Happy 41st!

Guess what! It’s my parents’ anniversary again! 41 years. 41 YEARS!!! Sheesh.

And between the mortgage and other bills, I have no money with which to buy them a present. So I created the mulberry hangers I spoke of in an earlier post. They can stick them in the coat closet and hopefully smile when they use them because they are so pretty.

The problem is not as much the money (since I am a good shopper), it’s really the “rules” I have to follow when buying presents, only a few of which are self-imposed. If the giftie can’t follow all the rules, it must at least follow some of them:

1. Not a gift card/gift certificate. My parents hate, hate, hate these because they believe gift certs represent something thoughtless. They also dislike giving them. What they forget is that many people prefer these, because they can be spent at any time. I like Amazon ones the best.
2. It must be a beautiful addition to the room, or home, or body. Ugly presents, or presents bought in poor taste = bad presents. Objets d’art are nice, if they aren’t too weird.
3. It must be useful, but in a good way. What I mean by this is that when it is used, it must remind you of that person because it is really cool, or pretty, or charming, or interesting. It should not make you say, “yuck” every time you look at it. The worst present I ever got from a boyfriend was a five-pack of lint rollers. Every time I used them, I had to think of him and say “Oh my freaking god. Who gives their girlfriend lint rollers?” Why he bought this for me, I will never know. I mean, I like lint rollers, but why is that even acceptable? This from the same guy who bought me a gorgeous pair of twinkly diamond studs. Which I guess I should probably wear once in a while, actually.
4. Organic/natural is always nice.
5. Funny works, too.
6. The present may not stink, unless my mom asks for something special, like soap in a certain scent (I used to make a lot of melt-and-pour soaps and lotions.) This rule also applies to flowers, except for roses.
7. Meaningfulness. When something is meaningful, it must really exude it. Like when my parents asked what I wanted this year for my birthday, and I wanted an iPod shuffle in green, so they got that, and it was perfect, and they also got it engraved on the back – “You are our music. Love, Mom and Dad.” How perfect is that!!?? I have cool parents.
8. The worst rule yet… don’t even think of asking what someone wants. Now this is just plain silly. They ask me what I want, so why can’t I ask them?

Examples of these rules include: sandstone coasters, geode bookends, carved elephant with trunk up (this signifies good luck), tissue box in the shape of a tiki, figure-flattering sweater, leather backpack, beautiful pillows to match a new bedroom set, sterling silver dragonfly pendant, pima cotton shirt, a good book.

Anyway, this year they are getting the hangers. I'll let you know if they like them.