The {geeky} wife

I love giving gifts. One of my favorite things in the whole world is to randomly find something that I think a person would love. As a kid, I used to scrounge up my money and buy something for my parents. It made me happy to make them happy. Gift giving was easy up until I got married. I only had my parents to shop for, and I know them well. But after we were married, I was thrust into this strange concept of “family gatherings” and buying presents for his family whom I definitely didn’t have 20+ years of knowledge on. Buying gifts, especially for “obligatory” things like Christmas, has become really stressful for me…and I really don’t like that.

This Christmas, my sister in law and I teamed up to produce the cookbook you see above. It was a lot more work than we anticipated, but it turned out really well. I’ve been thinking about it since then, and I realized that the really awesome gifts are the ones where you put part of yourself into it. In this case, I’m a pretty amazing cook (or so I’d like to think) and my sister in law is a wizard with the scrapbooking.

So whatever the occasion, give what you do best as a gift. Paint or draw something, make a blanket or shawl, or put together a photo album. Not so craftsy? Well, you’re not off the hook. Figure out what you ARE good at (yes, you have something!) and use that. Make your spouse a coupon book, redeemable for chores they normally do. Buy a journal, write down some memories of you and this person, then encourage them to fill in the rest. Cook them a special dinner, complete with candles and dessert. Wrap up your favorite book and give that to them.

There is something that you do better than anyone else. Use that. Remember, gift giving isn’t meant to be a burden. Give what you want to give, and only as much as you are able. A gift that reflects YOU is better than anything else.

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