Holiday Details

[ChaosMageX]

Since the holidays are winding down for some around here, I thought I'd ask a few questions about how it went, or how you think its going to go.  I'll start.

What holiday(s) do you celebrate?
Christmas

Did you do anything special and festive for them?
Not really.

What special things did you eat for your celebratory feast, if anything?
Turkey
Stuffing
Gravy
Pumpkin Pie

If your holiday is a gift giving one, what did you get?

From my parents:
25 piece screwdriver/plier kit
10 piece drill bit kit
Rechargable 180 rpm Power Screwdriver with 10 heads
Mini-Hammer
Crescent Wrench
Tape Measure
Torpedo Level
Mini Pry Bar
Tool Kit to put them all in
Bad Cat Calendar
Sugar Cookies

From my brother:
Star Trek, three blu-ray disc edition
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, three disc edition

From my other family:
$120

Receiving gifts is good, but giving is better.  What did you give to others if your holiday is a gift exchanging one?

To my mother:
Aerogarden 6 Elite
Aerogarden Incredible Edible Flower Seed Kit
Aerogarden Cherry Tomato Seed Kit
Aerogarden Salad Greens Seed Kit

To my brother:
Cordless Mouse
Battlefield 1942 Complete Set
Fallout Trilogy (One, Two, & Swarm)

Okay, now someone else answer these questions so I don't feel like one of the few I already know are actually celebrating a holiday.

[Crawldragon]

What holiday(s) do you celebrate?
Christmas, Last Minute Gift-Wrapping Day

Did you do anything special and festive for them?
In the case of LMG-WD, last-minute gift-wrapping. For Christmas? Clearly you don't know me very well XD

What special things did you eat for your celebratory feast, if anything?
Darn, I forgot what that kind of pasta was called. But we had a nice pasta casserole that we actually had last year but who cares, because it was FANTASTIC!
Oh, and candy. Too much candy.

If your holiday is a gift giving one, what did you get?

From my mom+stepdad:
Wii (technically a family gift, which means it belongs EXCLUSIVELY to stepdad)
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (actually shared w/ older brother, but cool nonetheless)
A road trip book with a bunch of odd American landmarks
An art book which is creepy and artistic in a single package.
$10 Borders giftcard
Ernest P. Worrel essential collector's package

From my dad+stepmom:
Candy. Lots of candy. Too much candy.
A gaming chair with force-feedback and a subwoofer. I need to plug that thing in; it looks sweet.
Giftcard

From my older brother:
Assassin's Creed: the original, for Xbox 360

From my 4-year-old-going-on-5 brother:
Candy, and a nice breakable container to put it in

From my grandparents on my mother's side:
A bunch of cool-looking old comic books
Cobyology by Bill "Cos" Cosby

From pretty much everyone minus a few:
Money


Receiving gifts is good, but giving is better.  What did you give to others if your holiday is a gift exchanging one?

To my mother:
Some yarn (she lieks knitting)

To my brother:
Knowing on DVD

To my stepdad:
The Passion of the Christ Collector's Edition on DVD

To my li'l brothers:
Tedd baers

[ooklah]

What holiday(s) do you celebrate?
Christmas

Did you do anything special and festive for them?
Got to spend it by myself on the wrong coast

What special things did you eat for your celebratory feast, if anything?
Ham Steak, Turkey Stuffing, and yellow scalloped potatoes, also bacon for breakfast (nearly the only time I eat bacon)


If your holiday is a gift giving one, what did you get?

parents:
Toaster Oven
Bathrobe
Rare imported pastries from the east (yodels, funny bones, etc)
bag of candy, pocky, yam yams

aunt:
pickle launcher gun

myself:
ps3
star trek on blu ray

grandparents:
monies

my friend:
"I miss you"

Receiving gifts is good, but giving is better.  What did you give to others if your holiday is a gift exchanging one?

my friend:
Guild Wars 2 concept art book.

[Cogidubnus]

I got a freakin' sweet new hat. And another freakin' sweet new hat. And another freakin' sweet new hat. And also a jacket and some pants.

Best freakin' hats ever.

[ShadesFox]

I got a giant plush fox. It is awesome. I may take pictures.

[Vidar]

I got to make suhsi and yakitori with various side dishes for 8 people. It took all day, and they better appreciate all the work I put into it.

[Suwako]

€ 125
Dedicated to buying COD:MOW2 ( 50 euro ) and Uncharted 2 ( €55  ) both for the ps3

20 euro dictated to downloadable content for Socom: Confronation.

( It's surprising the money for Christmas is exactly the amount of money I will have spend when the downloadable content comes out.. )

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I got a toothbrush.

[rabid_fox]

I got a toothbrush.

I couldn't be happier.

[Damaris]

What holiday(s) do you celebrate?
Personally, Hanukkah and Solstice
because of family, Christmas

Did you do anything special and festive for them?
We lit the menorah for Hanukkah, and traveled up to my newly adopted family's farm for Christmas

What special things did you eat for your celebratory feast, if anything?
Prime Rib, the best cranberry sauce ever (yay, Sloe Gin), and FUDGE

If your holiday is a gift giving one, what did you get?
My favorite gifts were Wii Fit Plus and a lovely celtic ring from Darkmoon, a necklace from my sister, and barn boots from my mom.

Receiving gifts is good, but giving is better.  What did you give to others if your holiday is a gift exchanging one?

I knitted a lot of scarves this year - most everyone got one. Nothing terribly interesting beyond that!  Just the general shopping.

[bradypodidae]

What holiday(s) do you celebrate?

Christmas

Did you do anything special and festive for them?

Put up lights, a tree, and various ornaments about the house that the family has collected over a few generations, baked tons of cookies, fed the red kettles, and participated in collecting food (Church) and toys (Toys for Tots) for the less fortunate. What? It's true, we do that every year!

What special things did you eat for your celebratory feast, if anything?

It used to be a repeat of Thanksgiving Dinner, but that was too time and labor intensive. Now we put out a buffet.
Turkey
Standing rib roast
Dad's homemade rolls
Cheeses
And snacks, lots and lots of snacks.

If your holiday is a gift giving one, what did you get?

"Up" DVD (since it was from my 7-year-old Niece, I believe I know what she wants to watch the next time I am sitting her & her younger brother)
Total War: Empire PC game
New mouse and keypad
Florida Tuskers UFL jersey and cap
Gift cards (requested)

Receiving gifts is good, but giving is better.  What did you give to others if your holiday is a gift exchanging one?

Dad, electric shaver

3-year-old Nephew, his first "laptop"

7-year-old Niece, Hoyle Board & Puzzle and Cooking Mania Games for PC

16-year-old Nephew: went in on a cam-recorder and Cash (he drives a gas-hog & just started steady dating; he needs all the cash he can get!)

All the adults in the family draw names for Secret Santa since the price tag for the ever-growing extended family was getting to be a bit much for some of us;

I drew my 28-year-old Nephew who is the only one who could not make it to Florida and spent his first Christmas away from family working as a Chef in New York City. I got him a deep-dish pasta pan and a pasta making set.

[Lysander]

What holiday(s) do you celebrate?

Christmas

Did you do anything special and festive for them?

Lit up a tree all nice like and set up some candy-cane lights.

What special things did you eat for your celebratory feast, if anything?

A nice little breakfast of ham, eggs, and wassail

If your holiday is a gift giving one, what did you get?

A pair of Sais from some friends
A sweet knife from my sister
72 hr. portable kit from my parents
A light that can be charged by spinning a crank that also has a radio and phone charger from my parents
A more portable sketchbook from my brother
PS0 from my brother
Some cash from my parents
Also a couple things yet to receive, some I don't yet know what they are, a sweet shirt embroidered by my mother, and a most awesome, custom made trench coat made by my mother, and a picture from a friend

Receiving gifts is good, but giving is better.  What did you give to others if your holiday is a gift exchanging one?

People would have preferred a secret-santa like thing, but nobody said anything until everyone bought stuff for everyone so we all got nice little things for everyone:

Fruit Roll-ups for my brother
A belt for my sister
the 1st 3 Halo books as a trilogy for another brother
A couple scarves for my mother
Ponoch, dark, and light fudge (not the brownie kind) for some friends
A Ruroni Kenshin style sakabato for a friend
3 books in the Magic the Gathering series for a friend
Finsternis by E Nomine for a friend
Took a friend to a movie
Deviantart subscription for a friend
Still have yet to take other friends out for lunch/dinner
A Miracle Blade knife set from both me and my mother for some friends
Prints of my mom's artwork for some friends

[Ryudo Lee]

What holiday(s) do you celebrate?
Christmas

Did you do anything special and festive for them?
Not a thing.  We stopped putting up lights years ago.  We stopped putting up a tree only a few years ago, since we all go visit other people for the holidays.  There's no point other than jacking up the electricity bill.

What special things did you eat for your celebratory feast, if anything?
Turkey, ham, beef and sausage dressing, oyster dressing, greenbean and bacon casserole, and yams.

If your holiday is a gift giving one, what did you get?
My folks got me a brand new Logitech G15 keyboard and G500 mouse, plus a gamer mouspad.
My grandfather pulled down all his guns from his attic for us to take home.  There's two double barreled shotguns, a single barrel hunting shotgun, a couple of .22 rifles, his old Army issue rifle from WW2, his .45 sidearm Army issued from WW2, plus another .45 pistol, and a couple .22 pistols.  Plus some bayonets, machetes and other knives from the war, and his working days.  We'll be bringing all those home in a couple of weeks.  We didn't have enough room in the truck for them all.  A full inventory and pictures will be taken at that time.  I am now well prepared for the zombie apocalypse, thanks to my grandfather.


Receiving gifts is good, but giving is better.  What did you give to others if your holiday is a gift exchanging one?
I got my mom the first season of Legend of the Seeker on DVD, with all the commentary and deleted scenes.  She's read all the books, so she was excited to get that DVD.
I got my dad a Crown Royal gift box, containing a large bottle of Crown and a collector's flask.
For all of us, I got us a new Samsung 26" flat panel TV for the dining room.
For my niece, I got her a brand new bicycle (hell on wheels).

[Lysander]

Just need to say: all those guns sound awesome.   

[bradypodidae]

Just need to say: all those guns sound awesome.   

All those original WWII GI issues? *drool*

[Dannysaysnoo]

Just need to say: all those guns sound awesome.   

I have to agree. I really wanna see some pictures. o-o

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Ryudo, I presume you have somewhere safe to store them, right? I mean, your grandfather I presume was living in a house with him and (at most) his wife in it. In which case, just shoving them in the attic is reasonably safe. In a house iwth more people in it, some of whom are somewhat younger, though, you'd want a gun safe or something...

[Ryudo Lee]

There are only two Army issued guns, his rifle and side-arm.  He was in the Air Corps so his sidearm saw more action than the rifle, actually.  One of the double shotguns belonged to his grandfather (my great-great grandfather).  All the rest he got from trade shows.  He used to have a police issue .45 magnum that he got from a friend, with the holster, but that friend recently passed away so he cleaned it up and gave the gun to his friend's widow.

We have a retired police sergeant living across the street from whom we will be getting information on a proper lockbox for the pistols.  He knows all about that, as he has an arsenal locked away in his attic.  For the rifles we have rack mounts for the walls, and they will be higher up on the walls, well out of the reach of grabby little hands.  I'm planning some lockable display cases though.  That will be a fun project.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Wow.

Yeah, having the guy over the road who can tell you what you need? Useful. Worst case, you can park stuff in _his_ safe until you get one of your own.

Legality is all well and good, but safety is important. ;-]

... oh, and when you get to the project? I wanna see pics of the work. ;-]

[Mao]

What holiday(s) do you celebrate?
Winter Solstice
Christmas because of my mom.

Did you do anything special and festive for them?
Solstice is just a feast, but it's a big one.
Christmas I go to my parents place and help them make food for Christmas (dinner, and other treats) as well as a gift exchange.

What special things did you eat for your celebratory feast, if anything?
Solstice:

Beef Roast (did it with a sweet sauce this year, as my stomach is on the fritz)
Steamed Veggies from the farmers market (fresh)
Mashed Potatoes with hollandaise.
Bowl of frozen berries for desert.

Christmas:

Turkey
Stuffing
Gravy
Ham
Mashed potatoes
Steamed Veggies with hollandaise
Coleslaw
Vanilla frozen yogurt with Cremé du Menthé for desert.

If your holiday is a gift giving one, what did you get?

From my parents:
My sock has a lot of little things, mostly snacks and booze, I won't list it all.
New jeans.
Garmon Nuvi (gps/map system for my car.. I love it <3)
$50 gift card to EBgames
Handmade quilt
New sweater (so nice <3)
Sting's "If on a winters night.." cd.

From my lil'brother (not actually related):
Nothing, he left it at the his gf's place and still hasn't gotten it.

From my other family:
Another sweater, and a nice pair of leather gloves (needed those so bad <3).

From me:
AFI's 'Crash Love', deluxe edition.
ATI Tv Wonder 650 USB tv tuner + extra cables.
Logitec Dual Action usb gamepad.
Monster Manga Guide (art book!)
'Evangelion 1.01: You are [not] alone' dvd.

Receiving gifts is good, but giving is better.  What did you give to others if your holiday is a gift exchanging one?

To my mother:
Sting's "If on a winters night..." delux edition.
"A Miracle on 34th Street" dvd (not the remake, just the remastered version, she loves old stuff like that)
'Gwynhavar' (sp?) by Mercedes Lacky.

To my father:
A trilogy by Mercedes Lacky, as he's been complaining about needing more books.  One of them was hardcover still~

To my brother:
AFI's new CD, "Crash Love" delux edition.
The Collectors edition of a series he wanted by R.A. Salvatore, I believe it was the 'Clerics Quintet'.  Damn big book to read while he's stuck at the ambulance bay waiting for a call.

[Tapewolf]

What holiday(s) do you celebrate?
Christmas

Did you do anything special and festive for them?
Not really.  My niece was taken out to a pantomime, but since they seem to revolve around cruelty to canines - whatever the underlying story is - I decided not to go this year.

What special things did you eat for your celebratory feast, if anything?
Turkey.  There was also goose, but I'm not too happy with that idea.  Also my stepsister's famous chocolate cake, and her unique chips (or French Fries, whatever the hell you want to call them).  They are fried in one particular pan - she has not been able to get another which has the same effect on them.

If your holiday is a gift giving one, what did you get?
Not much.  I didn't really have a list this year.  I got a couple of Neal Stephenson books from my parents, a new cycle light and some weird detective game from my step-sister and step-brother-in-law-I-think.

Receiving gifts is good, but giving is better.  What did you give to others if your holiday is a gift-exchanging one?
For my father, a Terry Pratchett book and a copy of 'Anathem' by Neal Stephenson.
For my stepmother, a radio play, but I can't quite remember which one now.
For my step-sister, Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince (DVD).
For my step-brother-in-law(?), a stack of Manchester United-related DVDs.
For my niece, Ice-Age 3 (DVD)

My brother is still in Moscow I think, I'll be exchanging gifts with him in the new year.