Gift wrapping/wrapping gifts

Tags

gifts, postaday2014, wrapping paper

Either way you say it, for me it is a job that I have always enjoyed. When I was a teenager I loved watching the ladies at the Bloomingdales gift wrap department work their magic; choosing with care the proper box, the gift wrap paper and the bow, cutting without waste, turning out the precise seams and corners and tying it all together as a beautiful package by the properly curled ribbon.

To this day I take time to choose the wrapping paper, I try to get different colors and motifs so that the bounty laid out under the Christmas tree doesn’t look bland or without care. I like the illusion that elves were busy wrapping and packing the night before; each one had a family member which explains the different wrapping papers. I know that the secret has been out of the bag for a long time, but I like the look of a variety of colors that show snowmen, Santa’s, Christmas trees and jolly sayings all adorning different sized boxes just waiting to be opened.

Gifts, better received or given?

Tags

blogs, gifts, postaday2013, prompts, spirit, writing

One of my first friends on the blogosphere gave me a lovely prompt since I have been experiencing technodifficulties with Plinky.com. You can find my friend at weescoops.wordpress.com. She has a wonderful blog full of beautiful poetry, book reviews and musings. Her question was about gifts and the thought behind the gift and which one meant the most. I took that question and went with it in a slightly different direction. I have always preferred giving presents over receiving them and one of the favorite presents that I have given someone was the time that my hubby and I presented my mother with a silk scarf that I had picked out at the Chanel boutique for Mother’s Day one year. It made such a strong impression on me because my track record for my mother’s gifts and their success was pretty poor. My mother has very nice taste and for some reason I always fell short of the desired effect until this scarf. This scarf was a very bold choice, strong colors and I was quite nervous while she was opening the package, her eyes lit up at the sight of the colors, quality of the silk and handiwork that one can always appreciate with Chanel. I was so much happier after she opened her present that I didn’t even register what I had received that day.

Merry Christmas to all

Tags

Christmas, cooking, family, gifts, good day, postaday2012

Merry Christmas everyone! Today was a grand day of just the four of us and Jack. We had no idea that Jack loved Christmas as much as he does, it is only his third one so maybe he was still shy last year or having Rex still around made a difference. But today he played with every single one of his squeaky toys for hours, he was a riot today.

We decided on lobster newburg for our Christmas dinner and so I spent a good part of the day making lobster stock; cooking the lobsters, chopping the vegetables, straining out all the solids and then reducing it but in the middle right after boiling the lobsters and starting the stock. My hubby came to the rescue. I needed my hubby’s strong hands and arms to pick the carcass apart and get the succulent meat out so that I could get the shells into the basic mireproix to get the essence of the lobster into a stock. Not only was my hubby Santa these two days but he was also lobster man.

What your possessions say

Tags

gifts, handmade, possessions, postaday2012, sentimental value, value

My stamp collection because though it may not be large or valuable, it is extremely valuable to me for sentimental reasons because my grandfather gave it to me. Two framed mirrors that my father sculpted, he had a small business when I was a little girl making plates, candlesticks and other things out of pewter and he also sculpted and gilded frames, so I have two of them and they as well hold much sentimental value, my books because they are very much my friends, my wedding rings and every other piece of jewelry that my hubby has bestowed upon my over the years, they are important to me because they remind me of how much my hubby enjoys spoiling me, all of the handmade cards and gifts that my babies have made for me because if ever I need a smile on my face or a lift in the heart; all that I have to do is look on my mantle and there are two handmade gifts, one from the baby girl and the other from the baby boy.

The only things that I truly value, all have an emotional attachment and a story connected to them, otherwise a possession in my opinion is only a thing.

What is the best gift you ever received?

Tags

Christmas, gifts, postaday2011

I’m not sure if I was twelve or thirteen but the best gift and the most fun gift I ever received was an electronic single or two player football game back in 1980 or 1981. I played that battery operated football game every single day of Christmas break and for months afterwards. I got to be pretty good at it which made me want to play even more. I don’t remember when I put it down, it could be because I got so good that it eventually lacked any challenge or that I simply moved on to other interests. It stuck out in my mind because it came as a huge surprise to me Christmas morning, I hadn’t asked for it but it intrigued me and once I started, I was hooked.