Gifts to friends:
AKG 240s headphones
Trini Lopez vinyl
Charlie Daniels Band vinyl
Jeepers Creepers 2
Politically Correct Bedtime Stories
Gravity's Rainbow - Thomas Pynchon
Walden - Henry David Thoreau
Eraserhead
A carton of Marlboro Special Blend Gold

Family:
An ink drawing of Batman that took 3 days
Stephen King's new book
Jeffrey Eugenides' new book
A shelf from IKEA
$20 Cinemark gift card (3)
$50 Walmart gift card
Bruno Mars poster
Beatles wine glass set
Bottle of wine

Eh, the only gifts I think are worth mentioning are those I got for my father & my moms cats. He's insanely hard to shop for, as he's not very materialistic, but quite well off so he can just buy whatever he wants...

...so I bought him socks. Socks that cost $10 per sock, meaning $20 a pair. Socks that come with a lifetime warranty. I got various blends, generally some mixture of silk, merino wool, cashmere, and some sort of synthetic. For some reason the synthetic helps to wick away moisture better than purely natural blends.

In regards to the cats; I got one pound of catnip from the farmers market. Half an ounce of that stuff = two barn cats, each of which are close to twenty pounds, flopping and hopping and sneezing and scratching.... great entertainment for all, especially the children.

^ Yes, this is a much nicer idea for a thread, Urban, and it has some quite revealing posts. For me, the most startling have been SiriusB`s, and the sad story of Burning Down`s AWOL uncle.

Most of my family and friends have happily established a mutual no-present pact, but here is a list of the main exceptions :

My son: Has been asking for a car stereo for months, so he doesn`t have to listen to me when we`re driving around. This, of course, has the benefit of being a present for myself too.*
My mother-in-law: a tasteful Views-of-Mexico calendar. The great thing about giving calendars is that you don`t have to think of a new gift idea next year; just buy another calendar.
My father-in-law: rather boring polo shirt to suit his sedate style in clothes.
My landlady: calendar as above.
A fellow-tenant: two cans of genuine, exported, Dublin Guinness.

* What were the first cd`s to get played ?
...My son : Planet Pitbull by Pitbull
...Me : Congotronics by Konono No.1. ( If you`re curious about Congotronics, take a look here: http://www.musicbanter.com/country-f...mber-30-a.html )

Father - Pearl Jam documentary
Mother - iPad protector
Sister - Gift card

Done.

It's been a rough year financially for me and I couldn't afford much so, in addition to a few small gifts, I did a series of paintings, one for each member of my family. I think they turned out pretty well, and everyone seemed to like them, so I guess they were a good call.

I did a "it's the thought that counts" Christmas since I've been broke for ages and wrote a short story for half of my recipients and wrote a 12 minute song for the other half. My household family got both.

This year, although they've (obviously) not yet received said presents:

Mom: North Face zip-up (those things are ****ing pricey), and two University of Kentucky shirts.
Sister (23): Batman hooded, feetie pajamas, with a cape. And I'll get her something else, too. Just haven't found the right thing.
Sister (14): A One Direction pillow with Harry Styles' face on, Regular Show socks, Nicki Minaj Pink Friday perfume, and a pair of Toms.
Brother-In-Law: A really nice zip-up Cincinnati Reds jacket thing.
Cousin (28): Two wrestling DVDs.
Cousin (20): A wrestling box set and a gift card.
Cousin (17): A huge quantity of protein powder, and a protein shake shaker.
Grandmother: Paula Deen cookware.
Great-grandmother: Bette Davis DVD box set.
Dad: University of Kentucky hoodie.
Aunt & Uncle: University of Kentucky throw, and some candles.

Friends TBD: Still haven't got to shop for 'em.

I still have several hundred dollars left, but I'm considering taking out a $200 payday loan, and paying it back next check when I'll have money I don't need to buy presents with. Because I kind of want to buy my grandmother this awesome Michael Kors purse that's marked down to $130.

Mother - Not bought anything yet
Sister - Soap & Glory set thingy, lots of stuff in it
Dad - Dunno yet, was going to be an electronic cigarette but my sister already got one

All my relatives have birthdays in or around December too :(

Everybody else can feck off. Immediate family only.

Mother: Gang of Four - Songs of the Free
Father: Bumblefoot - 9.11
Sister: The Peanut Butter Conspiracy - The Peanut Butter Conspiracy
Bandmates: Wolves in Sheepskin Shirts
Friends: Cards

I haven't decided what to get for my cousins yet.

Things I learned today: Frownland's mother is pretty cool.