Is it too early for a post with a Christmas tree in it?
There’s a fine line between being thankful that someone you know has gone to the time, trouble and cost of buying you a present and absolutely hating the thing you’re given and wishing that they had bought you something that they know you would have liked. After all, they must know me reasonably well, if we’re buying gifts for each other.
I only buy gifts for people I care about so I put a lot of thought into what I’m going to buy someone. I like the satisfaction of knowing that they’re going to love what’s inside the parcel that I give them so I spend time choosing something that I know is just right for them.
Maybe it’s because of the time I take picking and wrapping other peoples gifts that I kind of expect others to make the same sort of effort with presents they give me. And before you leave me a comment telling me I should be grateful for what I get, I know that. And I am. Mostly.
I do think though that the person who knows me better than anyone else in the world, my husband, should have a good idea about what I will and won’t like. Don’t you agree?
Well, you’d be wrong, because a few years ago, he bought me the worst present ever (way, way worse than my second worse present of food poisoning from a dodgy Christmas Eve takeaway or even my third worst present of an ironing board). He bought me a set of pearls!
Not just any set of pearls though, they were the sort of pearls that old grannies would wear and no one under the age of 65 should be seen in public wearing. Oh, and did I mention they had a matching pair of granny earrings too.
I didn’t want to seem ungrateful as it looks as though the granny pearls had set him back a fair amount so I thanked him, took off the funky silver necklace I was wearing at the time and the (fake) diamond studs I had in and put on my new goodies with a smile plastered on my face. I almost didn’t take him to see the amazing present I’d spent ages picking out for him (a brick in the path outside our local football stadium with his name on) but I’m a nice wife so I did anyway!
Later on, I asked him why he’d chosen them and he told me that he hadn’t really chosen them, they’d chosen him! He explained that he’d left his Christmas shopping until after he finished work on Christmas eve, and didn’t know what to get me so he wandered into the jewellery shop and asked them for some advice.
Apparently the lady had been really helpful and said she had just what he was looking for. She disappeared into the back of the shop for a while before returning with a dusty box. After wiping off the box, she opened it and showed him my granny pearls, assuring him that I would love them and he’d win the husband of the year award if he bought them for me. I think she saw him coming – those pearls will have been there since 1976 and he was just the first person daft enough and desperate enough to actually buy them.
I’d love to show you a picture of the granny pearls as words can’t really describe the full extent of the granniness of these pearls but it’s just not possible.
I wore them for the rest of that Christmas Day and then they went back in their box where they stayed for the next year or so before being sold on eBay. You’ll be pleased to know though that I bought a gorgeous handbag and a matching pair of shoes with the money I made.
Obviously this is our little secret as he still thinks I have them, safely stored away for a special occasion 😉
And if you’re interested, things have changed since pearlgate. Mr Frugal is no longer trusted to buy presents on his own. He has a list that he has to stick to and if he wants to deviate from the list, he has several people (all chosen by me) to ask before he makes any more rash decisions.
