Yes of course it's better to give then receive, but is there a gift that you liked so much that you wish you would have kept it for yourself.

I gotta say I really, truly enjoy giving gifts, it is a nice feeling and I want the recipient to really, really like it. I mean you're spending the money already, they may as well really like it and find it useful. So therefore there are lots and lots of gifts I wish I could have kept for myself. A couple:

My DH and I were invited to a distant cousins wedding out of town, we didn't go, so I didn't want to spend a lot of money and I found the most beautiful gold and crystal serving bowl for only $35.00!!! It looked like so much more, and since it was so inexpensive I wanted one for me too, but they only had one left. And I sent it to the couple. It took me so long in the store to decide to send it or keep it for me.

I bought a little denim jacket for my friends 2 year old daughter, a long time ago this way, and I decorated it with all sorts of cute little buttons. It came out so nice, I wanted it keep it for MY daughter.

Yes! I am struggling with this dilemma right now. I bought my aunt the most adorable nativity scene. It is hand made by a missionary group in Poland. Everything is stuffed, like stuffed animals, and they are totally kid friendly. My aunt has a 1 year old grandaughter at home, so I thought it would be the perfect decoration that the baby could play with and not get in trouble. The problem is, I wish I had one for myself and was tempted to keep it. My best friend (thank goodness for her honesty) told me I was being greedy and should give it to my aunt like I intended. I still haven't mailed them yet, but I will let them go. Maybe next year I will get the chance to buy one for myself.

OMG, I feel your pain, that sounds just so precious. It's like we're so happy to find the perfect gift for somebody, but on the otherhand wouldn't it be so nice if we could keep it for ourselves?!?

I've had a few gifts like that.One was an idea I got from Oprah's favorite things show.It was a box filled with scented oils or something,inspirational quotes,and a relaxing music cd.I put something similar together for my boss,but really wanted to keep it for myself.

I don't think I have ever bought anyone anything that I liked so much I wanted to keep it or get one for myself. I usually am thinking of that person and the majority of people I buy for don't have the same taste as me so...but...if there was something and there was two I would just buy two. If not then, oh well wasn't meant for me to have it. My problem is going to buy for others and end up buying for myself because I see so much that I like, lol!

I have that problem too. Once we went into World Market intending to get my mother in law a birthday present... we ended up not finding anything for her and got ourselves about $100.00 worth of stuff for ourselves. tsk. Shame on us.

I was thinking back, and I can't think of anything that I had got for someone that I wish I had kept. I did however make a cool valentines gift for my husband the first year we were dating... I wrote like 100 different reasons that I love him on little strips of paper, and then wrapped each one around a piece of candy, so every time he ate some candy he got to see a reason... I would LOVE for someone to do something like that for me some day.

I used to buy things at garage sales and thrift stores and sell them on eBay. Once I bought an incredible, mint-condition vintage purse that was some kind of skin (alligator skin?) and the cutest 'Kelly' bag shape. It was a gem. I think I paid about $2 for it and sold it for maybe $10. I wish I'd never, never let it go. I don't know how much use I'd get out of it, but it was truly a beautiful purse. Definitely would have been worth more to me than the $8 profit I made!

I just did this over the week end! I had to buy a gift for a Secret Santa thing and found the most gorgeous Rocha John Rocha hand-knitted scarf marked down to about £18!!! I kept lifting it out of the basket and touching it, saying oh yeah, she's gonna love this and practically drooling all over it so my husband went back and got another one for me. Luckily there was more than one left or I'd have really been torn in two!

I've been in that same situation several times. My BFF and I have incredibly similar taste, so it tends to happen to us a lot. One year we bought the same style Dooney & Bourke purse for eachother. The only difference was the color of the fabric. That year I REALLY wanted to keep the purse I bought for her before we exchanged gifts! This year, I bought a beautiful original painting for her of an Italian villa with cypress trees all around it. It would look gorgeous over my bed. It would, however, look even better over her couch. Oh well. C'est la vie!!

My best friend and I always buy little things for each other when we see them, aand save them for birthdays, Christmas, etc... and we both have to give them to someone else to hold onto until it's time to give them, or we know we'll want to keep them! I always figure that's a mark of a really good gift, though, if it's something you'd love to own yourself (as long as you're not buying for someone who has completely opposite taste, of course!)

Gary--your daughter's gift to you is the kind of thing EVERY parent would like from their children. My DD has told me that she prefers not to get any presents because she then feels obligate to reciprocate. She doesn't even want presents from us. But presents like you got would be cherished for years to come.

My problem lately with presents is that there is nothing out there that I want, therefore nothing is good enough to give away either! I've always been the kind of person that won't buy something unless I would want it for myself (unless of course the person has given me a list of desires--then I can buy without problem). In the past, I have fallen in love with a few things and have purchased many of them--one for me, one for friend in Utah, one for friend in Arizona, one for sister, one for Mom, one for MIL, one for each SIL. It's one way to get the Christmas shopping done!!!

Pretty much all of the cute clothes I bought for my partner. Luckily, we're the same size and have a collective closet. So clothing gifts for her ARE clothing gifts for me. teehee

ALLISON~ My wish would be for everyone, parent or child, to receive the same "gift" in one form or another during their lifetime.

I think the older we get (if we mature....still working on that here but hey I am only 52!! ) the more we realize the $$$$$ we waste on gifts because we just GOTTA get something.

Being divorced for the years my daughter was 6-12, I would often buy my daughter clothes, which she always loved She still tells me how much she loved the clothes I bought her when she was in grade school. I was $$$ limited, so I always bought them off the clearence racks at a store (which I don't remember). I do remember that they were usually sets of shirt and pants, Cherokee, I think.

Well, now that she is 23 it is obviously more difficult for me...went shopping with Angie last night to try and find something for my daughter in the clothes dept. for old times sake....hummmm....walked out with a set of 8 pound dumbells and a isometric set she wanted for her office!!

Gary--it does get harder to buy presents as the kids age. Thankfully mine are still young enough to know just what they want! In less than two years, DD will be heading to college--it will become more diffucult thin.