If I had written this post two days back, I would have come up with a selfless list of things to do on Christmas, but something changed in the last two days. Before you start imagining too many dramatic things, I must mention that nothing big happened. It’s just in the last two days, I have gifted and received many gifts. As much as I love the suspense and the thrill, I am terrified of being disappointed after opening my gift. Same goes for the person whom I gift something. I fear disappointing anybody with my gift.

I celebrated Secret Santa in the blogging community, my office, and my home. The blogging community, Write Tribe, made it easy for secret Santa to gift their Santee by asking everyone to write down their gift preferences. My Santee wished for books and was kind enough to mention exactly which books she would love to read. Similarly, I mentioned what all I would love to receive, and my Santa listened. I loved the gift. Although one naughty person in the blogging community claims that she is my Santa, I doubt. I have seen her playing funny games in the community since the Secret Santa started. If she is my Santa, she should know that I loved her gift a lot. Here is a pic of my gift!

In my office, I received a lovely vase with flowers. I really loved it. Another colleague of mine gifted me with a beautiful wall clock. One of my best friends gifted me a wrist watch, which is really adorable. I loved all the gifts. However, when my husband gifted me a bunch of gifts, I was quite vocal about how disappointed I was. I feel terrible about it. Although in my defense, I was expecting boots as a gift because I have been dropping hints for boots since the winter started,  this does not make my outburst right. I realize when I am wrong, and soon the realization struck me. I had hurt the person who invested a lot of time in buying me jewelry and shoes (not boots, though) and then wrapping it in the most beautiful packaging. Needless to say, I am making amends to help him feel better; however, I am having a hard time feeling less embarrassed.

If you know someone who is extremely vocal about the choice of their gifts, please listen to them. They might not be as bitchy as I was last night, but you would notice their disappointment in one way or another. I will try to hide my disappointment in a better way, though. Whether someone gifted the thing you wanted or not, as long as they have put a lot of thought into selecting a gift for you, it is precious.

This Christmas taught me to work on controlling my tongue while opening my gift. Being demanding and being hurtful are two very different things separated by a very thin line. Keep spreading the joy of Christmas by gifting thoughtful presents to the people you love, you care for, or a complete stranger whose life might be a little better by your little effort. Above all, be a gracious gift receiver, not an unnecessary loudmouth like me. Merry Christmas!

Thank you, Shilpa, for passing on the Christmas spirit. I pass it on to Anamika 🙂