Somehow I’ve become the present ideas genie of Christmas and everyone just offloads it all onto me.
Most years I keep a list of present ideas on my phone that I just jot a note on when someone mentions something, so I usually do have pretty good ideas. But this year has been a shitshow for me and I’m barely keeping myself afloat, which unfortunately translates into me being even more of a pushover than usual. So when I reply “I don’t know” to the endless “what should I get for xxx?”, people shrugged and gave me cash to buy something when I do think of a great idea.
So I told dh and the dc to write wishlists. The dc did - there won’t be any clever surprises this year but hey ho. But did dh come up with a single idea?
So I ordered some clothes for him. I’m also the laundry fairy round here. Normally the process of weeding out worn clothes and replacing them is ongoing and seamless, but … shitshow year… I haven’t been on top of it. I keep putting the socks back in his drawer in case I forget to buy new ones, which I do forget until the next wash cycle, then rinse and repeat.
The point is that clothes are usually a staple rather than a gift but on the basis that MN usually advises finding a problem to solve for a man’s gift idea, I figure at least this solves a problem for me.
So I thought, feck it, he can have socks from my dm, and at least I’ll have the benefit of it even if it’s not a thrilling gift. I go online, select men’s socks, briefly look at the options and then try to filter by materials. I ordered lots of lovely soft bamboo socks, without realising that I had accidentally ventured out of the men’s section and into the boy’s and that they were size 10 boys not men’s. I know Brexit and all, but when there’s a really uncomplicated EU sizing system couldn’t shops use that ffs?
And instead of making any part of my life easier I now need to trudge out and return the bloody socks at some point before the receipt runs out. Unless of course I wrap that up for him and call it an experience gift.