Christmas Wrapped

I am having the pronounced urge these days to detox from all things electronic, battery-operated, or otherwise backlit. And that goes for my holiday shopping list too.

No doubt Nate would be thrilled with anything with the letters PS and the number 3 in front of it, and my daughters go nutty for demonic dolls imbedded with voice chips that activate when you’re least expecting it. But still, I think there’s something to be said for the good old-fashioned fun found in a classic board game.

I think fondly of the game night we had in my family as a kid, long before there was such a thing as Game Night. We all convened around the big glass coffee table, set up the board, and played until it was well past bedtime while the hot chocolate flowed. As I recall, we never once complained that we were missing some TV show or that our Atari was calling; we were having way too much fun. Unless of course we were playing Monopoly, in which case my dad and my brother always ganged up on me and bankrupted me within like four seconds, then refused to loan me a single white, crinkly dollar bill so that I could stay in the game. Tears ensued.

This is like three years ago, by the way. Monopoly in my house is not pretty.

I’m hoping the friends and family on my list is feeling the same sort of unplugged nostalgia because some of their gifts are going to reflect it this year. Here are a few that I’ve got my eye on:

*If you don’t have a good game of Scrabble (with all tiles still intact) you can’t even begin to call yourself a game-player. Scrabble just came out with a
Deluxe 60th Edition Game although I really am getting all excited and twitchy about the Premier Wood Edition. I’m loving the prospect of sitting down to play an actual game with an actual person, and not some stranger on Facebook who’s claiming to take a phone call while checking his cheating dictionary.

*There is no better $5 gift for a child than Candyland, with Chutes and Ladders a close second. $5! Really! Kids as little as two will enjoy moving their pieces around on the board and playing with the cards, even if they’re too young to really understand the rules. Did I mention $5?

*Okay so Operation doesn’t entirely live up to the no-batteries requirement, but I still love the low-tech fabulosity and the $10 price tag. Kids will love it provided they don’t lose all the pieces under the couch and try feeding the adam’s apple to the dog.

*If your kids are already tic tac toe masters,
Connect 4 is the next logical step. It’s also awesome in that you get to say “Pretty sneaky, sis” every time you release all the checkers, and no one under 30 will have any idea what you’re talking about. That’s okay – just keep doing it. It will be our little secret.

*I didn’t actually discover dominos until I met the inlaws, who were serious domino junkies. Now, I count myself among them. A really nice set packaged in a beautiful burled wooden box makes an original family gift or hostess gift, and will last a whole lot longer than the fruit basket. Similarly, a beautiful backgammon set feels somehow indulgent. Especially when it’s only a backgammon set, and not some multi-game deelio that flips over to become a checkerboard.

*Do you know how hard it is to find just regular old Monopoly? You have to weed through shelves of Bass Fishing Monopoly, Elvis Monopoly, Fantasy Baseball Special Edition Monopoly, Disney Villains Monopoly, the Olsen Twins Goes Shopping on Upper Bleecker Street Monopoly…you only think I’m exaggerating. Traditionalists (like me) will appreciate the time that you take to track down the classic. The new library edition of Monopoly hasn’t changed a bit from your own youth, except that it’s packaged in a more bookshelf-friendly box. To be honest, it’s about time that someone figured out how completely annoying it is trying to fit those old board games on your regular bookshelves.

*Finally, I have to give a shout-out to Risk, which is not only the best ever rainy day killer, it’s also the reason I know how to find Afghanistan on a map. Be warned: It’s definitely not for sore losers. When your opponent is on the verge of world domination, it’s way too easy to slap your hand down on the board and say, “oops!” as all the teeny little armies go flying everywhere. Not that I’d know of such things.

So what am I missing? What are your favorite classic games that I should be adding to my list? And were there any games that made you cry as a kid (or a sensitive adult) or is that just me?

With all the holiday shopping and planning and general running around, we could all use some fun. Toys aren’t just for kids!

Give mini-marshmallow shooters and Nerf blasters, and the whole family (or the whole office) can run around having a good time. Part of the gift is the time you’ll spend together having fun! If it’s warm enough where you live, get a Super Soaker for the kids and let them water the plants while they play. A Christmas morning home laser tag game is a good way to burn some calories. Do you need any more practical excuses to have fun?

Click on each image to find out more.

When I was a kid, I could count on the same birthday and Hanukkah gift from my long-distance grandmother: a check for $35 tucked inside a greeting card. Every year I got excited about the new treasure I could buy, or the boost her contribution would give to my tiny savings account.

I’m not sure why gifts of money get such a bad rap — they’re written off as impersonal; tacky, even. But, for school-age kids to young adults, there’s nothing simpler or more practical. Think of it as a universal gift card, redeemable anywhere, including the bank.

I’ve decided to adopt the same tradition for my nieces and nephews. Everyone’s getting checks from now on. No more haphazardly chosen toys they don’t need. No more wasteful shipping and packaging. And (bonus!) no more last-minute shopping.

Which is not to say gifts of money have to be 100% utilitarian. With a little extra effort, you can turn your cash gift into something more memorable:

Think homemade. If you’re crafty, the world’s your oyster, but even if you’re not, you’ve got plenty of options. A little knitted ornament? A handmade card or box? An “envelope” stitched from a fabric scrap? A small tin of cookies? A few homemade gift labels?

Think humorous. My mother-in-law and I have come up with the silly tradition of giving each other cards that feature ridiculous dog pictures. Heather suggests including a list of crazy ideas for what the money could be used for. What about a hand-lettered collection of your favorite holiday jokes? Or: an annual pair of tacky holiday-themed socks.

Think personal. Include a few photos from shared special occasions to remind the giftee of good times spent together.

Think educational. Tuck the check inside the front cover of a book that teaches basic money management. For kids, consider Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace, Jr.: Teaching Kids About Money!. For young adults, try Please Send Money: A Financial Survival Guide for Young Adults on Their Own by Dara Duguay.

How do you add a personal touch to your gifts of money?

I’ve never understood why, for so many, holiday gift-giving is the stressful, bank-account-emptying task it is. It’s a pleasure to give gifts. Why then is Christmas shopping so fraught with tension?

If I sound like an insufferable Pollyanna, I apologize. Perhaps it’s not fair for me ponder as I’m a celebrator of Hanukkah. While my family gets plenty gifty during this time of year (and we even hang stockings and invite Santa to visit), we only give presents to immediate family. We don’t engage in the popular Christmas practice (among a few of my friends at least) of giving gifts to everyone.

To me, the first line of holiday anxiety defense is to drastically pare down the gift list. It works in everyone’s favor: you save money, time, and sanity, and your friends and family suffer fewer awkward but-I-didn’t-get-you-a-gift moments. And you know what? They secretly want to get off the runaway gift-giving train, too.

Next, I try to pick up gifts as I see them, then “shop” my closet when the holidays arrive. I mentally record my kids’ pleas of “I love that!” and “Can I pleeeeease have it?” (My reply of “Add it to your wish list” mysteriously satisfies them. I think it’s more about being heard than actually getting the toy.) Later, when I have some time to myself, I pick up a couple of their “wish list” items and stash them in my office closet. This, more than anything else I do, simplifies gift-giving because I can sit back, smugly admiring my cache of presents, while I watch the crowds of holiday shoppers from afar.

Of course, this makes me looks a lot more together than I actually am. I’ve forgotten about presents hidden in the recesses of my closet, and I inevitably neglect someone and have to rush out into the dark of night for a gift. This year, I’ve scheduled BUY LAST-MINUTE PRESENTS in my calendar on December 1. That way, I can still avoid the worst of the holiday crowds or score Amazon’s free shipping with plenty of time to spare for wrapping.