Perfect Gifts? Really?

In my last post, I suggested that people quit worrying so much if they're doing everything right.
Today, I'm going to expand on that. And it will be fun, I assure you.

See, it's Christmas time, and everyone is freaking out (yes, an exageration, but you understand) about making sure they buy the right gift for people. Freaking out about having to buy gifts for little(r) people who want crazy things that you cannot do (and, sometimes, rightly so).
It has to be "just right" and you have to make sure they go "wow, this is awesome!" or else.

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Lols, guys; all the lols. Because, hey, that's not true. Let me explain.

One year, I asked for "The Princess Diaries" on DVD. Because I was in middle school, and it was a funny movie I had seen once or twice. My DVD "collection" was meager, and I would watch "Beauty and the Beast" or "Alice in Wonderland" on repeat, so getting another movie to add to the mix would have been cool.
My parents were pretty cool about getting me the things that I asked for (within reason, obviously). And so when there was something DVD-case-shaped to open, I was pretty sure what it would be.

Except it wasn't. And I was confused. But not put off.
Instead it was "The Princess Bride." I had no idea what that was, but I appreciated that it at least had "Princess" in the title and wasn't animated.

Later in the day, I had a chat with my mom, and she confessed that it was literally just that she figured that it was the right one...because it had "Princess" in the title. I said "but mom, the other one is Disney" and she said "Ya, but this one is MGM, so same thing" - or something like that.
And I had a laugh. And she had a laugh. And it was actually pretty funny.

Turns out, in the end, that mom was correct in her purchase. Because, if you're at all familiar, "The Princess Bride" is a fantastic movie. It's hilarious, it's dramatic, it's a classic.
And I loved it.

It's still a part of my DVD collection.
A few years after this incident, I even asked for the book as a birthday present (and received it and read it as quickly as I could). The book was even better than the movie! And I've read it a bunch of times, and the movie still comes out at least every couple of months.
I'm pretty sure that if I had gotten "The Princess Diaries", it wouldn't be in my house right now.

I'm not suggesting that every "wrong" gift will work out.
But I am suggesting that there are probably less "wrong" gifts than you think there are. And if you're a good mom (which your probably are, as we discussed on Monday), you'll have thankful kids, who will appreciate whatever it is, no matter what.
It's more about showing love than what is under a tree. There is no amount of stuff under a tree that will convince your kids that you love them.
Yes, kids can be bribed to do things with "gifts," but that has nothing to do with love. It cannot be bought - you know, like in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

But seriously, get your kids The Princess Bride on DVD (unless they already have it - in which case, good).

~Havok

P.S. I'm not saying this is a hard and fast rule. My family knows first-hand, that there are plenty of "wrong" gifts in the world...plenty of which we have all received. But we appreciate the thought, while still going "why was this a good idea?" We have a laugh, we move on. It's not horrible. We suck it up, and try to keep in mind that the giver's heart was in the right place. Because, uh, something-something well-adjusted adults.