felt like all my Christmases came at once to make up for awe the years thurr wisney much ye know.

I have a braw wee mammy who loves us so much & worked hard awe her days tae make up to us weans awe that we never goat when we wurr wee tae,she was & is still a rock that holds our entire family together,Dad died last year & now she lives a better life aswell(sadly this is true),He never helped her only hindered her & he was only able to retire himself due mums well plannedpension plans.They retired on her pensions & her own provisions for old age.

My Neil is a wonderfull man & he knew he wanted to marry me &(he was my lifetime of bestest ever Christmas gifts haha)so he proposed marriage & for us to eventualy emigrate to Australia,all this after only being within 3 weeks of us meeting & we had only 3 dates tae.

I was so happy to be loved like that.(on 23rd of January on my parents wedding anniversary My Neil asked me to be his wife,I saw those earlietr years as a wee blemish to what has turned out to be a fantastic life with an awesome husband ,great weans that do me proud & my mother has always made sure that I knew even in those earlier poor times That I was loved passionately consistently too amidst many of our family nightmares. This story of mines has an ongoing joy that cannot be removed oor Ems,My husband has made sure my every Christmas & Birthday is better & bigger than the last one so he does.

Ems I love that you care for me & my wee heart tae yer such an adorable & loving soul,you cheer up cos my life is awesome & has been since 1979 haha I don`t remember too much of the pains of my childhood when I talk of or tell them to others simply because I feel so Blessed & lucky now ,I sort of tell the story just as a story & part of my history ok Ems am awericht wee hen.Huggs tae yees awe ma GGGems & I understand all sides of life believe me I have done some miles in various types of shoes like the rest of us have,Thats why Iam a cheery sort haha Happy Christmas to all my GGGems eh.xxx

Reading you story there lindanac reminds me of a saying I once heard, from where the old brainbox canny remember

People who have never suffered,

Are seldom worth knowing.

The tough things in life make us the people we are,
and so much stronger.
and you are good person with a happy disposition.
BLESS,

I too feel sad that not all your childhood christmases and birthdays weren't happy ones. I can't say it was the same for me, but we were also brought up to share. And I think that's the same with my girl's and that is why they have generous hearts. More so at this time of the year. I enjoy giving more than I do receiving. I don't agree with money as gifts to be honest, I don't think it feels very true to the meaning and spirit of Christmas. I feel then it becomes to commercialized. I just feel the true meaning is lost. For the most part I think any gift is wonderful because it was chosen for you by the person and I think that is special because you need to know that you were thought of. I put a lot of individual thought into each gift I buy for friends and family. I try to either put sentimental thought or somthing just for their personality and sometimes I just want them t know I'm thinking of them. I'm not sure if I'm getting my thought across here correctly. I guess I have good memories of Christmases that were full of gifts and those with fewer because it was my family being there that gave me the most happiness. It's when I'm away at work that it's sad. Because I just want to be at home with them instead. This year I work dayshift, so I will be off at dinnertime, so not bad and I work close to home now, so it shouldn't be too bad as long as we don't have a late call. Anyways, Merry Christmas to all and I hope the true spirit of Christmas touches all of you this year and you have friends and family close by.

I was always quite lucky as a child and usually got what I asked for. Now as an adult I still think i'm lucky. My husband always asks if there is anything special I would like, and usually it's jewellery and he has good taste in that direction.
I always ask my son for a list for his children and pick from that. Got the list last week and spent two days in town getting everything.
The problem this year is what to get our son, so we are going to ask him for his wish list.

We had a Christmas Club in the local News agent We would pay in our pocket money every week until christmas and then we got to pick toys to the value of our Christmas Club.

Just come across this topic and last post about xmas club brought back memories of same for me, we had a newsagent called Frenchs corner of maryhill rd and corner of kilmun st i too saved my pockect money or money for running messages for pople and i think one year a bought all my aunties a jam dish[or McCallum dsh] I was so proud. When I was young at xmas I think we had an average xmas not many people had big fancy presents and now that Im older my six kids are very good to both of us and always say what do you want. and usually leave it to them. and very seldom disappointed.

See me, eh? am dead easy tae get a pressy furr. Ma wife asked me last year, "What would you like for Christmas dear?" (she's a Bluenose Canadian, Nova Scotia) an' ah said, "Get'us a perra Doos fae Big Kirkwood hen an'att'll dae me" an'att's whit a got! Last Christmas an'iss Christmas, rerr Doos an'aw so thae urr!
Ma sister-in-law aye'wiss sen's me a Gift card furr "Future Shop" an' "Staples"
Boy! am slabberin' at the thought o' NEXT CHRISTMAS, LoL!

I remember the family next door to us one Christmas the boy got a new bike and a pool table and i got a jigsaw puzzle whats wrong with that picture funny how things stick in your mind now kids get new bikes on any given day