Every year Spuuky's parents give us stockings or baskets around the holidays - Easter, Christmas, Halloween, etc.; and we wish that they wouldn't. They are full of things like expired dollar store candy (that I can't eat even if I wanted to), religious playing cards, cheap finger puppets and items that were selected seemingly at random. Most of these items go straight to Goodwill or the rubbish, and we have tried to opt out of these gifts several times over the years, with no success. Spuuky's parents are very generous and obviously value gift giving as a family tradition, but more often than not it seems like we are being given stuff for the sake of it, with no real curation or thought towards what we might actually use or enjoy. Past Christmas gifts to my husband during his late twenties included a remote control helicopter, and a unicycle - both of which are in storage.

It is unfortunate to exchange gifts when it is obvious that the parties have opposite taste levels and desires. The purpose of the gift giving is to delight the recipient, but in cases like buying my husband a unicycle, that is a waste of money and he could have been easily pleased with something much cheaper and less novel. Watching him open that gift was probably one of the most awkward experiences of my life - he doesn't expect much, but it was obvious that sooner or later he would have to disappoint his parents because he wasn't about to lie and say that he loved it and spent his Saturdays zipping to and fro as if he were a circus clown.

It is a somewhat rare thing for me to receive gifts these days. My family never sends cards or presents, and the ones I receive from Spuuky's family are usually generic items purchased to fufill crossing my name off their shopping list. The gifts I most prize are things like handmade items, cards, letters, photos, heirlooms, books, pieces of jewellery. I thank people for the thought of their gift, but if it is something I truly feel I have benefitted from, then I make a point to tell them how I am enjoying it. I could write a pretty long list of those things, but perhaps that is for another thread.