silver ball, silver ball, it’s Christmas time for the kitty

We seldom have a lot of money to spend on holiday presents, but that’s never really been a problem. Because of course the idea is not to spend money, but to find gifts that the recipient will really like.

When my brothers and I were kids, every Christmas our dad would give us $1 per gift per sibling. And we had to think hard about what kind of nice gift we could get for that amount of money. Granted, in the 50s and 60s a dollar went a lot farther than it does now, but even when I was in my final year of college the per-sibling spending limit had only risen to $5, and there were still plenty of neat things to be had at that price.

Of course, finding a gift on a tight budget requires the gift giver to think. Maybe that’s why I spend a lot more time mulling things over than doing the actual shopping. Once I’ve made up my mind, it usually doesn’t take long to acquire whatever-it-is and wrap it up.

My family almost always gets me neat things, but I must admit there are several items I’ve been given over the years that I’m still scratching my head over. I won’t go into detail; let’s just say that the thought really does count and leave it at that.

This year, I almost took the plunge and bought an item of clothing for my daughter, but I wasn’t quite that brave.