Thursday, January 01, 2009

Christmas With My Mom

One thing that you could never say about Christmas with my mom is that they have been unforgettable...ahem...her gifts have never been unforgettable that is.

Mom

I remember the year that my mom did her Christmas shopping for the whole family at a kitchen shop. I can never forget the look on my young son's face as he opened his beautifully wrapped gift. It contained gourmet potato soup mix. One year she shopped at a bedroom and bath shop. The kids got towels. One year she shopped at a canvas clothing shop. We all remember the look on the papa's face as he tried on his bright red canvas jacket. That year, I lucked out and my jacket was rather nice. One year the girls and I got these:

Yes, I did love them when I was a child. Really, it was so funny. I have kept them. I will never get rid of them not even if they become valuable collector items. She does call and ask at times what would be a nice gift. Somehow she manages to make a mundane gift idea, eccentric. She asked me this year if books would be a nice idea. I said "Yes, books are nice" I waited with baited breath as I have learned to do over the years.


Well, there you have it! Books! Not just any books. Eccentric books. She did not disappoint. The tradition continues. The circle has not been broken. Man I love that woman!

10 comments:

Lucy said...

What a beautiful lady and she sounds very interesting to say the least. Enjoy the books (lol)You will be ready for some trivia pursuit!

The Invisible Mo said...

My mom has her traditions, too. She has, however, changed from shopping at the thrift store to shopping at the dollar store. I still have many of the great finds she got me at the thrift store. She knows I love old stuff. I'm not sure what the other kids thought about it, because I never asked. I still have some troll dolls, too!
Have a great New Year.
Oh...my friend would love to have a box or two of the Saskatoon berry tea. She is willing to pay for it. I thought it would be a nice gift I could get her, though. One of my goals on my 101 is to remember ALL my friends's birthdays. Is there a place I can get that online?

Jientje said...

Well, yours is a little worse than mine I think. Mine somehow always manages to buy me that one book ... that I already have!!
Or another coffee machine, when I already hawe two?
At least yours are fun!!
Love the troll dolls, they bring back memories!

Christine said...

I got the powdered cream of potato soup. The boys got fish batter.

Christine said...

(That was Becky.)

Unknown said...

Your Mom sounds really quirky. Mine always gave me stuff I didn't need or want. Now when she asks me what I want for Christmas, I tell her to send me a Wal-Mart gift card. I can always use it to buy groceries.

Oh, and send me an email, you won my contest!

Yarntangler said...

I think your Mom probably enjoys thinking about the reactions to her gifts. My mom sent special Christmas ornaments that signified something we'd done that year. My own favorite is a tacky little plastic canning jar that says Mom's Green Beans. That was the year she taught me how to can and we did 400 jars of those beans! Wish she was still here to see what she'd find these days.

Fluffy said...

You know, I can't think of a single thing my mother gave me. My grandmother was a different story. I could hardly wait to get over there. She always seemed to find the perfect gift.

... said...

how fun. you may not always get something you want or can use, but you know it's going to be something different and yes, eccentric.

Bientje said...

Hey Christine, what a beautiful picture of your mum when she was young!
I think she hates shopping for gifts?
Happy New Year for you and your family!