we got zip from the step son.
he's 19 & knows better. but he chooses not to DO better.
his choice, his decision, we still love him. but yes it hurts.
a simple card would've made me happy.
oh well.
the 8 year olds know better. we went to look for something for dan & they picked out a really nice flannel coat thingy. i paid for it but they offered to use some of their savings account. they got me one of those snuggie things & some great books.
one thing i've learned with the teenager, i don't let what he does/doesn't do have the slightest effect on my joy of the holidays.

edit: they gave dan & i hand made ornaments - those were the best!

I haven't received presents since I was 16 from anyone. Grandparents give me $50 a year, once in awhile I'll get a t-shirt, but that's it. I got my dad a pair of headphones one year so he could listen to his 60's / 70's jams without me having to listen to them. I bought my mom a necklace the same year. I don't think I've given them much else other than appreciation and gratitude for being my parents.

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I think it's something you are taught at a young age. People learn the joy of giving, by giving. If you are never taught that, you don't know what you are missing.
When i was 16, i bought a bathroom vanity for my parents 25th wedding anniversary. I knew my Mom had wanted one. It cost me $70.
Now.....before you laugh at the price, realize that i was in high school, working part time and making $1.60 per hour. Took alot of hard work to buy that thing. I got it a month early, and as i was a kid living at home, i had no where to hide it. So i gave it to them early. (Fact is, i didn't drive yet either, so i had to have my Dad drive me to pick it up). So they got it a month early.

It was a good feeling to see my Mom's face when we brought it into the house. Dad got to set it up.
I'm very glad i had to do it early..........my Dad died 2 weeks before their anniversary.

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I have always gotten my parents (now just my mother something.) It may not be much but let her know I am thinking of her.

I took my kids out to buy presents for their mother. I let them decide what to get. I helped pay for it if need be. Now that their in college and need help with their monthly expenses they don't get us stuff but we told them not to. It just doesn't make sense.

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Just to add a bit here...

I didn't work or have any meaningful "allowance" in most of my childhood. So, if I bought a present for one parent, usually it was the other one (or, occasionally my older brother/sister) paying.

But there was a good side to all of this. It was a chance to spend some extra meaningful time -- especially with my dad (who was a small businessman workaholic who died less than a year after I graduated from h.s.), or my brother (who was 10 years older and died before my senior yr.).

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