I was digging through the blog archives last night and came across this post, from December 2004. It is an accounting of the best Christmas gifts I received as a kid, which was about as “typical 2004 personal blog post” as you could get.
I had two thoughts as I read it:
1 – If I re-did the list today I would add one adult gift: when S got me the first iPhone in 2007. That is the greatest gift I ever received. I hadn’t asked for it, didn’t expect it, and thought I was unwrapping a new cologne because of the size of the box. We haven’t purchased gifts for each other for years, generally because we both buy whatever we want/need on our own. But I think some of it is because she ruined Christmas with that gift: it could never be topped. Since she’s not super into Christmas, maybe that was her plan!
2 – Our girls are all pretty much out of that window when you get cool stuff. L is just barely in it, and she’s definitely getting the coolest gifts this year. But her sisters are both firmly in the asking for clothes and things to decorate with teenage phase. To be honest, that phase is a lot more logical. The clothes and things for their rooms they will be getting on Friday are a lot more practical and will get a lot more use that the cool toys they wanted ten years ago. But toys make Christmas mornings a lot more fun than getting a new outfit or artwork for your walls.