We love the movie Office Space and lived in Asia after it came out. As part of DH's birthday gift, I bought him a bright red stapler and wrote in marker on the bottom of it "Property of Milton". That color stapler was not sold in the States and he has kept the stapler on his office desk ever since.

Here's one I got: DH gave me a Walmart Christmas bear. He had attached diamond stud earrings to its neckscarf. The glitter caught my eye and I said, "Oh, and he has rhinestone tie tacks on his--OMG! They're diamond earrings."

I had my MIL's unfinished quilt completed and gave it to my SIL for Xmas a few years ago. She loves it and it hangs on the wall behind her desk.

My youngest DD gave me a certificate for 1 day at a spa. That was absolutely wonderful. Have never felt so pampered in my life! I was so touched at her thoughtfulness.

DL

My sister is an old movie buff and black is the only color....

One year for Christmas I got her a black lounging robe, black slippers and a copy of "The Making of the African Queen". She was in 7th heaven with that one.

Best gift I ever received was from DH which was a necklace of my initials "CJ" in pave' diamonds.

When I was in graduate school I was literally living hand-to-mouth. At the library I discovered a great new poet I knew my father would love, but I couldn't afford the $20 for the book, even if I'd been able to order it somewhere. (This was computer/pre-internet days, at least for me.)

So I painstakingly typed out the whole manuscript on my rinky-dinky work processor, printed it out and sewed it into folios, then bound it in a pasteboard cover with handmade paper. He still has it beside his bed, more than 15 years later!

My best gift came from my younger sister, when I had my first post-college radio job, working over night at a station 20 miles away. She bought a large cosmetics bag, then bought a sheaf of inexpensive washclothes, little soap, a little bottle of moisturizer, a travel toothbrush and toothpaste. She also bought a case of ramen noodles and cup-o-soups.

When I'd leave for work at 2am, I'd get a fresh washcloth and a noodle snack, and be able to have something to eat, and freshen up before the rest of the day staff arrived at 8. I used that little travelling case for nearly ten years!

This is going to sound weird but the best gift I've ever received is one that's in progress now. I found out about 2 months ago that I'm getting let go from my job with a nice severance package. My last day working is 2/28/08. This is a huge gift because I've wanted to change careers and probably would have done so sometime next year, but this severance absolutely defined the timing for me. I can't wait for the next phase of my life to begin!

Other "best" gifts are those where someone has given me their time and willingness to help me accomplish something.

The best gift I ever received was a dark brown wool suit that my mother made for me when I was graduating from law school. I couldn't believe the amount of work she spent on it. Also, she's extremely sensitive to wool, and her arms were covered with red welts from working with the fabric. I wasn't happy to see that, but it touched me that she'd kept on, knowing that I liked the look of wool.

As I side note, I *did* like the look of wool, but it ended up that I have the same sensitivity. Even though the suit was fully lined, I got red welts all over my arms, neck and waist from wearing it. I kept it in the closet for years, though, as it reminded me of my mother's love.

I once found a copy of my sisters favorite childhood book on ebay. I printed a few pages out and framed them and gave her the book and the framed pages. She cried for half an hour.

It was my finest gift giving moment. :)