Best 2007 Gifts - Oprah Inspired!

[CrookedRock]

Ok, so I tivo''d Oprah (Op''s as I call her) today because it was her Favorite Things show! She had some great things showcased, such as the Planet Earth Series, which BF and I already planned to buy for a few people because we were fascinated by it!

I want to know what are some of you favorite gifts you have ever given or received! Anything you plan to give this year we should know about, or anything in the past. Great BF/Husband gift ides get extra brownie points!!!

 

[Haven]

Best gift I ever received: a rare first edition of one of my favorite novels, from FI last hanukkah.
Best gift I''ve ever given: an electric guitar autographed by all the members of FI''s favorite band, last hanukkah.

We actually only give gifts in my family if we find something superbly appropriate, and if not we write handwritten letters to each other. FI and I had both found these gifts for each other months before the holidays, and we decided to hold on to them and exchange them then. That novel was the most exciting thing I''ve ever seen hidden behind wrapping paper!

 

[CrookedRock]

Haven... love that gifts are only given if really appropriate and perfect. I would def say that I would prefer a heatfelt letter from a loved one rather than a silly, useless gift. What was this special novel you received? It is something we should all read? I love a great book!

 

[Haven]

FI gave me a first printing of Ayn Rand''s Atlas Shrugged. I would say everyone should read it at least once, but let me warn you--Ayn Rand is not for everyone. She has a very rigid writing style, and the literati pretty much hate her, but I just love this novel! I looked for a mint condition first edition for three years and gave up, and then lo and behold! FI found it. He''s the best.

I LOVE the letters. I have so many cherished handwritten letters from family and now my FI. I take them out when I''m in need of cheering up and they are some of my most cherished gifts.

 

[bebe]

Oh, I''ve been waiting for that episode.

My fav on her show was the Clarisonic skin brush.
I''ve read about it, but wondered if it really was worth the $$$

I might be putting that on my list this year.

 

[justageek]

First off:
that''s an incredibly thoughtful, meaningful gift exchange by you and your FI

It''s wonderful to hear about people really getting into the spirit of gift-giving and not just exchanging socks and irons bought the day OF (my parents

)

Secondly:
AGH I love "Atlas Shrugged"! ::runs around in circles:: And a rare edition!!! That''s like receiving my dream ring (~1.7ct EC with l/w of 1.3 in Leon''s classic solitaire setting with double claw prongs... in case you wanted to know) but a hundred times better!!!!!!!

and for people who want to know if they should add this to their reading lists, here''s some shameless plugging of the wonderful book that is "Atlas Shrugged": 1000+ page book, couldn''t put it down and ended up reading it in one huge block of time. Keep in mind, this wasn''t just any ol'' sitting around, watching "The Office" time -- it was oh-my-finals-are-in-a-few-days-and-I-have-to-pass-prelims time. Part of the enjoyment lies in the awesome guilty pleasure that it is to read about a smart, capable woman getting swept off her feet by deserving fellows, which may not be appreciated by everyone... but the morals of the book stand strong, I think. It absolutely filled my heart with joy, and I love Rand''s particular brand of innocence/worldliness. The first half is a little slow (suspenseful, I say) and the second half is amazing. MUST-READ!
It was also named one of the most influential books of the 20th century by some business magazine. And it was mentioned on "The Colbert Report"

 

[Nicrez]

Date: 11/20/2007 9:37:39 PM
Author: Haven
FI gave me a first printing of Ayn Rand''s Atlas Shrugged. I would say everyone should read it at least once, but let me warn you--Ayn Rand is not for everyone. She has a very rigid writing style, and the literati pretty much hate her, but I just love this novel! I looked for a mint condition first edition for three years and gave up, and then lo and behold! FI found it. He''s the best.

I LOVE the letters. I have so many cherished handwritten letters from family and now my FI. I take them out when I''m in need of cheering up and they are some of my most cherished gifts.

Haven I am so jealous! That is such a great great great gift! I actually am a huge fan of Ayn and Objectivism. I remember once writing a long paper on Objectivism and the progressive tax rate with references in classical philosophy. It was a rough write, but it made me truly appreciate Atlas Shrugged, and so I reread it. Since I keep an extra copy to loan friends... She does have a very unique style, but it''s interesting. Terse, and concise as I like to call it.

I also keep hand written letters. I adore them! Plus it helps to fuel my bad stationery habit...I once had a long distance tihing where we wrote love letters and of course visited and called, but the best part to both of us was the expecting another long letter from each other... He was the only man I ever knew that had almost near perfect penmanship as well, so not only was his writing lovely but the prose behind it was beautiful and totally worth keeping. It''s still in a box away in storage...

 

[Nicrez]

Best gift was a trip to visit my dear friend which was a total surprise for my birthday...unexpected and perfectly planned.

Best gift given was a box of chocolates.

I mean they were quite good, but it was because I had a friend of a friend coming in from Switzerland where the chocolates were coming from. It was rough getting them because of the tight timing.

My friend and her husband were fighting for the holidays, and her husband didn''t know how to apologize. I knew they loved these chocolates, and so much so that he had put the ring in one of their boxes to throw her off his scent on the trip back.

What I didn''t know was that the smell of them reminded them both of the best day they had together. I knew they''d be a hit, but because it was so well timed (and I wasn''t priivy to that at the time), but when they both started to cry at the box opening I was a bit shocked.

I took a bit of credit that they made up shortly after...

But we can really blame it on the chocolates...

 

[Miranda]

Date: 11/20/2007 9:37:39 PM
Author: Haven
FI gave me a first printing of Ayn Rand''s Atlas Shrugged. I would say everyone should read it at least once, but let me warn you--Ayn Rand is not for everyone. She has a very rigid writing style, and the literati pretty much hate her, but I just love this novel! I looked for a mint condition first edition for three years and gave up, and then lo and behold! FI found it. He''s the best.

I LOVE the letters. I have so many cherished handwritten letters from family and now my FI. I take them out when I''m in need of cheering up and they are some of my most cherished gifts.

DH''s ears perked up when I told him about the gift your FI got for you. He likes to listen to Ayn Rand''s books when he''s driving in the car for long periods of time. He has never read or listened to Atlas Shrugged, though. Thanks for the awesome gift idea!!!

 

[monarch64]

Date: 11/20/2007 9:18:19 PM
Author: Haven
Best gift I ever received: a rare first edition of one of my favorite novels, from FI last hanukkah.
Best gift I''ve ever given: an electric guitar autographed by all the members of FI''s favorite band, last hanukkah.

We actually only give gifts in my family if we find something superbly appropriate, and if not we write handwritten letters to each other. FI and I had both found these gifts for each other months before the holidays, and we decided to hold on to them and exchange them then. That novel was the most exciting thing I''ve ever seen hidden behind wrapping paper!

Now THAT is the coolest holiday gift idea I''ve heard. Suck on that, Oprah! LOL! I would love to get a heartfelt letter from a family member way more than a material gift, and to give something like that would be very fulfilling as well. Good for you and your family, Haven, for recognizing the true meaning of the holidays and treating each other so well...you are very blessed.

 

[monarch64]

Date: 11/20/2007 11:24:12 PM
Author: Nicrez
Best gift was a trip to visit my dear friend which was a total surprise for my birthday...unexpected and perfectly planned.

Best gift given was a box of chocolates.

I mean they were quite good, but it was because I had a friend of a friend coming in from Switzerland where the chocolates were coming from. It was rough getting them because of the tight timing.

My friend and her husband were fighting for the holidays, and her husband didn''t know how to apologize. I knew they loved these chocolates, and so much so that he had put the ring in one of their boxes to throw her off his scent on the trip back.

What I didn''t know was that the smell of them reminded them both of the best day they had together. I knew they''d be a hit, but because it was so well timed (and I wasn''t priivy to that at the time), but when they both started to cry at the box opening I was a bit shocked.

I took a bit of credit that they made up shortly after...

But we can really blame it on the chocolates...

How cool is that!!!! Reading your chocolate story brought tears to my eyes, it''s amazing how a well-thought-out and executed gift can bring someone (or in your case, a couple) so much joy.

I''ve been fortunate in my life to receive many wonderful gifts, but I think one of my favorites was spending one Christmas vacation with just my dad and my grandmother in Florida...we FL lovers skipped town and left the midwest-snow-lovers at home and just enjoyed a week of fun in the sun, it is probably one of my best memories of my dad and grandma so far (they are both still with us), and I know I will have those happy times in my mind forever.

 

[CrookedRock]

SO Ironic that the book it Atlas Shruged. We recently had some friends in town for a visit and he reccomended this book over and over, so I bought it for my BF. Then his wife told me it was a book that I had to read too. Unfortunately the BF is in Patagonia right now with our book! He keeps emailing me teasing me about the story. I''m chomping at the bit to read it!!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 11/20/2007 8:41:18 PM
Author:CrookedRock
Ok, so I tivo''d Oprah (Op''s as I call her) today because it was her Favorite Things show! She had some great things showcased, such as the Planet Earth Series,

Planet Earth is one of our favorites!!! We''ve seen both versions, but like the David Attenborough narrated one better.

 

[lumpkin]

It is very hard to top heartfelt letters. Having someone literally tell you how special you are is priceless.

The best gifts I get are memory related. My mother is having me put together a scrapbook for her with pictures of her parents and grandparents. I had not seen a lot of the pictures and I''m getting copies made. My mother loves to get pictures of our kids and finds that is much more satisfying to her than any store purchase.

Really personal gifts, the kind that you can''t get from someone you don''t know really well, are my favorite gifts. Like the Ayn Rand book, or something you''ve shared with someone you are very close to.

From people I''m friends with or close to but not super intimate, more generic gifts are great. I love to get and give gift cards to favorite stores, and the opportunity to browse through the scrapbook store and buy paper punches or special inks and stamps is something I adore doing. Any kind of art supply or paint, or handmade papers, or anything creative is something I will enjoy very much.

I also like hand made gifts. One year I got a set of hand made thank you cards and I thought that was very cool! I got a quilt one year, and I''ve also gotten many fleece blankets my mom and sister hemmed up for us. I''ve gotten several aprons made or decorated for me, and since I can''t prepare or eat food without getting it all over my chest, I appreciate those a lot! Plus they are soooooo pretty and I get tons of complements and comments on them.