Sunday, August 20, 2006

Practical gifts

This month I am all about practical gifts. My MIL had told us a funny story about her husband getting a horrible rash from pruning mango trees. They didn't have any itch cream in the house; when she returned from downstairs to get some medicine that was prescribed for their DOG, he was rubbing a tube of Oragel all over his face! So I went to Dollar General and bought one of every over-the-counter medicine they had. (If you didn't know, DG's generic drug prices generally beat even Walmart's). We packed them in clear plastic shoebox and labelled it the Third World Survival Kit. It's meant to bring them a smile--they can certainly buy all these on their own--but at least it's useful and consumable. In case it's a complete flop, I also regifted a new paperback book, which someone gave me but I had already read.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think that's an excellent idea. I'd like to come up with STANDARD gifts to buy ahead and stash. For example, for the friends of my tweens, I keep a stash of jewelry from www.silverjewelryclub.com . At $6-$9 a pop, it's not the cheapest, but a silver-and-amethyst ring makes a very nice tween b'day gift.

Just wish I could come up with more standard gift ideas, esp for babies and weddings.

- Slughorn, who doesn't remember the password and can't log in as myself on this computer.

Julie @ Creating This Life said...

I love practical gifts, Meredith. Your idea sounds great!

Roberta said...

ROFL!!! that story gave me a good chuckle.

Anonymous said...

I once got a horrible rash from cleaning up mango tree parts after a hurricane (in Puerto Rico). I had developed an allergy to them--couldn't eat them any more either without my face puffing up like a Cabbage Patch doll! Does your MIL's husband have allergies? Anyway, sounds like a great gift--wish we had Dollar General here in Canada.

GrammaMack

Marsha said...

My first job out of college I worked for a major pharmaceutical/consumer products company and had access to the "company store" to buy all their over-the-counter products very inexpensively. That year for Christmas I gave my sisters - who were in school themselves - shoeboxes of toothpaste, toothbrushes, cold medicine, cough drops...all those things that are so budget busting but so wanted when they're scarce. I can't say that my 18- and 20-year old sisters *loved* the gifts, but I'm sure they were found to be useful!