My young nephews have already told me they want the pants with all the pockets that zip off into shorts. They are about $30 for a nice pair so I'm looking for them on sale. I guess it's a hot cool item for kids to wear right now. My folks have said the same thing - don't buy them anything cause they have it all by now. They did say that we could get them exotic food items. So I'm thinking of going to a specialty store and pick out some items like smoked salmon and cheeses etc. I enlarged a nice picture I took of all their grandkids and put it in a nice quality frame. I then bought several matching frames but am leaving them empty and they can fill them with photos they already have and do a nice grouping.

With my siblings and Mum, we are very sporadic about gifts. Most years we skip the gift part of Xmas, and birthday gifts are experiences (restaurant meal, a performance) or let me give you the money to pay for (whatever) that you just bought yourself. With my husband, we both buy what we need or want when we need it so we don't give each other gifts. With my in-laws, I have to provide a written list of what I might want. They rarely purchase from the list so I don't know why it's required. Since I refuse to play the game anymore, my husband provides a list of ideas for gift cards (restaurants, gas cards) for both of us. My husband dislikes the gift exchanging, although he's actually quite good at it, but he doesn't fight it because it's important to his mother and sister. Xmas is now basically an exchange of gift cards, occasionally for the exact same thing. My longest term BFF doesn't like to exchange gifts so we don't - perfect! We usually treat the other to dinner. My 2nd longest BFF is a gift giver; I give her kids money and something I think she and her husband would want. I don't routinely exchange gifts with anyone else. Once in awhile I'll get or give a gift to another friend. The best gift I ever received was when my husband was sick and a friend would drop off wonderful salads for me. I would come home from being at the hospital all day and she'd stop by with it, all freshly made with interesting ingredients. It was nourishing to my body and soul.

Thank you all so much for your ideas and kind words-- but you know how it goes. The blessings go both ways. The kids (all of them-- not just the older ones) are generous with their time and love to share themselves with me too. It's not the same as it was when they were young -- or as often-- but I cherish what each of them brings to my life. I love the idea to give them good knives. It make such a difference and I remember how giddy when I was (in my 30s) when I *finally* got a really good knife. My then bf and I fought over who would be the sous chef! LOL I also love the panini maker because it goes a long way on a low budget. You can throw in a little spinach, a little cheese, tomato, pesto, whatever and have a delicious meal. I like the breville which is definitely a splurge they'd not make for themselves. I am pretty set on getting a good cast iron dutch oven or stew pot for my nephew. He uses only cast iron pans and he's asked for a good soup/stew pan. It's also a way to make the budget go far-- my gosh, I lived on soup when I was in grad school. Sephora is also a great idea for the girls--SO great, in fact, that we've done that for birthdays or breakups or just because (pedicure, lunch and sephora!) :) I will check with them to give them the option for money or a present but in the meantime, I am developing a plan for a different kitchen/cooking package for each. I think they'll prefer presents and that way, I'll be prepared. Now onto the tweens!

One thing I traditionally get for my DD and son in law are the annual passes to our state and local parks because they love to hike and enjoy the many lakes they have. (Michigan has over a million w/in it’s borders) One of the larger sports/hunting stores in their area, Bass, Cabella’s or the likes is an easy place to find out what the state he’s in requires and where you can buy them from; often times they sell them right there. Also a gift certificate to one of those stores, Bass Pro’s especially would be great because they can buy whatever they need when they need it, whether it’s clothing or boots, new equipment or outdoors cooking “stuff” Bass has it all. Magazine subscriptions are good too, I have a sister who gets us annual renewals to our favorites and we love it. If they’re up north, they’re in doors all winter, how about a years subscription to Netflix or a streaming device like a Roku? You could also put together a winter basket with a variety of things that one never has too much of in winter. Wool smart socks, new hats, beef jerky or sausage, a cook book with new out door recipes or stews and soups, a safety beacon (mentioned above), a couple of fun or corny kitchen gadgets for when she’s canning. Things like that.