Priceless Christmas Gifts

• Two plastic outdoor chairs – $40
• One women’s bicycle – $150
• An iron – $30
• One stuffed toy puppy dog – $20
• A reading lamp and three puzzle books – $25
• The thought, love and meaning behind each gift – PRICELESS!

Please excuse the skiting, but the hubster is a bit of a champion in the gift giving department.

Long before we were married, I was a bit disappointed (okay, devastated!) with his Christmas gift of outdoor chairs for my front patio – because it wasn’t the diamond ring I had been hoping for!

But …  those chairs became our favourite spot for a cuppa and a chat … so really, the gift that he gave all those years ago was so much more than two outdoor chairs. He gave us the gift of communication, vital to any healthy relationship or marriage.

The hubster just seems to have a knack for thinking of a gift that is especially meaningful to me.

Sometimes it may seem a peculiar present to others, but not to us. One Valentine’s Day he surprised me with a new iron. This may seem the ultimate chauvinistic gift to some, but at the time we were really strapped for cash and he knew how much our old iron was annoying me. A new iron made my life so much easier, and I really hadn’t been expecting a gift for Valentine’s Day at all!

Sometimes, the gifts are for no reason. I was feeling quite low and lonely a few years ago, as the hubster was working full time, and studying part time. Despite these pressures, the hubster picked up on the feelings I was struggling to hide and brought home a very special gift – Sophie! Sophie is a large stuffed puppy, which he explained was to keep me company and give me somebody to cuddle on those long nights when he had to study. Awwwww! (You can meet Sophie and friends in this post, where I am pretending to audition to be a Play School presenter …)

One Christmas, the hubster gave me a reading lamp and three crossword puzzle books. He had taken notice weeks earlier when I’d made a passing comment about how difficult I was finding it to read in the lounge room. Now I had my own little corner of the lounge where I could read or do puzzles with ease. Heaven!

I’m the first to admit that the hubster isn’t perfect – after nearly 25 years of marriage he still hasn’t learnt that dirty socks go in the laundry basket! – but I really treasure the way he makes me feel so loved and adored all year round, but especially at Christmas, birthdays and other special occasions. It’s a real gift (pardon the pun)!

Wonder what he’ll come up with for Christmas, this year!

What’s your partner liker, when it comes to choosing birthday or Christmas gifts?!