It's Official

It's official: everyone's poor.  I just got off the phone with my sister and we quickly agreed that there will be no exchanging of gifts this Christmas, save a few things for my 6-year-old nephew.  As much as I enjoy picking out fun gifts for my family every year, I have to say this is a bit of a relief.  Not just because we're all a little low on funds right now, but because I have like a million other things going on in my brain.  I've been trying to get a couple columns ahead on vita.mn since I should also be working through a few business plans, sorting through a couple of legal matters and trying to maintain a business clientele so I can still go out for happy hour once in a while.

That whole "couple columns ahead thing" is proving to be the most difficult.  I suppose the trick is to just get as much writing done as you physically can while you're in the zone, and try not to feel too bad about those totally unproductive days.  Which unfortunately seem to outnumber the productive days lately, at least in the creative writing department.

I'm gonna skip the restaurant closings--who wants to hear about that right now?--and get to some better news: After having to close his own restaurant last month, JP Samuelson has accepted the Sous Chef position at Nick & Eddie on Loring Park.  There's something very appealing about the idea of JP Samuelson and Steve Vranian standing side by side on the line.  And is Jessica Anderson still in charge of sweets over there?  She's amazing.  Nick & Eddie is participating in this week's Appetite Stimulus Plan, so get over there before it ends Friday night to enjoy a special three-course dinner for $35.00 and score double OpenTable points while you're at it.

Back to the top, though: what's everyone doing for holiday gifts this year?  Has anyone else made the no-gift pact with friends and family?  My sister has requested that I prepare and freeze some soups for her household, so maybe I'll do the same for my parents (thank God I have a small family).  Any crafters working on interesting homemade projects?

Comments

[Alexis]

I should add that I've been Netflixing Battlestar Galactica which probably isn't helping with productivity.

[John Carrier]

I'm only giving homemade gifts this year. Luckily for my loved ones, I make beer at home.

[Christian]

Yeah, we're going to try the name-exchange program again, where you just buy for one person instead a glut of excess consumerism spread thinly over a large group. The latter way is a hard habit to break, but our current administration has established a context of dire incentive.

[ranty]

I'm feeling pretty crafty this year too. Lucky thing, that... I used to be all over it, and then I had a few years of that aweful, last minute, buy-whatever-since-I'm-too-busy-to-think business.

This year I've been doing a lot of crochet stuff, and will probably utilize the cookies/bars/candies-in-a-pretty-box gift plan as well.

Oh, and I've found another cool gift idea too! It has limited applicability, admittedly... but I'm doing a lot of house-(and neighborhood) history research, and plan on giving gifts of old (framed) photos of peoples' homes, businesses, and/or neighborhood scenes.

[Marchelle]

I'm only buying for the godkids and my own spawn this year. I normally give a tin of homebaked goodies to clients, and I think I'll be doing the same for a handful of close friends.

It's hard to accomplish anything when you're drawn into the brilliance that is BSG.

[supertoyz]

Me and the wife have been toying with the idea of a no gift Christmas. I feel horrible about it though, because I know that we could stick to it, but the rest of the family would not. Then we would feel like jerks. If I could do anything crafty, that would be an option, but I don’t. Maybe I can start a gift giving tradition called “things I found on the street; from me to you.”

[taulpaul]

I've always struggled whether to recommend that one watches BSG: Razor before the first season, or in the order they released it between 2.5 and 3.

We're doing "family" gifts this year, mostly because we're buying a new house, and have another kid coming shortly.

[Sarah Buckley]

I can't say this any cheeper but I have for the last few years been giving to different charities in honor of my family members. Example my cat loving brother and his girlfriend, I donate to the Albuquerque Humane Society where they got their cat. I still get stuff for the little ones. At least I reduce my consumer madness that has surrounded our Holidays for way too long.

[Holly]

This post just inspired me to ask my family and inlaws to do a name exchange for gifts. My in-laws tend to go way overboard on the presents and we always go home with bags full of crap that we don't need. I hope everyone goes for it. It would be nice to do less shopping and less spending.

Cheers.

[geoff]

my family is not exchanging gifts this christmas. in fact, we never do.

[Rachel]

I think a lot of people are doing the "Kids only" holiday. The other option is to lean toward, buy local, buy handmade. You get a higher quality product, reduce your carbon impact and support local artisans. What could be better than that? Here is the Minnesota 2020 Buy local gift guide http://tinyurl.com/5bh4t9. You can also go to Etsy and click the shop local link http://tinyurl.com/6jvg2y. Happy Handmade Holiday!

[Shana]

I am making my husband a quilt out of his old concert T-shirts, not as hard as I thought it would be. Plus cookie trays with over a 1 1/2 dozen kinds of cookies to friends.

[Shana]

I am making my husband a quilt out of his old concert T-shirts, not as hard as I thought it would be. Plus cookie trays with over a 1 1/2 dozen kinds of cookies to friends.

[Alexis]

I've always enjoyed receiving the cookie tray, though I've never quite been able to commit to making them. Perhaps this year.