TN Donna

I once gave my husband a beautiful expensive card for Valentines's day. He jsut read it and stuck it in the night stand drawer. I found it right before Valentine's the next year. I gave it to him again. He read it and put it back in the same drawer. I did this for 5 years and the kids got a loaugh out of it. He never even realized it was the same card until I told him.

TN Donna

Another good one is to give a mug for the men and a tea cup and saucer for the women. Add a box of flavored tea bags and they have a cheap gift they can enjoy anytime they want.

Rann

I had a friend that would get money cards. She would get one $50 bill, a couple of $20's, three $10's, four $5's, and the rest in $1's and $2's (very large family) and put them on the tree. Everyone got to pick an envelope and was happy with whatever they got. One year her sister wanted some new crystal, so she bought a piece for every family member. The only catch was that it had to stay at the siter's to only be used there.

marmalade

This isn't really an unusual idea, more of a regifting story, but I am going to tell it anyway. My m-i-l is difficult to buy for. One year, we gave her a hand-crafted pottery sugar bowl (which was quite nice I might add) and stuffed a $50 bill in it, thinking she could use the money to go to bingo (her favourite pass-time). She opened her gift and saw the sugar bowl and said "how nice", but she never looked inside even though we told her to do so. Well, we never saw her use the sugar bowl, so we just figured she didn't like our gift and had stashed it in the closet. A couple of years later, I was at my s-i-l's house having coffee and she brings out this same sugar bowl! Remember it's unique - so I asked her where she got it and she said my m-i-l gave it to her for her birthday and what a surprise - there was a $50 bill in it! I never told her where it REALLY came from, but I did tell my dh. Till this day, we just take his mom out for dinner as her christmas present...lesson learned

TN Donna

She sounds like my mil

Jo Mama

My sister-in-law will give a gift back right back to you if she doesn't like it. I was brought up to gracefully accept gifts given to me. Maybe use them only when the giver would see them. But SIL just hands it right back. I don't buy her anything any longer -- let HER brother buy them for her.

texas granny

These are all very good idea. Thank you all for shareing

TN Donna

I have a sister who is real picky. She likes old stuff and handmade stuff though. One of a kind deals. I was talking to her on the phone this morning. She has her kitchen done id Home Interior apple/pears/grapes. I was making a table runner and it fit with her design. She told me she had nothing to go on her table for Christmas except for an angel. I whipped that one up real quick and sent it to her as her husband was here. I have no feed back yet.

lynnie

that's a different idea fr a fun time

PJO

This year we are playing "Dirty Santa." I'm not totally sure how its played, but according to my son's girlfriend - everyone brings one gift. We draw straws to see who goes first. The first person opens a gift of choice from under the tree then the next person can also pick a gift from under the tree or take the first person's gift from them. And so it goes - ought to be lots of laughs and no one knows what they will end up with until its all over.