About adults buying toys for THEMSELVES
Beverly A. Bavaro
Have been more than a bit depressed lately and decided to treat myself to
something nice. Went into a rather upscale toy store near a coffee place
I like just to look around. It was a nice time of day (after 3pm but
before 5pm) and there were NO kids or even any mommees around.
Just me and all the cool toys and dolls and animals. It was great!
The woman behind the counter seemed pretty cool.
I ended up buying a teddy bear. As she was ringing it up she was
commenting on how cuddly it was. I agreed and said that it was just the
thing I needed that day to cheer me up.
She looked at me in a really strange way then...and I guess it hit her
that I was not there to purchase goodies for the kiddies.
It was kind of weird. Up to that point all had been well, but then it got
pretty cold pretty fast.
Oh well. I guess she thought maybe by my purchase I was depriving some
poor child of a teddy? Or what? Why does she care anyway, money is money
and she got it!
Doesn't matter I guess, but I love to buy toys. There are some great
"adult" toy stores (and no, I don't mean the x-rated kind) here which are
open late and cater to the fringe adults such as myself who dig toys.
Beats the hell outta trying to negotiate something like Toys-R-Us or some
hellish nightmare like that!
--Bev B. (constant lurker)
"That I am totally devoid of sympathy for, or interest in, the world...is directly attributable to the fact that my two greatest needs and desires--smoking cigarettes and plotting revenge--are basically solitary pursuits." --Fran Lebowitz
Karena Kliefoth
(Beverly A. Bavaro) wrote:
>Doesn't matter I guess, but I love to buy toys. There are some great
>"adult" toy stores (and no, I don't mean the x-rated kind) here which are
>open late and cater to the fringe adults such as myself who dig toys.
>--Bev B. (constant lurker)
Where do you live? I love buying toys too- mainly animals, stuffed and
plastic. My parents got me a 10-foot giraffe for my birthday this
year. They know me all too well.
Unfortunately I had a bad experience the last time I went to FAO
Schwarz. It was the day after Thanksgiving, and the mall was packed,
and mommies were knocking things over with their big-ass strollers
right and left. I ran as fast as I could (after buying a snow
leopard).
-Karena
Rabbit
>
> The woman behind the counter seemed pretty cool.
>
> I ended up buying a teddy bear. As she was ringing it up she was
> commenting on how cuddly it was. I agreed and said that it was just the
> thing I needed that day to cheer me up.
>
> She looked at me in a really strange way then...and I guess it hit her
> that I was not there to purchase goodies for the kiddies.
>
Don'tcha love 'em? I once bought a mess of Hot Wheels for my husband, and the clerk said, "Oh, I'll bet somebody's going to be happy ... how old is your little boy?" I said, "Forty." She didn't say another word.
Rabbit
Heather M.
> Don'tcha love 'em? I once bought a mess of Hot Wheels for my husband, and the clerk said, "Oh, I'll bet somebody's going to be happy ... how old is your little boy?" I said, "Forty." She didn't say another word.
My husband has the complete Lego pirate ship set on his credenza in his
office! And of course we're the envy of all the neighbourhood kids with
our "Super Soaker 1000s" - we've even blasted a few of them at times!
(Don't get mad - get even!!)
Heather (who is the proud owner of the coolest elastic gun ever made)
Pete
Fender Telecasters, good tube amps and airplane stuff. Butremember always,
your money is just as green as anyone elsees and how they treat you, if
it's notpleaant should be reported to management, preferably in front of
the offending employee. Nothing like an irate customer giving the manager
what for in front of the offending employee to put the fearof god in
them...pete
Beverly A. Bavaro
The especially good "adult" toy store, open til 2am is Toy Joy...with a
special glow in the dark room chock full of excellent glow toys!!! They
also stock lotsa Archie McPhee weird stuff...tin windup toys, stuff from
other countries, weird and wonderful things! Also, regular toys, too!
Cool punk types behind the counter. VERY adult friendly!!!
--bev b.
In article <360d7ebe...@news.concentric.net>,
kkli...@dragonsmirk.com (Karena Kliefoth) wrote:
"That I am totally devoid of sympathy for, or interest in, the world...is directly attributable to the fact that my two greatest needs and desires--smoking cigarettes and plotting revenge--are basically solitary pursuits." --Fran Lebowitz
Bryan Bankhead
> Bleaugh! That is the problem right there!
>
> NEVER EVER EVER go out on "Black Friday". That is the worst
> day because all the clueless breeders realise as one that
> Christmas is coming and I have to get an SUV-full of toys for
> little Bratleigh Noooowwww! WHINE WHINE!
>
> I prefer to do all my shopping in late October (a peeve in
> of itself in that you can actually BUY Xmas stuff then).
> I don't understand WHY people wait so long. It's not like
> Christmas changes dates like Easter or something. Why can't the
> lazy breeders actually plan for once?
>
> Egyptia! "I give everyone a crisp 20 for xmas."
>
By the time I was 10 I had asked my parents to give me money for
Xmas. In the first place they never really got me what I wanted anyway,
and in the second I noticed all those post-Xmas sales. Since by that time
I was aware that nobody really knew when Jesus was born, for half off I
was more than happy to say it was in January.
Karena Kliefoth
of Isis) wrote:
>NEVER EVER EVER go out on "Black Friday". That is the worst
>day because all the clueless breeders realise as one that
>Christmas is coming and I have to get an SUV-full of toys for
>little Bratleigh Noooowwww! WHINE WHINE!
Believe me, I learned my lesson! This "Black Friday" I'm staying home
and reading a good book!
>I prefer to do all my shopping in late October (a peeve in
>of itself in that you can actually BUY Xmas stuff then).
>I don't understand WHY people wait so long. It's not like
>Christmas changes dates like Easter or something. Why can't the
>lazy breeders actually plan for once?
Well, they may be doing it for the same reason I did- that Friday
after Tgiving is a free holiday, yet not really a holiday so
everything is open. Where I work I get Thursday and Friday off.
As for Xmas shopping, I was actually looking for a specific stuffed
animal that was supposedly was at FAO Schwarz. I (selfishly) wasn't
shopping for anyone else! Actually I think I'd bought stuff for
everyone else already.
-Karena
HCF
anyone else here is thinking this way too.
I am not buying gifts for anyone outside of my immediate family: Mom,
Dad, Spouse, my two four-footed furry children. I'm not buying for
brothers and my sister. We are not that close and we usually don't send
each other stuff for X-mas. My best friend and I have decided not to buy
for one another either. Instead, we are going to treat ourselves to
dinner and a movie (together) and that's it.
I will send 8 X-mas cards: Mom, Dad, In-law set 1, In-law set 2, Spouse,
three wonderful friends. That's it.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I refuse to buy into the "Must
rush around buying gifts for everyone" mentality. I used to do this. I
also used to buy a big pack of cards and personally address this to
everyone with little notes in them. I've decided it is no longer worth
it. I'm actually looking forward to the X-mas season this year. It's
going to be virtually stress-free especially since all my gift buying
(what little I am doing) will be completed by the first week of November.
Marisa Wood
> This year, I have made a big decision re: X-mas shopping and I wonder if
> anyone else here is thinking this way too.
Yup :) more or less :)
> I am not buying gifts for anyone outside of my immediate family: Mom,
> Dad, Spouse, my two four-footed furry children. I'm not buying for
> brothers and my sister. We are not that close and we usually don't send
> each other stuff for X-mas. My best friend and I have decided not to buy
> for one another either. Instead, we are going to treat ourselves to
> dinner and a movie (together) and that's it.
I am buying gifts for my dad, my mom, my stepmom, and my two best friends
(who are like family to me). On any one gift, I will probably not spend
more than $20. I may MAKE additional gifts, e.g., a set of embroidered
pillowcases, or some homemade, 3-minute fudge, or a sample tape with some
great music the person might like.
The gifts I do buy will be (have been) chosen carefully. I'd rather get
something small I know the receiver would love (e.g. a subscription to
MODE for my fashion-conscious mom, painting supplies for my artist dad)
than a really big gift they have no use for.
Everyone else will get a card.
I've got the time to spend making presents, and the money to get the
perfect, single, inexpensive gift for each person, because....
...once more, with feeling, folks....
"I. DON'T. HAVE. KIDS!!!!"
Marisa Wood Testimonial from client Max Zippel:
ish...@blarg.net "PurrrrrRRRRRRRR." /\_/\
Consummate Cat Sitter/ = o_o =
Feline Fantasies Fulfilled ^
Larisa Migachyov
:This year, I have made a big decision re: X-mas shopping and I wonder if
:anyone else here is thinking this way too.
I have only 2 non-Jewish friends; both will be getting books of some kind
as Christmas presents. I find that bookstores are not too crowded around
"the holiday season". :) I do not give Chanukkah presents; it's a
relatively minor holiday.
--
Larisa Migachyov * Quant'e bella giovinezza
Biomechanical Engineering * Che si fugge tuttavia!
Stanford University * Chi vuol esser lieto, sia;
http://www.stanford.edu/~lvm * Di doman non c'e certezza.
Susan C. Mitchell
: Bleaugh! That is the problem right there!
: NEVER EVER EVER go out on "Black Friday". That is the worst
: day because all the clueless breeders realise as one that
: Christmas is coming and I have to get an SUV-full of toys for
: little Bratleigh Noooowwww! WHINE WHINE!
: I prefer to do all my shopping in late October (a peeve in
: of itself in that you can actually BUY Xmas stuff then).
: I don't understand WHY people wait so long. It's not like
: Christmas changes dates like Easter or something. Why can't the
: lazy breeders actually plan for once?
: Egyptia! "I give everyone a crisp 20 for xmas."
http://www.adbusters.org/Pop/buynothingday.html
Adbusters is a fantastic site, and this particular page deals with a
lovely phenomenon called International Buy Nothing Day.
For the benefit of non-USAn posters: In the US the day after Thanksgiving
is the "official" start of the Xmas shopping season, and the biggest
shopping day of the year. Buy Nothing Day is on the same day -- this
year, the 27th of February. The website has lots of information,
including a poster and an "uncommercial" which has been rejected by all
major US television networks.
Think globally, act locally.
Susan
--
=============== Remove SPAMWALL from my address to reply ===============
"Gadfly is what they call you when you are no longer | Seditious libel
dangerous. I much prefer troublemaker, malcontent, | for fun and
desperado." -- Harlan Ellison | profit
Dark River
|This year, I have made a big decision re: X-mas shopping and I wonder if
|anyone else here is thinking this way too.
|
|Dad, Spouse, my two four-footed furry children. I'm not buying for
|brothers and my sister. We are not that close and we usually don't send
|each other stuff for X-mas. My best friend and I have decided not to buy
|for one another either. Instead, we are going to treat ourselves to
|dinner and a movie (together) and that's it.
|
|three wonderful friends. That's it.
|
|I guess what I'm trying to say is that I refuse to buy into the "Must
|rush around buying gifts for everyone" mentality. I used to do this. I
|also used to buy a big pack of cards and personally address this to
|everyone with little notes in them. I've decided it is no longer worth
|it. I'm actually looking forward to the X-mas season this year. It's
|going to be virtually stress-free especially since all my gift buying
|(what little I am doing) will be completed by the first week of November.
I always mean to send cards, but I never get around to it. Does that count?
I buy presents for my mom, dad, brother, four aunts (well, one's actually an
aunt's best friend whom we seem to have adopted) and my grandmother...I
mean, my grandfather's second wife. (Mean old biddy.) I also buy one for my
godson, which necessitates buying gifts for his brother and sister, but just
small stuff. I usually buy Nicky a set of Duplo Legos, Jamie some earrings,
and I'm always stumped on what to get Jeffrey. I also buy gifts for my two
closest friends, Amy and Kimber. (In fact, I found the perfect X-mas present
for Kimber today! One down! Woo-hoo!)
Today I decided to bake something for my grandmother for X-mas; it'll just
have to be sugar-free 'cause she's diabetic. Even though she is a mean old
biddy, I will rise above and do something spiffy. (I usually just buy her a
basket of fruit.)
Fa la la la la la, la la la la,
La-ra
Marisa Wood
> x-no-archive: yes
> And I am sure they will be very appreciated. What I don't like about the
> holidays is how bloody commercial they are. You HAVE to buy something; if
> you make something you are being cheap. Personally, I would rather have
> something that came from the heart than something that came from the store.
Me 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6! ;) But seriously, some of the gifts I've gotten, that
I've treasured most, were things *made* for me, rather than *bought* for
me. I still have an afghan my grandmother crocheted, and gave to me
ten or eleven years ago....
And I have some paintings my father did--a landscape, a seascape and a
floral--hanging in a place of honor above my bed. Two of those paintings
were ones he made for me as gifts after he got cancer (and a lot of my
family's $$$ was going to pay dr. bills).
I guess I'm lucky, in a way, that I grew up in a family that valued
homemade gifts: Grandma's peanut brittle, my Aunt Shellie's (and later
my) embroidery, Mom's peanut butter balls, ....
James Wentworth
Distribution:
A friend of mine started a modified "no gifts" policy in his family. He
collected antique phonographs, cameras, and other such items. His sister
and parents were also the "hard to find gifts for type," but all four of
them did their best for years to get gifts for each other. One day
before Xmas many years ago, my friend came home and told his parents,
"I've been looking all over town to find gifts for you, but I just
couldn't find anything that I know you would want. Why don't we stop
this scrambling-to-find-gifts-for-each-other ratrace every year? Who's the
"they" who said that we have to do it?" His parents and sister all said,
"We've been thinking the same thing but were afraid to suggest it." That
year and every year after they really enjoyed Xmas--no more stressful
shopping and hurrying at the last minute to find a gift. They would go
downtown and just take in all of the music and lights and gaudy decorations.
There was one kind of gift they "permitted" under this policy. If
someone wanted to prepare a holiday treat for all of them, that was
fine. My friend made excellent rum cakes, German chocolate cakes, Danish
"Vendly Cakes" (Friendship Cakes), and glug (a Swedish holiday liquor
made with brandied fruit, which he saved for the Vendly Cakes). His
family appreciated these scratch-made gifts more than the
pre-manufactured chatchkas they'd been buying for each other before that
pivotal year.
Jason
--
James J. Wentworth
d005...@dc.seflin.org
Rabbit
HCF wrote:
> This year, I have made a big decision re: X-mas shopping and I wonder if
> anyone else here is thinking this way too.
>
> I am not buying gifts for anyone outside of my immediate family: Mom,
> Dad, Spouse, my two four-footed furry children. I'm not buying for
> brothers and my sister. We are not that close and we usually don't send
> each other stuff for X-mas. My best friend and I have decided not to buy
> for one another either. Instead, we are going to treat ourselves to
> dinner and a movie (together) and that's it.
>
We've been doing that for a few years now. We always had two separate
Christmas events: one with my family (two brothers, their wives, grown
children and now their rugrats) and husband's family (mother, father, sister,
brother and his wife with two rugrats).
It got absolutely out of hand. On my side, my brothers are very well-off,
and it was ridiculous trying to buy gifts for them, since they can (and do,
they're both avid shoppers) buy whatever they want whenever they want, at
prices I certainly can't afford.
On husband's side, everyone has everything they need, and Mom and Dad don't
go out much, anything you bought was just clutter for the house.
Christmas ended up being people opening up gifts and thinking, "What on earth
am I going to do with this?" So we said, "Enough is enough."
Now, we get together for a nice meal. We buy small gifts for the young
children (five in total and they mostly get books), a toy for Puccini the cat
(this will be her first Christmas coming up), and something for each other.
The first year we did this, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my
shoulders. We still went to the mall regularly (good exercise, my bad knee
doesn't do so well walking outside) and it was a joy to walk around and know
that we didn't have to rummage the stores looking for things. I actually had
to fight down the "superior smug look" when I saw someone laden down with
packages and an expression combining exhaustion, sheer terror and despair.
Rabbit
Rabbit
>
> Everyone else will get a card.
We throw a big Christmas open house every year (averages 85 people over the
day, our house is 880 square feet). Our invitation is also our Christmas
card. Each year I take a photograph, usually incorporating one of our old
cars, and the print shop at the mall turns it into a cool card.
One year it was my husband's '57 covered in Christmas lights (taking THAT photo
is a story in itself). One year he dressed as Santa, we filled the back of his
convertible with presents and parked at the end of the driveway (and everyone
who drove by waved at him).
Last year, I filled our Christmas stockings (I made his years ago, mine was
given to me by my grandfather when I was 10) with our favorite toys (his was
Hot Wheels, mine was books and opera CDs) and spread a huge pile of our toys --
model cars, toy rabbits, toy tractors, etc. -- all around them. The caption
read CHRISTMAS IS JUST FOR CHILDREN ... YEAH, RIGHT.
Rabbit
Rabbit
>
> For the benefit of non-USAn posters: In the US the day after Thanksgiving
> is the "official" start of the Xmas shopping season, and the biggest
> shopping day of the year.
It should be interesting to see when Santa first appears in the stores. Here
in Canada we get him even earlier, because our Thanksgiving is in October.
Last year he was in our local mall in the last two weeks of November.
Rabbit
dph...@my-dejanews.com
HCF <h...@childfree.com> wrote:
> This year, I have made a big decision re: X-mas shopping and I wonder if
> anyone else here is thinking this way too.
>
> I am not buying gifts for anyone outside of my immediate family: Mom,
> Dad, Spouse, my two four-footed furry children. I'm not buying for
> brothers and my sister. We are not that close and we usually don't send
> each other stuff for X-mas. My best friend and I have decided not to buy
> for one another either. Instead, we are going to treat ourselves to
> dinner and a movie (together) and that's it.
>
> three wonderful friends. That's it.
>
> I guess what I'm trying to say is that I refuse to buy into the "Must
> rush around buying gifts for everyone" mentality. I used to do this. I
> also used to buy a big pack of cards and personally address this to
> everyone with little notes in them. I've decided it is no longer worth
> it. I'm actually looking forward to the X-mas season this year. It's
> going to be virtually stress-free especially since all my gift buying
> (what little I am doing) will be completed by the first week of November.
>
>
I declared myself "Christmas-Free" several years ago and haven't
regretted it. The only stress is fighting the shopping-throngs
when I need to buy something for myself.
Now, when I hear people complaining about having to shop, I just
smile (the same smile that I wear when I hear them complain about
the difficulties of raising children).
"Christmas-Free" is about as 'accepted' as child-free; but I don't care.
--
--dph.
(preferred email: dhayes AT iname DOT com)
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
http://www.dejanews.com/rg_mkgrp.xp Create Your Own Free Member Forum
Pau...@pop.erols.com
>
> I declared myself "Christmas-Free" several years ago and haven't
> regretted it. The only stress is fighting the shopping-throngs
> when I need to buy something for myself.
>
> Now, when I hear people complaining about having to shop, I just
> smile (the same smile that I wear when I hear them complain about
> the difficulties of raising children).
>
> "Christmas-Free" is about as 'accepted' as child-free; but I don't care.
>
Hmm, I'd wager it's considerably less accepted than being CF--but count
me as a member of yet another minority (CF, atheist, vegan...). My
stress level has decreased considerably since I went xmas-free a few
years ago. Anyone else among the scrooge elite?
Paula
Kent Parks
: Bleaugh! That is the problem right there!
: NEVER EVER EVER go out on "Black Friday". That is the worst
: day because all the clueless breeders realise as one that
: Christmas is coming and I have to get an SUV-full of toys for
: little Bratleigh Noooowwww! WHINE WHINE!
Actually, as a 7-year retail veteran, I can say that, in bookstores at
least, "Black Friday" is nowhere NEAR the 'worst' day of the Season.
Although every year I expected huge crowds and screeching BNPs, our crowd
was always reasonably pleasant, certainly compared to how they are after
Dec. 15. I remember one year, it was positively DEAD t the mall that
NIGHT.
I suspect that the clothing and department stores are the ones that are
crazed, giving the day its reputation, but if all you want is books,
consider going out after supper that night(actually, I think malls in
general are pretty slow that NIGHT, since everyone is exhausted from the
day's conquests.)
Kent, glad to be out of there nonetheless
Kent Parks
: Adbusters is a fantastic site, and this particular page deals with a
: lovely phenomenon called International Buy Nothing Day.
: For the benefit of non-USAn posters: In the US the day after Thanksgiving
: is the "official" start of the Xmas shopping season, and the biggest
: shopping day of the year. Buy Nothing Day is on the same day -- this
: year, the 27th of February.
FEBRUARY 27?? I knew the "Christmas season" was getting longer, but
REALLY!
:)
Kent
Kent Parks
: I always mean to send cards, but I never get around to it. Does that count?
Well, now's your chance to get started! Buy some now and do one a
day...then they'll be ready! :)
Kent, who is going to bring up the "no gifts" policy with his inner circle
of friends this year, since it seems obvious (from recent Xmas gifts) that
it's nothing but a hassle for them (and me)
Susan C. Mitchell
: :)
: Kent
Um ...
um ...
Okay, I admit it. I have NO idea, not the faintest, how that happened.
Think globally, act locally.
Susan
baffled at what her own fingers do when she's not paying attention
Susan C. Mitchell
download and print out a "Christmas Gift Exemption Certificate," to give
to all your friends and family members, making them exempt from having to
buy you a gift.
Think globally, act locally.
Susan
--
John R. Snead
: In article <361004...@pop.erols.com>, Pau...@pop.erols.com
: says...
: --> Hmm, I'd wager it's considerably less accepted than being CF--but count
: --> me as a member of yet another minority (CF, atheist, vegan...). My
: --> stress level has decreased considerably since I went xmas-free a few
: --> years ago. Anyone else among the scrooge elite?
: -->
: Not that there's anything wrong with being Xmas-free, but am I
: the only person who shops from catalogs? After all, who needs the
: stress? I avoid my local mall from November 25-Jan 3.
: --
While I love but dislike my parents, I really enjoy buying presents for
my wife & closest friends. However, part of that enjoyment is in finding
actual nice presents for them. Catalogs sometimes work, and more
oftne galleries, and small stores. I do my best to avoid malls
at all times, but most esecially for holiday buying. I've found
holiday shopping in local bookstores and small shops to be fun,
OTOH malls are hellish crowded & besprogged places for the entire
holiday season and so I stay far away.
-John Snead jsn...@netcom.com
Rabbit
> >I'm pretty certain that we own every small piece of plastic ever manufactured
> >by Lego... at least if the 7 foot stacks of bins in our office (hah!
> >"office!") is any
> >evidence...
>
> My boyfriend and I recently went to this Lego outlet on our drive to
> Toronto. I bought (for $9 CDN) a Lego biplane, complete with a pilot,
> map, rotating propeller, etc.
>
I was very disappointed to see an advertisement for the latest Lego toys the other
day. It comes as a kit, and when you put the blocks together it makes some sort
of a large robot creature. You put a little man on this thing's shoulder. The
robot has an articulating arm.
The idea is that you and your friend both build these creatures, and then you
square off across the table and punch each other's robot with these arms, in the
hopes that you can knock the man off his shoulder.
You know, I really, really admired Lego toys because they seemed to be one of the
few toys on the market that were not made specifically for punching, fighting,
killing, tearing into ribbons, etc., etc., etc. I am VERY disappointed with them.
Rabbit
Rabbit
Jeri Jo Thomas wrote:
> In article <361004...@pop.erols.com>, Pau...@pop.erols.com
> says...
> --> Hmm, I'd wager it's considerably less accepted than being CF--but count
> --> me as a member of yet another minority (CF, atheist, vegan...). My
> --> stress level has decreased considerably since I went xmas-free a few
> --> years ago. Anyone else among the scrooge elite?
> -->
> Not that there's anything wrong with being Xmas-free, but am I
> the only person who shops from catalogs? After all, who needs the
> stress? I avoid my local mall from November 25-Jan 3.
> --
> <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*>
> Jeri Jo--
> kata...@earthlink.net
> MicroPlanet's "Gravity" V2.1
> <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*>
When I do buy presents, more than half of them do indeed come from catalogues.
The only drawback is that Canada's mail-order business is still way behind that
offered by the US, and when I buy from a US catalogue, the exchange, shipping
and duty can often drive the price up double.
Rabbit
Voris Tracy Van
> Hmm, I'd wager it's considerably less accepted than being CF--but count
ME!
I don't send cards to anyone. My friends have long since stopped giving
me anything because they know that it won't be reciprocated. As far as
family goes - I will make small gifts or maybe get a book for folks, but
I never, ever go into debt to give my loved ones some geejaw which will be
forgotten before the new year. We don't have a tree, either, but we do go
to the inlaws to help put up theirs in recognition of their family
tradition.
So, the bottom line from this scrooge is: I respect that others celebrate
the holiday, but I don't sweat the season. My home is pretty much
Christmas free.
I absolutely, positively DO NOT participate in office gift givings,
parties, or seasonal charity drives.
T.
Vera Izrailit
> > "Christmas-Free" is about as 'accepted' as child-free; but I don't care.
> Hmm, I'd wager it's considerably less accepted than being CF--but count
I had no trouble whatsoever with being Christmas-free in the USA - in fact
with a name like mine and my looks very few people ever even thought I
would celebrate Christmas. Here it's a different thing - people get very
surprised that I don't celebrate Christmas, although not in a negative
way. Some even give me Christmas gifts anyway.
One thing about being Christmas-free is that it might surprise a lot of
people, but I have never heard "you'll change your mind" yet. ;-)
--
Vera Izrailit
Intestinal parasites known as senders of unsolicited commercial email will
have their genitals removed by a rusty kitchen knife without anaesthesia,
be painfully sodomized by a herd of elephants and then slowly tortured to
death. Unlikely survivors will be promptly caught and fed to the lawyers.
Otter Pops
>> stress level has decreased considerably since I went xmas-free a few
>> years ago. Anyone else among the scrooge elite?
>
>ME!
>
>I don't send cards to anyone. My friends have long since stopped giving
>me anything because they know that it won't be reciprocated. As far as
>family goes - I will make small gifts or maybe get a book for folks, but
>I never, ever go into debt to give my loved ones some geejaw which will be
>forgotten before the new year. We don't have a tree, either, but we do go
>to the inlaws to help put up theirs in recognition of their family
>tradition.
>
After I moved away from home I had zero intrest in the x-mas thing, I go and
celebrate with family out of respect but have absolutly no need to bring
either dying or fake trees into my house and none of the other plastic junk
is of intrest to me. My question is (sorry it took so long to get to) has
anybody out their recieved one of those silly little garland christmas trees
from relatives when they hear that you don't plan on getting a tree? I have
been the "lucky" reciever of 2 myself. I find it's a lot easier on the
family (especially now that I am dealing with his) to just smile and say
thank you instead of a long explination on why I don't do christmas. They
are good people, and they already know and accept that I'm childfree and
don't go to church, no need to antagonize them by telling them that I
haven't been a christian for a long time.
Otter Pops
Pau...@pop.erols.com
> Not that there's anything wrong with being Xmas-free, but am I
> the only person who shops from catalogs? After all, who needs the
> stress? I avoid my local mall from November 25-Jan 3.
> --
For me it wasn't the actual physical stress of crowded shopping malls
but the stress of choosing appropriate presents, deciding how much to
spend on whom, who to buy for and who to drop (my DH has 7 siblings and
7 neices/ nephews; I have 1 brother who has two kids....) Plus I just
began to resent shelling out the money on presents many of the people
wouldn't like/ appreciate anyway. Plus I never much got into the 'xmas
spirit'--I never in my adult life chose to get a tree or put up
decorations. Basically I was doing the whole thing as an obligation,
which really began to grate. Blech.
Paula
Voris Tracy Van
> I have a question for all who are x-mas free (at least in our own houses).
> anybody out their recieved one of those silly little garland christmas trees
> from relatives when they hear that you don't plan on getting a tree? I have
> been the "lucky" reciever of 2 myself.
We've had offers in the past, and we've always politely declined them:
"Thanks, but no thanks. Our cat would tear it down in a heartbeat. We
also have to watch her because she likes to eat string (due to my
needlework, it's everywhere), and we really don't want to have to take her
to the vet if she accidently eats tinsel."
This works for us because anyone who knows our cat knows that she IS a
total hellion.
This might approach might work for certain pet owners, especially those
with cats, dogs, or maybe birds which already have a "bad reputation"
among other family members.
T.
Stephie Coane
I always preferred Playmobiles - still do, in fact, and will probably
start buying as soon as I get someplace I don't have to move out of in
less than 12 months!
Stephie, tiring of the semi-nomadic life
Geoffrey V. Bronner
>
>I was very disappointed to see an advertisement for the latest Lego toys
the other
>day. It comes as a kit, and when you put the blocks together it makes
some sort
>of a large robot creature. You put a little man on this thing's shoulder. The
>robot has an articulating arm.
>
>The idea is that you and your friend both build these creatures, and then you
>square off across the table and punch each other's robot with these arms,
in the
>hopes that you can knock the man off his shoulder.
That's LEGO CyberSlam... it reminds me of Rock'Em Sock'Em Robots.
Pictures are available online at <http://www.rtd.com/~dak_/lego.html>.
>You know, I really, really admired Lego toys because they seemed to be one
of the
>few toys on the market that were not made specifically for punching, fighting,
>killing, tearing into ribbons, etc., etc., etc. I am VERY disappointed
with them.
This has been a subject of heavy debate on rec.toys.lego as was the
introduction of the Wild West series where all the LEGO minfigs we're
armed. I'm into military history so I like having a LEGO cavalry unit but I
do see your point.
LEGO has been 'selling out' their original vision in a lot of ways recently
(maybe because of pressure in the toy market). LEGO Duplo, which is
targeted at toddlers, will soon come with Disney character pieces and LEGO
also has exclusive rights to market construction toys based on Star Wars
(this has been met with mixed reaction in rec.toys.lego and
rec.arts.starwars.*).
Along the way LEGO has been dumbed down a bit... sets have fewer pieces and
complex sets often come with large pre-molded sections instead of a lot of
little bricks. The classic LEGO Town sets are disappearing in favor of
space fighters and other stuff that is clearly aimed at 7-12 year old boys.
On the bright side, LEGO is still a lot better than a lot of other toys and
they have a real hot product just out called Mindstorms which is LEGO
combined with robotics and control software for a PC that let's you build
and control a robot or other device. One example is a motion sensor that
makes noise when something comes too close... I bet cats love it. Another
is a moving robot that can carry a disposable camera and take pictures on
command.
Mindstorms starts at $200 and is apparently the hottest geek toy in Silicon
Valley this year.
-Geoff
--
<http://www.dartmouth.edu/~geoffb/>
Steve/Beth George
: I suspect that the clothing and department stores are the ones that are
: crazed, giving the day its reputation, but if all you want is books,
: consider going out after supper that night(actually, I think malls in
: general are pretty slow that NIGHT, since everyone is exhausted from the
: day's conquests.)
Actually, it's the media. They find a few crowded stores and imply that
the entire NATION is teeming with shoppers.
We are slowing becoming, if not Christmas-free, at least Christmas
low-key.
For years, my MIL cooked a huge meal, and everyone in DH's extended family
gave everyone else presents. This year, DH, FIL, MIL and I realized that
we're not enjoying our gifts, giving or recieving (BIL has raised three
comsumer-culture gimmegimme moremoremores!) Last year, the good SIL and I
started bringing dishes to help MIL, and this year, we've decided that
adults don't need to give each other presents. I'll work on the presents
for chilllldrunnnn part next year. (FIL mentioned that a few nicely
wrapped gifts under the tree is a lovely sight, but dozens of gifts
spilling into the room is disgusting!)
As for the tree--I LOVE CHRISTMAS TREES. I get the biggest one that will
fit my ceiling, (leaving room for the spire on top). I buy a few
absolutely gorgeous, very fragile ornaments every year. Guess what? If
you TRAIN your cats and any kids you may know to STAY AWAY, they do.)
I refuse to buy those styrofoam breeder ornaments.
I love choosing a few well-thought-out presents for DH and our
sort-of-adopted kid in Germany (long story. I used to be her guardian at
RenFaire, she won a scholarship to Georgetown and we always send her a box
of stuff at Christmas, Valentine's Day and Easter. Since she has very
little, is an easy-to-fit size 9, appreciates gifts, and writes lovely
thank-you notes, we plan to continue sending her gifts now that she's
spending her junior year in Germany.)
I love listening to traditional carols.
I love decorating the mantlepiece.
I love sending cards. It's not a matter of obligation, it's a matter of
thinking about the people who have made our lives better for knowing them,
and acknowledging this. We usually buy a few different boxes of cards,
one beautiful, one silly, one pretty-and-without-speficic-reference-to-
Christmas, and decide who gets what. Whichever of us knows the recipient
best writes a personal message.
I've decided to send a message to my friends and basically say "We don't
need gifts to know you love us. Please, lets not exchange them. I hope
to see you over the holidays.
--Beth, planning to spend the moolah saved on stuff for our new house!
Larisa Migachyov
Distribution:
Geoffrey V. Bronner wrote:
:
:On the bright side, LEGO is still a lot better than a lot of other toys and
:they have a real hot product just out called Mindstorms which is LEGO
:combined with robotics and control software for a PC that let's you build
:and control a robot or other device. One example is a motion sensor that
:makes noise when something comes too close... I bet cats love it. Another
:is a moving robot that can carry a disposable camera and take pictures on
:command.
:
:Mindstorms starts at $200 and is apparently the hottest geek toy in Silicon
:Valley this year.
Hasn't this been around for a while already? I remember that my mom
attended a teacher seminar that was supposed to teach them how to use a
package called "Lego LOGO" - controlling Lego toys with the LOGO
programming language; and that was 9 years ago. Lots of fun, and easy
enough for little kids to use.
--
Larisa Migachyov * Quant'e bella giovinezza
Biomechanical Engineering * Che si fugge tuttavia!
Stanford University * Chi vuol esser lieto, sia;
http://www.stanford.edu/~lvm * Di doman non c'e certezza.
Paul Roberts
Anyone read "Our Game" by John Le Carre? There's a character is this
book who hates christmas so much that he spends the latter half of
each December somewhere where they don't do christmas either, such
as Groznyj ("Flew to Istanbul, flew to Baku, snuck up the coast, turned
left - piece of cake.")
- Paul
molly
:
: As for the tree--I LOVE CHRISTMAS TREES. I get the biggest one that will
: fit my ceiling, (leaving room for the spire on top). I buy a few
: absolutely gorgeous, very fragile ornaments every year. Guess what? If
: you TRAIN your cats and any kids you may know to STAY AWAY, they do.)
: I refuse to buy those styrofoam breeder ornaments.
Could you please share how you trained your cats to stay away from the tree?
I think we might not have one this year until Maxthepsychokitten calms down,
but I'd like to know for future reference.
Molly
Elizabeth Shack
>Could you please share how you trained your cats to stay away from the tree?
>I think we might not have one this year until Maxthepsychokitten calms down,
>but I'd like to know for future reference.
Give him some wavefunctions to play with.
No, I don't have any helpful advice, I'm just in a disgustingly cheerful
mood.
My Mom's cat never played much with the tree. She takes about two swipes
at it every year. She also doesn't eat houseplants, which is good since
Mom fills the house with poinsettias every Dec. She doesn't climb
furniture either. Maybe she's really a tree sloth pretending to be a cat.
Beth (I'll stop babbling now.)
--
Elizabeth Shack
sh...@fas.harvard.edu
G2, Physics
HCF
Jeri Jo Thomas wrote:
> him. My biggest problem is deciding to by for their husbands. One
> husband I also work with. I can't buy anything too personal so I
> limit gifts to them to gift certificates for restaurants, video
> stores, and multiplexes.
Gift certificates are one of the best things ever thought up! This year, instead of
buying my best friend a gift for her birthday, I am getting her a certificate to the
mall and she can buy for herself. Funny, a lot of people think it is so thoughtless
to essientially give money as a gift, but frankly, I think it is the best way to go.
Otherwise, you end up giving gifts that get stored in the closet or wherever and
never get used.
dph...@my-dejanews.com
that a friend of mine sent me last year. I wish I were the author....
Subject: Christmas Pisses Me Off
From: car...@pissedoff.com (pissedOff)
Newsgroups: alt.suicide.holiday, alt.drunken.bastards, alt.fan.jesus-christ,
alt.recovery.religion
Christmas Pisses Me Off
by Bob Nelson
tw...@ohio-state.com
Congratulations.
If you got this far, you're unbelievably open minded.
1) Christmas IS FINE if you accept that there's a GOD, and can also accept
a SOMEWHAT SCIENTIFICALLY SUSPECT ASSUMPTION that "god" had a SON. Three
billion people celebrate this. "Christmas is too commercial," they say. If
only it was.
2) Christmas gets repeated every year. How about one huge
mother-of-all-Christmases, and be done with it for about 50 years?
3) What's with gift giving? "Oh, I'm so delighted that Jesus was born two
thousand years ago that I'm going to give you an INCREDIBLY VIOLENT
COMPUTER GAME!" What does one have to do with the other? Then there's
gift-giving anxiety. This would almost make sense if half the people were
giving gifts to the other half. But since EVERYONE is exchanging gifts,
why not just call it a truce and buy something for yourself instead?
4) Send out those Christmas cards! What's the thinking here? "I want
others to receive my Christmas 'message' (whatever that means), but since
even *I* don't know what I'm talking about, I'll rely on a HALLMARK-PAID
WRITER to design this 'message' that I'll send to about fifty people --
some who I HARDLY KNOW. And each of them will send me cards with similar
unintelligible stock notes." Is this insane or what? LL Bean sent me a
"seasons greetings" card. Now what the hell is THAT supposed to mean?
5) Muzak versions of those horrid Christmas songs are force-fed ad nauseum
in every damn supermarket, department store, shopping center, building
lobby, and every other place where you can fit a speaker. Like in front of
people's houses so they can share Silent Night with the whole
neighborhood, as if no one has ever heard it before. But that could
actually be one of the few good things about Christmas. If you're buying a
house and want to know which neighborhoods to avoid, go for a drive on
Christmas week and look for the houses buried under toy soldiers,
reindeer, a few thousand light bulbs, Santa-on-a-trapeze and an inflatable
Bart Simpson.
6) There is no escaping Christmas. Everywhere you go and everyone you meet
talks about it. Ubiquitous, mindless, and NO DISSENT is permitted. In this
season of good cheer, don't you DARE even THINK of questioning this
practice of imposing religious beliefs on others, like when secretaries
dust off the cheap decorations for display in the office. (By the way, a
large hard drive and good file-search utility can replace those stupid,
arrogant, and nasty secretaries anyway.)
7) It's really nice when your local government expropriates your tax
dollars so they can spend it on planting ugly and offensive nativity
scenes on traffic arterials. Unconstitutional, irresponsible, wasteful,
and superstitious. Furthermore, why are GOVERNMENT offices closed on this
RELIGIOUS holiday? And worse, why do government agencies prohibit their
workers from showing up on this religious holiday?
8) The "season" builds and builds, and when Christmas morning finally
arrives...there's no climax. What was all the anticipation for? You can't
even go to the diner on Christmas. Can't even go to *McDonald's*.
Everything is closed. This is to ostensibly allow people to "be with their
families", as if we all work seven-days-a-week year-round in remote
factory towns thousands of miles from the relatives. So then we'll "hit
the road" to visit the relatives and celebrate the holiday by KILLING OFF
A FEW HUNDRED PEOPLE IN TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS.
9) Then we have Jews who get all ENVIOUS of this nonsense and have
Chanukah bushes, or even Christmas trees. Were it not for Christmas,
Chanukah would probably be relegated the same importance as the hundred
other minor Jewish holidays; i.e., largely ignored.
10) Uh-oh, another office Christmas party to somehow get out of. Nothing
like a social gathering of people, half of whom probably wish THE OTHER
HALF WERE DEAD. And the compulsory "donation" of $40 for room-temperature,
botulism-ridden mystery-casseroles. And isn't it fun to go wading in
KNEE-DEEP VOMIT in the streets and parking-lots after those parties?
11) How about the annual "feature articles" about holiday depression?
Though it is depressing watching the whole world go ape-shit over
non-events, I imagine that most people suffer from depression for other,
stupid, reasons.
12) Midnight mass is CREEPY.
13) We'll tell the kids about Santa Claus and then stress the importance
of education. I don't even know where to begin with this one. A
frightening representation of an eternally OBESE GERIATRIC using STUNTED
SLAVE-LABOR FREAKS to manufacture toys *out of thin air* to distribute to
minors from airborne cervines. What's the lesson here? Kids should accept
gifts from strangers? Welfare is good? Ignore your physics teacher?
14) Let's get all CONCERNED about the "environment" and how horrible it is
that trees get used for useless things like books and newspapers, so we
can then chop down 75 million conifers to tastelessly embellish in our
living room. What a BIZARRE RITUAL. And don't forget to stink up the
neighborhood with that yule log.
15) Merry Christmas! Now what does that mean? And how do you respond if
you don't recognize Christmas? "Sorry, I think religion is stupid." Or
"Sorry, I think YOUR religion is stupid." Or "Christmas pisses me off.
Here's an article you can read about it..."
RFerrie
Or the dreaded knick-knacks. We live in a moderately-sized condo. We
have limited surface area. We have three clumsy cats. Hence, we do not
appreciate Royal Doulton, candlesticks, or *any* sort of table-top
trinket. They get broken quickly, and those which survive, I have to
dust.
And yet, every year, people (who don't know us very well, and really
shouldn't be buying us anything) give us huge decorative bowls,
candelabras, statuey things, and sundry table-top trinkets. I
absolutely hate it. I would *love* to get *half* the value of the
doo-dad in cash or gift certificate - we'd both win. Heck, give us
movie passes, even.
Although, I do confess to using doo-dads as last-ditch gifts for
people I don't know well. Maybe NO gifts really is the answer.
Renee
Warning: Keep out of reach of children. They're really, really annoying.
molly
:
: My Mom's cat never played much with the tree. She takes about two swipes
: at it every year. She also doesn't eat houseplants, which is good since
: Mom fills the house with poinsettias every Dec. She doesn't climb
: furniture either. Maybe she's really a tree sloth pretending to be a cat.
I think so. MaxthePsychoKitten discovered the kitchen counters yesterday
(or rather the fact that he's now big enough to jump up there). We booby
trapped them by lining up spoons and forks so he knocks them down every
time he jumps up. I've also used baking sheets filled with water (they
hate that one!). Quark like the lights an awful lot last Christmas and
we've gone from one cat to three so I don't think there will be a tree this
year.
And we have no houseplants. My dream is to own a house with a sunroom -
I'll close the door to keep the cats out and have all my plants there.
Molly
Chris Clarke
>
> My Mom's cat never played much with the tree. She takes about two swipes
> at it every year. She also doesn't eat houseplants, which is good since
> Mom fills the house with poinsettias every Dec.
Poinsettias aren't poisonous. it's an urban legend of sorts.
Chris Henderson
> Dark River <law...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> : I always mean to send cards, but I never get around to it. Does that count?
>
> Well, now's your chance to get started! Buy some now and do one a
> day...then they'll be ready! :)
We don't send very many Christmas cards at all; only to those people we
know we won't actually see during the holidays. I sort of think that if
you're going to see the person, you can wish them a Merry Christmas in
person, so why send them a card? (Of course, this is just my opinion,
as I know some people like sending cards.)
>
> Kent, who is going to bring up the "no gifts" policy with his inner circle
> of friends this year, since it seems obvious (from recent Xmas gifts) that
> it's nothing but a hassle for them (and me)
We had a major breakthrough in my family this year. After about 5 years
of coaxing, my mom has finally decided to go with a gift exchange among
the adults, instead of each person buying each other person a gift. We
(meaning myself and my sister) have been bugging her for years to go this
route because buying gifts for everyone (there are 7 adults in total) was
just way too expensive. Her excuse was always "I want to buy gifts for my
chillll-druuuuunnnn at Christmas", even though her "children" are 31 and
33. This year, we'll draw names and I will have to buy gifts for *one*
person, not 6. We've set a fairly generous dollar limit, and I'm really
looking forward to buying a few nice things for whomever's name I get.
Besides my husband's side of the family who we do a small gift exchange
with, we only have one other couple who we've exchanged gifts with. This
year, we're going to suggest that we skip gift-giving and just go out for
a nice dinner. We are also NOT going to go out for New Year's Eve this
year. We've gone out for dinner for the past 5 years or so and have spent
a *fortune* on highly-overpriced meals and booze. I think this year, we'll
just have them over for dinner instead. Of course, we'll still buy gifts
for their three kids, as well as our assorted nieces and nephews.
Christine Henderson
(who seems to dread the Christmas season a little bit more each year)
Chris Henderson
> >
> Or the dreaded knick-knacks. We live in a moderately-sized condo. We
> have limited surface area. We have three clumsy cats. Hence, we do not
> appreciate Royal Doulton, candlesticks, or *any* sort of table-top
> trinket. They get broken quickly, and those which survive, I have to
> dust.
Yeah, you can really tell how much thought went into the choice of
the gift. My family knows that I keep my fingernails cut very short,
yet every year, I get a manicure set and nailpolish from one of them.
My MIL usually buys my husband wool thermal socks that he *never* wears
because he can't stand wool (you'd think his own mother would know this,
right?).
>
> And yet, every year, people (who don't know us very well, and really
> shouldn't be buying us anything) give us huge decorative bowls,
> candelabras, statuey things, and sundry table-top trinkets. I
> absolutely hate it. I would *love* to get *half* the value of the
> doo-dad in cash or gift certificate - we'd both win. Heck, give us
> movie passes, even.
Oooh, this reminds me of our wedding. Ten years ago, the most popular
gifts (at least in our area) were crystal cake plates. We got about
8 of them (and I don't bake cakes). Most of them were purchased from
a large china store in our city, so we just kept our favourite one and
took the rest back and exchanged them for items that we knew we'd actually
use. Of course, we never told the gift-givers that we had returned their
gifts, but I didn't feel guilty about it because if they had actually
taken the time to phone my mom or myself and *ask* what Rob and I needed,
their gifts wouldn't have been returned! Screw 'em, I say!
>
> Although, I do confess to using doo-dads as last-ditch gifts for
> people I don't know well. Maybe NO gifts really is the answer.
Movie passes or restaurant gift certificates make great gifts, especially
for people whose tastes you don't really know that well. Everyone loves
to have an evening out, especially if it doesn't cost them anything.
>
> Renee
> Warning: Keep out of reach of children. They're really, really annoying.
Christine Henderson
Jennifer
Henderson) wrote:
>We had a major breakthrough in my family this year. After about 5 years
>of coaxing, my mom has finally decided to go with a gift exchange among
>the adults, instead of each person buying each other person a gift. We
>(meaning myself and my sister) have been bugging her for years to go this
>route because buying gifts for everyone (there are 7 adults in total) was
>just way too expensive. Her excuse was always "I want to buy gifts for my
>chillll-druuuuunnnn at Christmas", even though her "children" are 31 and
>33. This year, we'll draw names and I will have to buy gifts for *one*
>person, not 6. We've set a fairly generous dollar limit, and I'm really
>looking forward to buying a few nice things for whomever's name I get.
>
>Christine Henderson
>(who seems to dread the Christmas season a little bit more each year)
>
We do something similar on my mother's side. Here's how we play:
- All the adults bring one gift.
- At the door, the gifts are placed under the tree.
- When it comes time to open them, a hat is passed around with numbers
in it, each person drawing one.
- Whomever draws number one, gets to choose a gift first (they can
choose any one of them), opens it and shows it off to everyone else.
- The next person in line (#2 of course) has the choice of either
choosing a gift from the pile or they can steal the gift that has been
opened.
- If someone's gift is stolen, they get to steal a gift (any open
gift) or choose another from the pile to open.
- The game continues, with each person either opening a gift or
choosing something someone already has, until everything is opened
- Important -- there can only be three steals per round, so the third
person to lose something has to open a new gift. This keeps the game
rolling.
I can't say that I was too hot on the idea the first time, until we
started playing. It was a lot of fun, and everyone ended up with
something they really liked. I got a cool moving sculpture and a load
of gourmet chocolate from See's* (stolen from my mom!) and Travis
ended up with a sundae set that had ice cream mix, bowls, toppings and
a scoop.
*See's Candy is a chain of gourmet chocolate stores on the West Coast.
Jennifer - Mine is not to rear children, mine is only to corrupt them.
http://members.xoom.com/Crowguys/
Rose M Delckum
buying toy.. by mo...@busprod.com
> I'll close the door to keep the cats out and have all my plants there.
>
Riiight. These are cats, remember? If you shut them out of
a room, getting access will become their mission in life. They'll
dedicate most of their waking hour (yes, hour :-) ) to figuring out
how to get in there. And eventually they'll succeed, because they're
cats :-)
> Molly
Roo, who now acknowledges that her cats own the house and
everything in it...
--
Rose M. Delckum rm...@cmu.edu
Computing Facilities Administrator
School of Architecture rdel...@andrew.cmu.edu
Carnegie Mellon University
Back up my hard drive? How do I put it in reverse?
Geoffrey V. Bronner
(Larisa Migachyov) wrote:
>:
>:Mindstorms starts at $200 and is apparently the hottest geek toy in Silicon
>:Valley this year.
>
>Hasn't this been around for a while already? I remember that my mom
>attended a teacher seminar that was supposed to teach them how to use a
>package called "Lego LOGO" - controlling Lego toys with the LOGO
>programming language; and that was 9 years ago. Lots of fun, and easy
>enough for little kids to use.
>
LEGO has been quietly selling stuff like that as part of their DACTA line
(aimed at primary and secondary schools). Mindstorms is the first time they
have really taken this directly to consumers and it looks like it is 9+
years ahead in technology as you'd expect.
-Geoff
--
<http://www.dartmouth.edu/~geoffb/>
Stephie Coane
> large hard drive and good file-search utility can replace those stupid,
> arrogant, and nasty secretaries anyway.)
I'm not a secretary, but this is rather offensive to secretaries. There
are some very good ones out there. Unfortunately most of them are not as
young as they used to be, so far too many people hire eye candy, or else
someone younger and non-threatening who unfortunately can't spell...
Stephie, who read that the job of secretary was very
respectable... as long as it was a man's job...
Stephie Coane
Boadicea, my dieffenbachia, is poisonous (an alternative name is dumb
cane, because the sap does nasty things to the vocal chords). No kid had
better chew on her...
Stephie, very proud of Boadicea who is growing her seventh
inflorescence this year, and whose daughter is getting her second leaf :-)
Tricia
> I think so. MaxthePsychoKitten discovered the kitchen counters yesterday
> (or rather the fact that he's now big enough to jump up there).
Yikes! That reminds me that Scout will be able to reach any day now.
We booby
> trapped them by lining up spoons and forks so he knocks them down every
> time he jumps up. I've also used baking sheets filled with water (they
> hate that one!).
That sounds like it might work with Scout. Claudia, however _likes_ playing in
water. We have to keep the toilet seat down or she'll splash in it with her
paws. But she's already counter-trained.
With Claudia, we made a "false extension" to the counter by having large
pieces of cardboard sticking out then weighted them with empty soda cans
filled with a few marbles. When she jumped up, the cans would get knocked down
and make a Big Scary Noise.
Tricia
Marisa Wood
> When I do buy presents, more than half of them do indeed come from catalogues.
Same here. I give gifts of music for birthdays, holidays, etc. quite a
lot--especially music that's hard to find, because I get two or three
really good music catalogs....
Musical taste is one thing I make a note of, for presents and things like
that.... (pun intended? ;) ) My friend Mary got a recording of Vivaldi's
*Four Seasons* from me last Yule, when her old copy wore out....
And I'm hoping to buy Kate Wolf's *Give Yourself to Love* 2-set for my
friend Linda this Yule; she's been wanting it for *years*!
I ordered Roy Orbison's *King of Hearts* album (which features his duet on
"Crying" with k.d. lang) from a catalog last year, for my mom who had
heard the duet once and couldn't stop raving about it.
Now she can--and does--play the tape, and hear the duet, any time she
wants! :) (I could go into all the gushy things she said about what a
wonderful daughter she has, who puts so much thought into her gifts, but
I'll spare you the more nauseating stuff ;) )
Marisa Wood Testimonial from client Max Zippel:
ish...@blarg.net "PurrrrrRRRRRRRR." /\_/\
Consummate Cat Sitter/ = o_o =
Feline Fantasies Fulfilled ^
Chris Henderson
>
> We do something similar on my mother's side. Here's how we play:
(snip description of gift-giving "game")
On my husband's side of the family, we tried to do a game like this,
but the one couple with chilllll-druuuunnn didn't like the idea of
*stealing* a gift if you didn't like the one you got. They thought
that the concept of stealing didn't "set a good example" for their
easily-influenced kids. Barf! So now, each person brings a gender-
neutral wrapped gift, each person rolls the dice and picks a gift,
but you keep whatever gift you pick. It totally sucks!
>
> I can't say that I was too hot on the idea the first time, until we
> started playing. It was a lot of fun, and everyone ended up with
> something they really liked. I got a cool moving sculpture and a load
> of gourmet chocolate from See's* (stolen from my mom!) and Travis
> ended up with a sundae set that had ice cream mix, bowls, toppings and
> a scoop.
I ended up with a disposable camera which I used this summer on our
vacation (it took horrible pictures) and my husband ended up with
some stupid gift that got thrown away soon after we got home with it.
>
> *See's Candy is a chain of gourmet chocolate stores on the West Coast.
>
>
> Jennifer - Mine is not to rear children, mine is only to corrupt them.
> http://members.xoom.com/Crowguys/
Christine Henderson
(who wonders what lame game the in-laws are going to plan this year)
naomi pardue
> We had a major breakthrough in my family this year. After about 5 years
> of coaxing, my mom has finally decided to go with a gift exchange among
> the adults, instead of each person buying each other person a gift. We
> (meaning myself and my sister) have been bugging her for years to go this
> route because buying gifts for everyone (there are 7 adults in total) was
> just way too expensive. Her excuse was always "I want to buy gifts for my
> chillll-druuuuunnnn at Christmas", even though her "children" are 31 and
> 33. This year, we'll draw names and I will have to buy gifts for *one*
> person, not 6. We've set a fairly generous dollar limit, and I'm really
> looking forward to buying a few nice things for whomever's name I get.
>
My family went to the 'drawing names' thing for the adult siblings about
5 years ago. (Though we actually only drew names the first year, and we
cycle through the list.) We wanted to include my parents, but they didn't
want to be included. Like your mother, mine wants to buy presents for her
adult children.
I like the new system a lot. Not only does it reduce shopping, but it
means that the lucky recipients (we draw by couple, not person, so we can
buy gifts for the home, if desired), get something substantial rather
than a token gift.
Naomi
Mark Atwood
>
> Unfortunately I had a bad experience the last time I went to FAO
> Schwarz. It was the day after Thanksgiving, and the mall was packed,
> and mommies were knocking things over with their big-ass strollers
> right and left. I ran as fast as I could (after buying a snow
> leopard).
I've visited the big FAO Schwarz here in Boston. What a let down.
I guess I was expecting something like what was shown in "Big", but
instead it felt like, smelt like, was as crowded as, and was as garish
as a Kay Bee Toy & Hobby.
--
Mark Atwood | But that's the way of the puritans - mind like a steel trap:
m...@pobox.com | you take the bait, and it snaps shut in its deathgrip.
| -- Rich Grise <rich...@entheosengineering.com>
molly
: Elizabeth Shack wrote:
: >
: > My Mom's cat never played much with the tree. She takes about two swipes
: > at it every year. She also doesn't eat houseplants, which is good since
: > Mom fills the house with poinsettias every Dec.
:
: Poinsettias aren't poisonous. it's an urban legend of sorts.
I've heard that the "myth" can be traced to one person reporting that their
cat had an upset stomach after eating poinsettia leaves. Then again,
wouldn't you?
I don't know if it's true or not, though.
Molly
Ruth Mastron
We just gave up trying to keep them off of anything they want. Think of
them as decorative accessories.
Ruth Mastron
(Pussy-whipped for *real*!)
RPU3
Ruth wrote:
(re: trying to keep cats off of things)
We just gave up trying to keep them off of anything they want. Think of
them as decorative accessories.
Ruth Mastron
(Pussy-whipped for *real*!)
Me:
No kidding! Ours don't do the kitchen counters. Our cats think that the
dining room table is their home. They get upset when we try to eat on it. It
was really embarrassing to have the in-laws over and have them holler at them
for setting their things down on it!
And they drink out of the toilet, never out of their bowl. Let's just say I
never remember to dry the seat before I sit.
Rebecca
HouryCori
Molly>>>>
I checked the poisonous plants brochure at the Master Gardener's office
today....
The berries and the sap of the poinsettia are poisonous.
Cori
E l i s e
Thomas) wrote:
>Not that there's anything wrong with being Xmas-free, but am I
>the only person who shops from catalogs?
Me! Me!
I don't know how any tall woman could shop (for clothing) otherwise!
However, I don't usually give clothing as gifts, so I do most holiday
shopping on foot.
Elise
Dorothea Salo
glenn...@aol.com (Glenna1969) wrote:
> Well I'm trying to decide which clothes catalog to try for myself. I'm an
> abnormal female who doesn't thrive on shopping because I'm a recluse. 5'5",
> size 8-10, looking for preppy, and also feminine but simple not frilly. Good
> quality. Any ideas?
Well, I drool over The Daily Planet catalog, but I don't know that I
would call it preppy.
Dorothea
--
Dorothea Salo | High Priestess of Mung
Gradual Student <*> |
dmrovner (at) students.wisc.edu | http://www.sit.wisc.edu/~dmrovner
naomi pardue
Jeri Jo Thomas (kata...@earthlink.net) wrote:
> In article <36254819....@news.tiac.net>,
> ely...@nospamnothanks.tiac.net says...
> --> However, I don't usually give clothing as gifts, so I do most holiday
> --> shopping on foot.
> -->
> But there're more than just clothing catalogues, from Neiman-
> Marcus, with their 250,000 dollar 120kt diamond and pearl
> tiara/necklace, to Lillian Vernon and her personalized leather
> large gum-pack caddy.
Don't forget Hammecher Schlammer's (sp?) personal submarine!
Naomi
Melissa V. McPherson
monica wrote in message <362614e1...@news.mindspring.com>...
>x-no-archive:yesOn 15 Oct 1998 04:02:55 GMT, glenn...@aol.com
(Glenna1969)
>wrote:
>
>
>>Well I'm trying to decide which clothes catalog to try for myself. I'm an
>>abnormal female who doesn't thrive on shopping because I'm a recluse.
5'5",
>>size 8-10, looking for preppy, and also feminine but simple not frilly.
Good
>>quality. Any ideas?
>
>Try Land's End. I love a lot of their stuff, but much of it is too preppy
for
>me. (or maybe it's just conservative) It is always high quality and
fairly
>priced. They are also very easy to deal with. Good luck.
>monica
I like Land's End too. Go try their web site. www.landsend.com
Melissa V. McPherson
http://www.childfree.com
Writers needed!
Susan Preston
>
> On Mon, 28 Sep 1998 21:09:31 -0500, kata...@earthlink.net (Jeri Jo
> Thomas) wrote:
>
> >Not that there's anything wrong with being Xmas-free, but am I
> >the only person who shops from catalogs?
>
> Me! Me!
>
> I don't know how any tall woman could shop (for clothing) otherwise!
>
>
> Elise
My family calls me the 'catalog queen' because I shop exclusively from
catalogs for christmas and birthday gifts. Right now I have a stack of
catalogs at least 10" high to go through once I put together my list of
family and friends.
Catalogs have neat stuff that you just cannot find at the mall. The mall
stuff is so boring, and the same all over. I also do alot of clothes
shopping from Chadwick's. They have a nice selection of tall slacks for
women. Not the best quality, but the price is good and my clothes take
a beating at work so I don't expect more than a year out of them.
Plus, the stuff comes straight to my door, and I don't have to deal with
strollers 3-wide in the aisles, or kids crying that they're bored
shopping.
Perfect for me.
Susan in CT
molly
: >On Mon, 28 Sep 1998 21:09:31 -0500, kata...@earthlink.net (Jeri Jo
: >Thomas) wrote:
:
: >>Not that there's anything wrong with being Xmas-free, but am I
: >>the only person who shops from catalogs?
: Well I'm trying to decide which clothes catalog to try for myself. I'm an
: abnormal female who doesn't thrive on shopping because I'm a recluse. 5'5",
: size 8-10, looking for preppy, and also feminine but simple not frilly. Good
: quality. Any ideas?
Lands' End (the misplaced apostrophe is deliberate). Not the cheapest, but
I've been very happy with their quality.
Molly <-- whose ultimate goal is to own every piece of Polartec clothing they
sell.
Wallacd
>My family calls me the 'catalog queen' because I shop exclusively from
>catalogs for christmas and birthday gifts. Right now I have a stack of
>catalogs at least 10" high to go through once I put together my list of
>family and friends.
>
>Catalogs have neat stuff that you just cannot find at the mall. The mall
>stuff is so boring, and the same all over. I also do alot of clothes
>shopping from Chadwick's. They have a nice selection of tall slacks for
>women. Not the best quality, but the price is good and my clothes take
>a beating at work so I don't expect more than a year out of them.
>
>Plus, the stuff comes straight to my door, and I don't have to deal with
>strollers 3-wide in the aisles, or kids crying that they're bored
>shopping.
I'm with you Susan. I'm just about finished with my Christmas shopping & I've
ordered everything by catalog or online. The only thing I'll buy at a store is
a few stocking stuffers (like Holiday M & Ms, etc.). People ask how I'll get
in the holiday spirit if I don't go shopping in the Christmas season. My
response? I suspect I'll have a lot more holiday spirit this year having
avoided the horrors of Christmas shopping at the mall.
Debra
(wal...@aol.com)
"I haven't seen that twinkle in her eye since the neighbor children discovered
our electric fence." (Niles to Frasier about Maris).
Rabbit
> in the holiday spirit if I don't go shopping in the Christmas season. My
> response? I suspect I'll have a lot more holiday spirit this year having
> avoided the horrors of Christmas shopping at the mall.
>
Someone asked me that once. I said, "What, the holiday spirit is wading through
crowds at the mall, wondering what to get people, worrying about how much money I
have left, lining up to pay and driving for miles to find a parking spot?"
Rabbit
Jennifer
>I'm with you Susan. I'm just about finished with my Christmas shopping & I've
>ordered everything by catalog or online. The only thing I'll buy at a store is
>a few stocking stuffers (like Holiday M & Ms, etc.). People ask how I'll get
>in the holiday spirit if I don't go shopping in the Christmas season. My
>response? I suspect I'll have a lot more holiday spirit this year having
>avoided the horrors of Christmas shopping at the mall.
>
>Debra
>(wal...@aol.com)
>"I haven't seen that twinkle in her eye since the neighbor children discovered
>our electric fence." (Niles to Frasier about Maris).
>
I went to the mall with Travis this past weekend and I told him that it was the
last time I'm stepping foot in there until mid-January.
I did start my Christmas shopping yesterday. Online, of course. Travis and I fly
from Nashville, TN to North Bend, OR, so we don't have a lot of room for gifts.
We're buying everything mail order this year and having it shipped directly home
so we don't have to take it with us.
This year I'll have more time for the fun holiday stuff!!! Things like
decorating, trimming the tree, baking cookies and holiday treats and visiting
friends.
Jennifer - ChildFree-dom
http://members.xoom.com/ChildFREEdom/