Christmas Gift Follies
 

Post yours.

I had been wanting an ice crusher for some time. They seem to not be a popular item, because I wasn't finding one. (At least not a cheap one.) A couple years ago I found one at an outlet mall in North Carolina. Indeed, Mrs. Dallas was with me when I bought it.

So this morning, I opened one of my packages from Mrs. Dallas, and it was . . . an ice crusher. More than that, it was exactly the same model. (At first I thought she had re-used the box from the old one.) Apparently she forgot I had it because we had stored it in the great kitchen gadget purge, and I haven't bothered to get it out for some time.

Some great scarves, a cool jacket, parents got me some money so I am going to get a flash and some lenses for my camera.

This was kind of a sparse year for Christmas in my family, what with dealing with my mom's illness and recovery ... my sister got me a High Spirits Native American Flute in High D, my mom "got" me (i.e., I went to the store and bought for myself with her debit card) the Hallmark light and sound Star Trek ornament for this year, along with the table top light and sound Enterprise.

Mom says she'll turn me loose with her credit card as well. She's feeling guilty over not having gone out and gotten anything for me herself.



I had an shopping folly in the Target doing my Christmas shopping, though ... an hour and a half's worth of wandering around the store, picking out just the right thing for each person ... and just as I was making my last purchase decisions some soulless dumbass stole my cart.

Yeah. Unpurchased items. I don't shop with a purse, or if I do, it's on my shoulder at all times.

I had to re-shop. It sucked. I nearly cried.

I have to introduce you to my friend Susan..(Cellar name SusanP) she collected every Hallmark ST ornament for years and years.

This year I got her these:

http://www.chiefsupply.com/images/pr...200/DNR100.jpg

...she's a Lieutenant in the local Fire Police and directs a lot of traffic.

I don't have all the ST ornaments, just the light and sounds. I didn't, for example, get any of the character statue versions.

But I do have the set of tiny to-scale ships for the DS9 space station.

wtf are you talking about wolf?? link please? you lil trek freak you!!

I almost forgot to mention, Saturday's mail brought Mrs. Dallas the gift that keeps on giving . . . a jury duty summons!:eek:

We had to discreetly dispose of two of the kids' gifts this year... one was a cheapo foam solar system "puzzle" which was just crappy in every way, and very frustrating for the kids. The other was this goo that was supposed to be kryptonite somehow, which was as bad as a goo-toy could be--you know, at least the "good" goo-toys stick more to themselves than to anything else, and just rely on the gross factor for their coolness. This stuff was literally just a huge mess, and had to be actively scrubbed off everything it touched. And I'm pretty sure the stains aren't coming out.

My son asked (every) Santa for a "Big Boy Kitchen" I cook(ed) and he cooks with my mom a lot.
My parents got him the BAD ASS kids kitchen from, I think, Pottery Barn. They, and every one else, got him real, small, stainless utensils, a sauté and sauce pan, lots of food that cuts (Velcro inside) with it's own knife and cutting board from the teacher's store, little food boxes, fruit, veggies, a porcelain tea set (I drink a lot of tea and he wanted a real set instead of his girly play one... he does not like the girly stuff, none of this is)... he is set.
All of this is SO COOL. He puts his little apron on and goes to work. It is the coolest thing in the world!
He was chopping and sautéing carrots yesterday like a dam pro, keeping them on the cutting board with his knife and stirring with a spatula... I ... there are no words.
We did not encourage this at all... it was all him.

Ahhh cool. thanks :)

These are a very good toy. Playing that is fun and a learning experience that teaches a life skill. I wish they were around when I was a kid that age. My boy got these a year or two ago and loved them.

I did not put my foot down when I suggested we vet the gifts from family for the inch. As a result, I get to gloat about how "we are definitely going vet gifts in the future."

A bunch of crappy stuff, mixed in with the good, and a bunch of stuff that he is too young for and gets frustrated with.

Hey do you think it says 5+ on the box for a reason?

We spirited away some of the things, but he doesn't miss a trick and an hour later it was "Where is...?"

The big folly this year was a digital camera my mom gave to my daughter. You'd think a camera being given to a kid would be a simple camera to use, right? Unfortunately not. In this case, the camera that's appropriate for a kid is the cheapest digital camera you can buy. I'm guessing it was $19.99. It can only be charged by USB cable connected to a PC. It has no on/off switch, so it is always on. The batteries last about 30 minutes. The pictures are lost once the batteries run out. So you have to take the pictures and run back to the computer in 30 minutes to load them. The resolution is only 640x480. It takes (according to internet reviews) crappy pictures inside in low light. No flash.

I'm afraid to load the software to run the thing. The internet doesn't have much to say about this camera, but what it does say is all negative, including crippling computers that load the included software. There's a slip of paper with the documentation that says in big bold letters that if we have trouble with the camera, "Do not return it to the store where it was purchased." Instead, we should call a non-toll free number for technical assistance.

Fortunately, my daughter has been distracted by other presents and even though she has always wanted a camera, she will probably be fine if I tell her I wasn't able to get it to work.

http://images.tigerdirect.ca/itemdet...6-call3-ca.jpg
http://images.tigerdirect.ca/itemdet...6-call2-ca.jpg

http://www.sfist.com/archives/2006/1...ovage_mini.php
Glatt: SonofV got this little (teeny) gem for Christmas. It's similarly spartan. 2 digit lcd display, very funky software, usb, but not recognized as a removable drive, internal memory only. It's a novelty. High quality pictures:20. lo-qual, max compression: 243 pics. it's a toy. And you have about... eight seconds to replace the battery.

Yours and his have the same button and display layout. I wonder if they have other similarities, like the function and display... For instance, you can change all the settings using the mode button. And you *can* turn it on and off without resorting to removing the battery and losing the pictures... what do your docs say?