poll: what was the best preesent you've received?

[silverwhisper]

what was the best present (birthday, holiday, whatever) you've ever received? it could be something that required effort (a knitted sweater), money (jewelry), both (tickets to a sold-out show), whatever.

ed

p.s.: my answers later...

 

[AppleBiter]

what was the best present (birthday, holiday, whatever) you've ever received? it could be something that required effort (a knitted sweater), money (jewelry), both (tickets to a sold-out show), whatever.

ed

p.s.: my answers later...

It's hard to choose. I'd say the best gift I've received so far was this Valentine's day. My husband took a bunch of photos of us from high school days up until now and scanned them and made a slideshow out of them, set to one of my favorite songs, with each frame expressing a message like, "You make me the happiest I've ever been." and "I want each day to be a celebration of our love."

I cried. It was beautiful.

 

[EJFan]

the best gift i've ever received was nothing.

gift giving is so often for the sake of the giver rather than the receiver. there are MANY instances when i've practically BEGGED people not to get me shit but they do it anyway. if they were really concerned with pleasing me, they'd do as i asked, right?

i'm an athiest and don't celebrate christmas (or any other religous holiday) yet there are a couple of people in my family who still insist on giving me shit. i appreciate the thought... i genuinely do... but they're doing it for their own contentment, not mine.

so, on those rare occassions when my desires are obliged, it makes me the happiest person on earth. NOTHING is the best gift i can ever get... and i can get it many times over without getting sick of it (this doesn't hold true for fruitcake).

 

[pleasteasme]

I would have to say the most thoughtful gift I have ever received was a book. It was given to me by a friend that previously recommended it and knew I did not buy/read it yet. It was very thoughtful and I love the book!!

 

[silverwhisper]

AB: damn, that's really, really cool! i always thought your husband a lucky man, but it's good to see that he's thoughtful and sweet to boot. that's easily one of the most romantic things i've heard of. :>

[takes notes]

one of the best presents i've ever rec'd held that record for a very, very long time. i was a comic book collector for about a decade. when i first got into comic books in 1985, an artist/writer named walt simonson was completely revamping one of marvel's more moribund comics: thor. what simonson was to revitalize it completely and his artistic style is so viscerally arresting--one might even say impressionistic--almost like the second coming of jack kirby i always thought. one of my closest friends got me a copy of his first issue of thor signed at a convention he attended. he gave it to me as a birthday present--we coincidentally shared the same birthday.

but the present that eclipsed it was a birthday present my wife got me a few years ago. some restaurants nowadays feature what's known as a chef's table: a table in the kitchen, where the chef him or her self personally serves you. normally done as prix fixe, the chef usually creates the menu according to his/her whim and the price can also include accompanying wines.

there is a restaurant in philly, treetop's, at the rittenhouse hotel. that was where we went.

now, i’ve spent the past several years educating my palate to the greatest extent possible. i’ve eaten at the commander’s palace, the new orleans institution that first gave paul prudhomme, then emeril lagasse their starts. and i am a fanatical food network watcher. as a result of all of this, i like to think that my culinary vocabulary is pretty well-developed; my taste buds, relatively sensitive.

you know when in the empire strikes back, luke tells yoda that he’s learned so much, and the jedi master retorts, "you must unlearn"? as i began to survey the menu, i once again was reminded that no matter what i thought i knew, i am but a dilettante, a dabbler, a novice. it was the same feeling i had the one glorious new year’s eve that my wife & i spent at the hilton at short hills (the only 4 star restaurant in new jersey, at the time anyway) and that evening in the commander’s palace. it was both humbling and mind-expanding.

ed

 

[bisexplicit]

My older sister always gives me the best most well thought out presents -- and shes like that with most everyone.
But, my favorite presents ever from her are when I turned sixteen she got me a silver necklace with a heart that I haven't taken off since (you might see it in some of my picture), and when I turned eighteen she got me an almost matching ring. She just is incredibly thoughtful, and you know that she reads you and studies things before she makes a decision. She always buys personalized wrapping paper et al., as well.
Oh, I have to mention another one -- When I broke up with my boyfriend when I was fifteen and was away at a camp, and really upset about it, she sent me a whole care packadge to cheer me up, complete with a dartboard that had my boyfriends face on it, with quotes on the back from "Freeway" which were applicable.

 

[Guest]

 

[AppleBiter]

AB: damn, that's really, really cool! i always thought your husband a lucky man, but it's good to see that he's thoughtful and sweet to boot. that's easily one of the most romantic things i've heard of. :>

[takes notes]

Aw, thanks silver. Yes, he rocks.

 

[Munachi]

maybe not the best but one i am quite happy about currently is the sleeping bag my mom gave me before going away... i hadn't thought about buying one, and i definitely need it a lot...

 

[midwestyankee]

I'm of the opinion that what matters most is the feeling of the giver and not the form of the gift itself. On that basis, a book I received for my birthday/Valentine's Day (they're close together) this year counts among the very best ever.

 

[lizaveta]

A hairdryer.

Bear with me.

My husband and I don't generally exchange gifts on holidays, birthdays, etc. We're more the type to purchase things as we need or want them, and since we're always together (and can't keep secrets from each other very well) this system just seems to work out. (There's also no pressure to buy better every year - scary!)

So one day my husband ran to the drugstore for various and sundry, and when he got back he pulled out his purchases one by one to show me what he got. The last thing he showed me was a hairdryer. When I asked him why, he said that he noticed mine was looking a little worse for wear, so he thought he would pick me up a new one.

Oh my God, I cried like a lunatic.

That might not be your every day notion of romance, but it truly is to me. The fact that he noticed something so small, and took action before I even knew I needed it... Priceless. *sniff*

 

[Qina]

I think my best was a series set up by my BF the first Valentines we were together. He showed up at the door with a tiny vase and a single chocolate rose. He then pulled me out into the night and took me for a drive. He took me to a tree I often talk about that I loved as a kid. Making me stay below, he climbed up and retrieved a dozen roses that he'd made out of felt because he couldn't afford real ones. We got back in the car and kept going. We eventually arrived at a playground that we liked going to after hours and hanging out in the dark at. On one of the swings was a huge cookie cake that he made himself and decorated with my favorite candy of all time.. that he had to buy at a speacialty store. We got back in the car and stated driving again. We ended up at a small beach that not many people go to. While sitting on a wall looking out at the surf, he undid his swearter to show me that he had made a t-shirt that said (my name) rules! Here's when the cop came by and told us that we were parked illegally and had to move on. He thinks to this day that that ruined the whole evening, but I loved it!

 

[Tele2047]

My best gift? When my parents agreed to help pay for my girlfriend's tuition because her family refuses to help and she can't afford it.

 

[Pyro Paul]

okay, i have 1 that i can tell and another that i shall be very non discript about.

the first one was a lighter from my dad. (yeah i know im a pyro and fire and stuff) but well since it nice to get something for me. (i dont get presents normaly)

the second one... a silver ladies bracelet... no i dont wear it and now i dont have it at all. but it was something very special from a special person and i hope that it is still with her helping as much as it can.

 

[Pyro Paul]

The best gift i have ever given some one. now this one is really easy and kinda cheezy all at once. it was one of my co-workers birthday. of course no one really cared (not even her) and she didnt get nothing. and we where talking befor i left to go home and she said, it sucks i really thought my boyfriend woulda bought me something like flowers today... well its not like any one else got me anything. i told her to wait there.

a ran out to an open feild a mear 100 feet away, picked 1 dandylion, ran back and gave it to her and said happy birthday. she broke down into tears she liked it so much.

 

[Eilan]

One of the best gifts I ever received was the mother's ring my hubby bought me this past Mother's Day. He'd wanted to get me one for a long time, but he decided to wait until we were definitely through having kids first!

 

[EJFan]

One of the best gifts I ever received was the mother's ring my hubby bought me this past Mother's Day.

what the hell is a mother's ring?

 

[Eilan]

what the hell is a mother's ring?

It's a woman's ring that has her kids' birthstones on it. Some people also put their own birthstones, as well as their spouse's birthstone, on them, but I didn't do that. Mostly because the ring I fell in love with was able to hold only five stones.

My mother's ring has four birthstones: August, December, July, August. It doesn't reflect the birth order of my kids, however.

 

[Denae]

From an ex boyfriend-homemade cards and flowers for no reason.

From my parents when they were counting pennies: a wallet. This may not seem big, but just like lizaveta above, it's the small things that can truly touch your heart. We had gone from upper-middle class to dirt poor in less than two years. Our family had no money at that point and my parents wanted to give us kids (teenagers) one gift at Christmas, so they bought us one thing that we really needed.

The most precious thing I own, was a gift from my mother when I was less than 2 years old. She attended art college when she had me as a single mother. She made a ceramic elephant "piggy" bank and on the bottom she inscribed a message to me and the date. The piggy bank and my pets are what I would save in the event of a fire.

 

[karndav]

The best gift I ever recieved was when my 6 yr old son insisted that his older sister help him make me a cake. My husband was out of town that year, and it seemed like we weren't going to celebrate my birthday at all and he rememered it was my birthday and kept after her till she finally gave in and helped him bake it and then he decorated it. It was the most beautiful cake I ever got. He also made me a wonderful card cause no one was there to take him shopping. he never forgets a birthday!!

 

[sharingfantasies]

When I was in my twenties, a couple of decades ago, I moved in with my mother to help raise the last four of my siblings ages 7-17. I was receiving unemployment checks and couldn't get a job teaching until the fall. That summer we were really hurting for money. We didn't have any money the week of my birthday and were desperately waiting for the unemployment check to come so that we could get some food into the house.

My brothers and sisters searched the car for change. They walked the two-mile round trip to the nearest corner store to buy me something for my birthday. That night I opened a little velvet pocket with a snap closure and a little piece of ribbon in a bow sewn to the front. They had made it from some fabric scraps our mother had. Inside was one little package of Sixlets. My favorite candy. (They are little round ball of chocolate with a hard candy shell. You get six of this little balls in a cellophane wrapper at the cost back then of two cents.) They also got a package of Hostess Cup Cakes which cost fifteen cents. We cut up the two cakes into six pieces and each person got one little piece of cupcake and one sixlet.

I will never forget how much work those four did to make sure I had a birthday celebration. I still have that little velvet pocket in my jewelry box. It is more valuable to me than any of the jewelry.

 

[landcruisergal]

A friend gave me one of those childrens books where you write away and have your child's names, and the town and her friends names printed throughout the xmas story.
I was 31 and she had my dogs names printed in it as well...I have never laughed so much...and it comes out every year and sits under the tree and I still laugh when I read it.

My ex mother inlaw gave me her engagement ring when she got divorced, a year after I split up with her son.
Pretty sad as she has 3 daughters who she didnt trust to keep and value it.

 

[~hellbaby~]

This year I turned 41. My son gave me a 'sweet 16' birthday card !

 

[EJFan]

It's a woman's ring that has her kids' birthstones on it.

ah. ok. now i get it. thanks

Mostly because the ring I fell in love with was able to hold only five stones.

thankfully, as we're all aware, there are in fact five stones total. mick, keith, bill, charlie and ron.

 

[EJFan]

When I was in my twenties, a couple of decades ago, I moved in with my mother to help raise the last four of my siblings ages 7-17. I was receiving unemployment checks and couldn't get a job teaching until the fall. That summer we were really hurting for money. We didn't have any money the week of my birthday and were desperately waiting for the unemployment check to come so that we could get some food into the house.

My brothers and sisters searched the car for change. They walked the two-mile round trip to the nearest corner store to buy me something for my birthday. That night I opened a little velvet pocket with a snap closure and a little piece of ribbon in a bow sewn to the front. They had made it from some fabric scraps our mother had. Inside was one little package of Sixlets. My favorite candy. (They are little round ball of chocolate with a hard candy shell. You get six of this little balls in a cellophane wrapper at the cost back then of two cents.) They also got a package of Hostess Cup Cakes which cost fifteen cents. We cut up the two cakes into six pieces and each person got one little piece of cupcake and one sixlet.

I will never forget how much work those four did to make sure I had a birthday celebration. I still have that little velvet pocket in my jewelry box. It is more valuable to me than any of the jewelry.

this is one of the most awesome, incredible stories i've heard in a very long time. thanks for sharing!