Episode 41: The Art of Gift Giving

It's getting closer to that time! Gift giving is likely taking up some significant mental space right now so this week we're bringing some of our favourite gift-giving ideas and sharing some of our best and worst gift giving moments. 

>>> Click here to read the computer generated transcript (note that the transcript isn't perfect)

Mel: Welcome to the making an effort podcast, a podcast where you get to drop in on a conversation with two friends, discussing all the things that they make an effort with. And some of the things they don't. Hi Gabby. Hi. Hey, good morning, sunshine. How, are you? I'm good,

Gabby: Mel isn't telling you that I slept through my alarm.

Mel: I'm not telling anybody that that is your own guilt and shame. She said disclose that

Gabby: it really is. I don't feel ashamed from you. I just feel ashamed for my own. You don't need to. Oh

Mel: man,

Gabby: your here, but I'm here and I'm like very weirdly alert. So I'm, I'm

Mel: ready for this, you know, what's not alert your computer.

Gabby: I know it. I know.

Mel: Is it again? No, it's fine. No, it's fine. It's just been very glitchy as we prepared for this recording. So you might just say. Robotic Gabby moments, but that's okay. We'll we'll just, so we're rolling into the last couple of weeks of this season of the podcast. We, um, you have this episode and we've got one more episode coming up and then we're going to take a bit of a break from, um, being in your ears. Uh, but we thought we do a couple of little festive, uh, themes. Episode so that, you know, we can join in the holiday cheer in some way, or be at least on brand for this time of the year. Um, and so today we thought we would maybe talk a little bit of bite gift-giving yes. I'm so excited about,

Gabby: I think, yeah. Okay. Why? I don't even like, I don't, I don't really know. I think because I really. I feel like this is an area that I want to improve in. So it may be talking about it. Maybe I'll improve in it.

Mel: Oh. An area you want to improve it. And what do you mean? Are you holding yourself to some very high gift-giving standards?

Gabby: I just feel like, I feel like I ha I do this thing and I have a few friends who know this about me, where I, my F my first idea for a gift is always the right idea. Like, I'm like, oh, It's the right idea, but then what always happens is I overthink it and I

Mel: think,

Gabby: oh, I don't know, I should get them something, something else. And then I usually just like end up giving them something really weird. Like, like I've done a lot, a few times with a friend of mine called Megan where it's like, I've just over-thought it to the point where I just ended up giving her something really random. That doesn't mean anything to either of us. It's just like, I don't know, like, like there was a pair of earrings where she's like, like she doesn't even like, I mean, she wears earrings, but it's not like it's like that.

Mel: I don't know why you don't trust in your instincts.

Gabby: I don't know. And that's like, what it really comes down to is like, I just need to get better at trusting my instincts about my friends. And I, I guess I just think I want it to be like the perfect thing. And so then I, I spiral I spiral, or I think it's like, oh, it's not big enough. Or it's not small enough. Or it's, you know, it's too much. It's, you know, There's all sorts of things that make me kind of doubt myself. And I do this with Chris too a lot, and he's, he's hard to buy for because he likes to buy for himself. So for Christmas, like he is one of those people who basically is like, Here's the present to me is I'm just going to buy all these things and you're not even going to buy them because I know like the size and the type, and I've done all this Enneagram five research, and I'm going to just sort it out for myself and you will know that that is what I want. And I hate that because I like having one element of surprise on Christmas day

Mel: or Anna phase. And do you tend to do that anyway? Yes. Yeah.

Gabby: Yeah. Um, and some, some years I get it really right. And some years it's like, here's something extra to open that you don't know about and it's fine. But anyway, I don't know. What is your process like? Hmm.

Mel: My process is. This time of the year is make a list. Yeah. Have a thing. Well, I would have started today, which is very organized and does not always happen, but I've started to try and do is create a Pinterest board early on. And if I see things online, I will pin them. To come back to at some stage, and sometimes they're still relevant. Sometimes they're not, when it comes to kind of buy and stuff, this is like, I'm talking for like the kids and Dave and finally, and stuff like that. Um, but actually in reality, what ends up happening is that I, and up. Buying stuff for myself.

Gabby: Yep.

Mel: And then going, oh shit. I need to buy presents for people. Yep. Um, what is it? There is definitely something about the fact that you are intentionally shopping, that you end up buying stuff for yourself this time. Is that not truly. That is so true.

Gabby: I, this year in particular, and I don't know if it's just like having had a year where I've done so much more online shopping than normal this year. I am finding it very hard to be. Arced buying gifts for other people.

Mel: Yeah. That's really boring. Yeah, totally. Yeah. Those so boy self stuff, you tend to see so much, obviously, because at this stage, in the, in the year, the algorithms on our social media feeds are all showing us an extra amount of stuff that we will naturally like, which is so stupid. We should be, they should be showing they should have information about our children and our husbands and be showing us stuff that they would like, because that is what needs to be bought and will be bought. Instead of showing me all the really nice ceramics and candles and clothes for myself, I can't. I need to be able to switch it off. But, um, no, I, I mean, usually our kids in terms of like buying for them, they get like one big present and then a bunch of like little things that are, you know, books and socks and, um, you know, fiddly things that. I try to buy in some sort of ethical way, because honestly, no matter how many times I tell my family not to buy them, tap. They still do it. My dad and my brother, especially, especially we'll just produce like a full life-size stocking full of nonsense.

Gabby: I mean, that's probably just because. There are your brother and your dad. They're like, ah, it's fine. It's just,

Mel: but it's just Mel. He has to, he has to look at that shit all, all the time, find a home for it. Uh, you know, like especially stuff that has a lot of paces or like, you know, yes, it would love a baited, a beading activity set with 10,000 baits. But. Yeah. Where is all that stuff going? Is what I want to know. Like all of the size and beads. It's hard. Cause I also really love, I love getting those kinds of presence when I was a kid to

Gabby: do I have the most vivid memories of like you open up all your presents and then you. You have this like little mound and I like, I don't know how it was with you and your siblings, but me and my siblings, we would like sit there and bask in like the mound of our presence for a little while and be like, pick things up and look at them and like organize them. And like, I don't know, like I just ha I,

Mel: I am a grown up and I, and I do that.

Gabby: Like, I have such vivid memories of like, you know, just taking stock of the loot and that's part of it too, is that. Yeah. I mean, my family, my, my grandparents are like such maximalists when it comes to Christmas and we always did Christmas when we were living in the states and all like the odd Christmas where we would be in the states when we were living overseas, my grandparents like. They just bought us so many presents. Like that was such a theme of my relationship with them was like mountains. Like the tree would be obscured because imagine you're, you're buying all these presents, but there's five kids and 40 bucks and you're like rocking up to this tree that is like completely overwhelmed.

Mel: Is this the girl, is this a grandparent guilt of having missionary grandchildren? I'm sure

Gabby: that's part of it, but they would do this, like, um, they would do this when we lived overseas as well. Like we would just like, go, like I remember vividly my dad would go to the post office when we lived overseas. And it would be that time of year where he'd come back with like three or four huge boxes. Well, Furniture size and like gifts inside them. And it was like, like now as an adult looking back, I'm like the effort that, that took to like wrap everything, ship it overseas, to like somewhere where it may. Make it, cause we did have a few years where you could see like, you know, customs I've like gone through and like hope of it. Uh, but I mean, they've always been like that. And I think here's, and maybe this like plays into my anxiety around gift giving is like, I know that feeling of receiving something that means so much to you. I want to give that to someone like more than the object. I want to give someone that feeling of like receiving a gift that is just like mind blowing, you know what I

Mel: mean? Yeah. Yeah. But do you not think that that's so hard today because anybody's idea of what's a mindblowing gift so different, so you do your best to kind of have some sort of real knowledge about what the person would actually like, you know, like,

Gabby: well, and that's just, it it's part of it is. The, like, I know you so well, look what I have done for you kind of thing. And like, that's how Chris is an incredible gift giver. Like he not even just for me, like for all of our friends, I usually doesn't matter if it's. Guy or girl, I usually defer to him because he's like, oh, they would like this. And then always without fail. It's like the best gift of the night. It's like, and it will be random things, but it's just stuff that like, he has that memory where it's like, oh, they mentioned about this once. Mel: That's good. Gabby: He can just kind of like pull it out out of his filing cabinet brain and. Mel: You know, dazzle them. That is, that is a gift for you. That is your gift is having Chris. Gabby: It really, really is. And I think maybe that's also why I feel so much pressure is I'm like, I watch him and I'm like, why am I not like that? I knew I love people. Why don't I remember the things that they say like that. Mel: Mm I know it is. Yeah. And when you do do it, though, you feel so smug about it. Gabby: Yes, you do. I do. I like I'm like, do you remember when, like I got you that really, Mel: please remember that when I hand you these earrings that you don't even wear. Oh my Gabby: gosh. Literally I don't think she ever wore them blesser. Mel: I remember when we, when we moved to Canada, it was obviously like we were, you know, the new kids on the block and the church and all this kind of stuff. And we were invited over to this family's house. Uh, this kind of married couples house who we knew were pretty wealthy in the church. I don't know how I, as an eight year old, I knew that, but I did, like, there was a little bit of buzz around getting to go to their house. Yeah. And they had presence for us. And I was just like, me and my brother were, I remember specifically, it was like the Clinton era. I'm pretty sure. And I remember that grownups were watching. No, the inauguration would have happened in January. Wouldn't it? Well, there was definitely some sort of Clinton, something on the TV and one of the kids. So it was another family there and the kids were all in like the rec rave, you know, just, you know, in the day. And the Dan just hanging out and these presents were produced and I got. The girl talk the board game. Oh my God. You remember girls off the board? Gabby: I know what you're talking about, but I've never played it. And now I feel like I want to play girls. Mel: I got girl talk. It was either girl talk or was it dream phone? Is that another one? Oh, I don't know about that one dream phone. Let me see if I can giggle it right now. Dream phone game. Oh boy. Yep. This is really so nostalgic dream phone. Yeah. I think it might've been dreamed phone and it's all like, I mean, it's so misogynistic. Um, and so stereotyped, but I, yeah, it was like 1992. So I was like, yes, it was the board game on all the commercials. You know, there was like all these guys around the board game and you got. Talk to call them. And I can't remember specifics of it, but I know that I wanted it and I know it was not something my parents would ever buy me. And this phone, this like couple bought it for me. I thought I'd won. The lottery literally was like, okay, well, we're standing here forever. Um, these people are going to have to always be in our lives. So, um, my brother, I remember. So clearly, because that was the Crispus like if my brother saw that I got this and he went, he opened his and he got boxers. Gabby: You can't say that Mel: I'm horrified Tim. No boxers. I think he was just like really hoping for some, like, you know, like a game boy or something and he got boxers, um, So, yeah, he didn't have his hopes up every year, like I did, but, um, yeah, there were definitely things that my parents would not, or would not enter tan. Oh yeah. Like just, yeah, but more super happy for other people to like, I don't remember them and that's probably because it was shielded from me, but I don't remember them having any kind of like, oh, there's so much stuff. Kind of anxiety about it that I have. Yeah. Gabby: Yeah. Mel: Yeah. Can you remember any of like the best Christmas presents that you ever got as a child or as a grownup? Gabby: Yeah, I mean, as a child, by best present I've ever received was my American girl doll. I got the Samantha doll after staring at the catalog for years and years and years, my grandparents got it for me. And I get like, exactly what you said. I feel like I, I felt like I had won the lottery. I lost my mother. It's did the whole, like screaming around the house. And I was like the right age for it. You know, like I was, I was like six, seven or eight. So like, just as like you're, I don't know, like you care about like their outfits and their hair. And, um, so that was my childhood best gift, my adulthood, best gift. Um, so Chris and I usually do like a. Like we do gifts for each other. And we, you know, we open our presents from our family, blah, blah, blah. And then we usually do like one gift for the households, like for the home. So like, cause usually like we get such good deals around baker, big ticket items. Around black Friday. And so usually we will decide in advance, like what would be nice to get like for our family. So this year, or this last year, it was our espresso maker or espresso machine. And that, like, I had to beg Chris for that one. Cause he was like, we live like in a city with such good coffee. Like crema is the best disperse I've ever had in my life. And it's like literally around the corner. Why would I get. You know, why would I make it at home? And I was like, just trust me, it is going to be worth it. And he's like, oh, he's like, why didn't we do this like five years ago? And I'm like, I know. So usually, I mean, that's a very big ticket item even for us, but yeah. Yeah, we usually for Mel: us, Gabby: well, I don't know big deals. I don't know what that meant, but I just mean like, yeah, Mel: I can let that go. I have to take the pest. I know I'm so blind. That's a big one. Even for us. Gabby: I don't know. Well, like I was just thinking our first year that we did this, our big ticket item was a kitchen knife. So expensive Mel: it's Gabby: still is. Yeah. Yeah. So that's what I in my head. That's what I was thinking of. But yeah, it was like a knife at an espresso maker. Anyway, what is your best adult gift? The adults get. Mel: Not that kind of podcast Gabby or Gabby: is it, I don't know. We can go there. I'm I'm feeling it. Mel: Oh, this episode, this is a Gabby: disaster. It's a disaster. That's okay. Let's just keep rolling. Mel: Um, I'm trying to think best gift. I mean, Dave is very, very thoughtful as in like, he is very sentimental gift giver. So he is, he will do, he will like have like a print methods with some sort of special lyrics or like, uh, like, uh, yeah, like that kind of thing. He's very thoughtful, always stuff like that. Um, I'm trying to think of anything like PR. So probably something like that, that was like thoughtful. Um, yeah. I also have to tell you about, like, I went, I did a whole. Standoff about Christmas a few years ago, this was probably like 10 years ago. Um, pre kids, um, were like, it was just like my brother and his wife, my dad's mom, me and Dave. And it was like, I was just like, guys, it's ridiculous that we spend so much money, blah, blah, blah. We should, you know, we should. Either to like a sacred Santa or like give money to charity or do something like noble, what a Dick. I am such a Dick just to not attack. Those are all great things today, but just, it was just really self-righteous. Um, so we did, we did buy some gifts, but I also bought like chickens for, you know, from like, uh, I don't know, like some sort of green pastes or whatever charity thing, or like, you know, a school supplies and stuff like that. And my brother was. No. He's like, no, he's like, no, I please don't do that again. Just give, give money to charity, but I want to present and I don't get them all year round and I don't care what age I am, but I'm going to, I'm going to need you to buy me a proper present, Gabby: like no more boxers Mel: or like, or like yeah, exactly. He's, he's totally traumatized from the scarcity of Christmas. Um, But yeah, he's he always takes my guy to me because I would buy like a fair trade scarf and he's like, oh, you're the worst smell you are the worst. Gabby: Oh my gosh. For, I mean, that's like the most Mel story I've ever heard. Probably. Do you ever do, you know, do you know, um, uh, So this is like a bit of a random trail, but I'm just going on it, that thing you do the movie with, uh, um, with Lyft, Tyler. And, uh, Mel: haven't seen that in awhile. Gabby: Okay. Nevermind. I saved just cut this bit out, but there's a part of the. Thing where like the whole story is like this band rises to fame and then the lead singer is like, he's like the only one committed to the art and not going pop and, you know, like, Like having like some dignity with his art, his artistry. And I always tease Chris about this too. And when he, like, he storms off at one point in the movie and his band mate goes, oh, there, Mel: he goes off to write the Gabby: hit single alone in my principles. And I always like, whenever Chris was being like that, I always am like, oh, there we go. Anyway, sorry, Steve, Mel: cutting up that up, Steve up. That's good. I like that. Oh, one of the one thing that I owe that I always do every Christmas, it's no longer like a surprise, but is more like a tradition, which I know we're going to cover in another episode traditions and stuff like that. But, um, but it's still a gift. It's a gift. I give to Dave on Christmas Eve and also more like for Dave and the kids, but I make a photo album of the year, every year. So I started doing that like six or seven years ago and it takes me ages. Yeah, yeah. It just to like, so we've, we've gone into a bit of a routine night and I really do recommend it. And that's because it is so special. Like our kids look at these photo albums all the time. Um, so I use . That's the one that I've been using. So we put that in the show notes, but I have a little Dropbox folder that Dave and I dump all of our phone photos and our camera photos into, throughout the year. And then amplify like allows you to, you know, you just import all whatever photos you want from your Dropbox or Instagram into it. And they will just like arrange it for you. Usually I do it by date. So it's like chronological throughout the year. And it is so special. It is so, so special to have all of that stuff in, just in like a book format. It's so nice. And so it's like a little tradition that's on Christmas Eve, the kids get to open a present, and then we opened this photo album together and have a lovely little reminisce and then they probably start fighting, you know, at some stage. So just not to, yeah. Not to like put any sort of weird. Perfect Christmas Eve moment in your head. But yeah, we, it is a really lovely thing to do. So I also like, is there any other, like, if you were, if it was just like a person that was maybe special to you, but it wasn't, you didn't necessarily need to do a really super thoughtful gift. Do you have any go-to uh, Gabby: yeah, candles and mugs. Mel: Candles. And I got a mug for me. I know. I just, Gabby: I mean, it's always what, I I'm always happy when either of those things show up. It's one of my don't overthink it. Just get a Candler, like I'm going to be fine. Like, and Mel: I really never be sad about that. I would never be sad if I get that. Gabby: Yeah. I mean, I just think you can't really go wrong and even if, and here's the thing, even if like you receive a mug, that's not really your style. Like, I still think it's fun to think of like, why someone picked that for you, you know, or even their perception of you. And like, it kinda like gives you a little bit of a window of like, oh, normally I don't go for like, I don't know a mug with this design or pattern or these colors, but like you saw that and you thought Gabby and that's interesting to me. And I don't know. I just, I think it's, you're always happy. Yes. Mel: Always you and I fight over that mug that you got me for my birthday, really? That makes me happy. Sometimes he'll like, make us stay in the morning until use that mug and another mug. And it's a bit of a standoff too. Like once he makes it, I'm like reaching for that one. Like I'm like, no, that, that one's actually mine. Um, I love, I love a little subscription gift. You're very good Gabby: about subscriptions. And I feel like that's a. Mel: I love a subscription gift. So last year, um, my friend, his style is, uh, she's like a sister to me. She's like a really avid reader and there's this, um, oh, I'm going to have to find the name of the, the publisher or the, the company. Um, but they have this big subscription, so you can subscribe somebody to this for. Three months or six months or a year or whatever, Willoughby, I think that's what it's called the Willoughby book club or the Willoughby something. Um, and so you put in the person's like the types of books that they like, anything significant about them. Um, So I put in, you know, the iSTYLE liked, she likes romance. She likes, uh, like, you know, kind of those kinds of fun books, but she also really likes like, um, real issue yeah. Stuff and real issue, uh, fiction as well. Um, and that she lived in Italy and the books that Kim for her, it was so fun, like, cause they came for a few months and so she'd always show me what. Had shown up that month and they were so spot on, like they were ones that she maybe would never have seen or read or picked up, but were really relevant, like an Italian love story or like cooking or one of my wrists, or like it was really, really wow. Really cool. Um, so a subscription I also got, I think I got my brother a subscription to like a movie magazine he's really into movies. Um, Uh, I think I got him one of those one time. Um, and there's also like places that do like candle subscriptions. I actually have gifted myself a candle subscription this last year as my favorite thing from the botanical candle company. And they send you like a candle and like a, some sort of gift. Every month. Well, I last saw it really nice. Oh my Gabby: gosh. A week. Okay. We need to put all of these in the show notes, because I think people are going to want to know where Mel: to get stuff and, and they're are like, these are all like, instead of buying on Amazon or like, You know, candles for Yankee candles or whatever, like these are independent, no shade on the Yankee candles, but you know, these are independent companies who are trying to do a thing and it's always nice to support them. It is. I think Gabby: that is one thing as the giver, like when I feel like I have supported a local business and given a gift, that's really spot on. It feels like you've given two gifts a little bit, you know what I mean? It's like, yeah. And I mean, obviously there's some times where it's just, Amazon's where you go and it just is the way it is, but, um, oh, Mel: absolutely. Yeah. I mean, Um, you guys who are my Marco polo group friends, you guys nailed my birthday present this year. Nailed it. So I, you guys sent me like an unbelievable charcuterie board from pomegranate and fig. That was, um, is in, I got a big bowl of Belfast. Nailed it and like independent, um, like a little pennant flag thing for my office, but I, you knew that I was, that I had been sweating over because we talked about it. Oh, you nailed it. Nailed it. Nailed it. It was fun and all little independent companies, right? Yeah. Gabby: Yeah. They really are really where, well, what else should we talk about for gifts? Do you feel like we have covered all the. We haven't talked about weird gifts that we've given weird Mel: gifts we've given or received or received or. Where does maybe us just be a nice, Gabby: um, it's funny though, cause like I kind of blocked the worst memory or like the worst gifts and the weirdest gifts out. I don't remember. I don't remember Mel: one year, cause my birthday's in October and then, um, Christmas overseas in December one year, DF got me a chopping board for my birthday on the chopping board for Christmas. I don't know if I've forgiven him yet. One was like a glass one that I had wanted. Yeah, but that was, that was the Christmas one, but the other one was like, you know, those ones that kind of fold up. So you can like, like a chop and fold one that you can then throw your onion into the pan easily. Um, and I must've mentioned like, obviously it's like super perceptive, so he obviously had logged to that. I had mentioned. In passing, but I didn't, you know, I didn't need those to be my gifts. Gabby: You could just buy that on a Tuesday, bring it home, just Mel: pick it up, but take care of box. I just think it's a nice thing to do. Gabby: You mentioned this. I got it for you. Mel: Yeah. Gabby: Gosh, I don't know the weirdest one I've received, but I know the weirdest one I've given is when Chris and I were first started dating. We were, um, you know, it was like height of. So Ren collective, the bandy is, and it's like super folksy if you've never checked them out. And it was at the height of like the Lumineers era and everyone was like testing out suspenders again and being like, what is this something we're into? And we had just started dating and that's kind of the vibe of their band. And so I was like, well, obviously you're into that stuff. So I got him these Etsy cufflinks, where it was. Belfast a map of belt. Like here's the thing. It wasn't even his hometown because he doesn't live in Belfast, but I didn't, this is how little we knew each other. A little map of Belfast and one link Radisson on the other. And like, literally he, he was like, oh, oh no, so Mel: sweet. It's so, so off like cufflinks first. Gabby: I know he's like, he was like, who, where, who, where Mel: I, if I can find a photo of them, I might have them. Gabby: They've been in a drawer for literally seven years. So I will work 10 years. So I will. See if I can find them somewhere and, oh, that's so good. Go flicks. Yep. This is a, this is like the prime example of how I overthink in the wrong way. My guess this is like classic me getting it wrong. I've done Mel: that realm. It's just, it's just early days trying to be thoughtful and sweet, isn't it. But I, and Gabby: I continue to make these kinds of blunders and it's not even just in my relationship with Chris, like with my friends, I've really had to like, Yeah, just keep it simple. Just get the mug. They'll love it. It's fine. Yeah. Yeah. Just get it. The mug. Don't worry about it. It's a thoughtful gift. I also think it's really, Mel: yeah. Like those kinds of things, but like, there's some things about, um, like being too specific about things, right? Like, so you like probably don't buy your friends a lipstick. Yeah. No, you know, don't buy makeup for friends unless they specifically use. Lipstick all the time or you want, you know, like my mother-in-law always, so the skincare that I use is called temple. Um, every November they do like a, a two for one Dale on this night cream and they raise money for charity. And so I know that I will always get a part of that from her for Christmas. Um, and that's a safe bet, but some other things are quite specific. Like I don't like getting toiletries cause I am really quite specific about what I use. So I don't like, I don't like getting like a gift set off that, um, Do you know what I mean? Like, oh definitely perfume and stuff like that. It's a tricky one, because at this age you kind of know what you're using, don't you and you just, yeah. You're not really into, um, too much branch at night unless. Specified. So I think those kind of gifts are hard. My mom used to do this thing, like, I mean all the way up until she died, like she did this thing where she would, um, she had these like massive stockings for us. Like, as in grown-up kids and she like for like a month or two, she would like collect different things like hand sanitizer and socks, or like a, you know, a packet like a lip balm. And I don't know, like a set of earphones or like some mostly like, Cheapest stuff. And she would wrap all of them up. And then she would do this whole bit where she's like, guys, I'm not doing stock this year. I'm just not doing it. I'm too. You know, I don't know if the energy for doing stockings. And then lo and behold, we would have her, all her, she would she'd come by. See, like, there's just one more thing. And even. 30 years old. I was like, you, she going to do it too. I love that drama of that. Yeah. And every year she would try and re double bluff us and, you know, so be stupid things like razors or like pack packets of tissues or like that kind of thing, but it was always so nice. Cause you're just literally frantically opening, like 30 presence, little tiny little press. So sweet. I love Gabby: that so much. And that just, it like it it's all comes back to that little pile at the end where you just kind of like sit like a little smug hen on your nest, on your nest of things. Um, when I was in college, um, We did my roommates and I, who are all like really close friends to this day, we would do stockings in our living room. And throughout the month of December, like we would all go for home for Christmas. We would put things in them. So like, it could be small, cheap things. Cause we were broke college students, but it'd be like, you know, someone pick up a bag of Hershey kisses and like put chocolates in there, like buy pencils or, you know, like we, things like that. Um, and then we had like a Christmas night before we all went home for Christmas and like we made cocoa and popcorn and opened our stockings. And I, that was like still what my favorite memories of being in college. Um, just cause it was so homey, like you don't get that kind of, homeyness usually outside of Mel: home. Yeah.

Gabby: And we were not in the place where we really thinking of our apartment as home. We really think of it as like, you know, a glorified. Hotel, but it was crappy,

Mel: hostile more like, yeah. I

Gabby: like can't believe the conditions we lived in when I think back, but we did it and we survived

Mel: all that. It's really nice. This nice skin. And then also experience gifts. Those are good. Aren't they usually like, yeah, we got my dad's a big, um, Tottenham Hotspur football, soccer phone. No. Yeah. Unlike a couple of years ago, just like in the December, before the pandemics, we hadn't actually had a chance to use this yet. We got him like a membership to the football club, which meant that he could then get tickets like really much easier and like a voucher for a flight and wow. Something else to do with the football club. Like, I don't know something. Yeah. Like if I cheer for buying a ticket so that I could go and see them play, um, or we've done, we've done like afternoon tea voucher or, um, like Dave's dad loves music. So we, I think we got him like, uh, tickets to go and see a bond at a theater, like a tribute band or something like that. Yeah. Those are always nice. Kind of experienced gifts, especially I think, especially those are nice NOI that we've, that you can do those things more or less. Yeah.

Gabby: I mean, a restaurant gift card is going to always make my day. Yeah. Yeah.

Mel: As long as it comes with some sort of, um, offer to babysit the night that you used. I

Gabby: definitely got to sort out the childcare situation. Otherwise it's not

Mel: a gift. It's not a gift. So hustle. Okay. Well, um, yeah, so it's a gift gift giving can be thoughtful and fun, but also don't overthink it, you know, like get the mug, get the council. Um, I think it's always good to have a list. I always get to have a feeble, all, a few balls of wine stash that you can grab. If you're randomly get invited to someone's house and you need to bring something right. Or. Boxes of biscuits, have some things like that. All right. Everybody happy, present buying. Thank you so much for listening as always, you can send us messages on Instagram or at our email address, which is hello@makinganefforttopodcast.com and we will catch you all again for our last episode of the season next week. Bye.