I think of "socks" as being the canonical gift in the explanation that 8 days of Hannukah gifts aren't really equivalent to one day of Christmas gifts. But that may just be weirdness on my part.
It may or may not be weirdness on your part (try using a comb? ;-), but I've never gotten or given socks for Hannukah, so it's not in my default. My mom tended towards giving books (paperbacks are cheap), little toys/puzzles, perhaps a sweater or shirt. The one gift I best remember (as being a Hannuka gift) is The I Hate Mathematics Book; still have it, too :-).
Ours was pretty fun. I started off with a fountain that plays nature sounds, but that got stolen. Then I got a barware set. That got stolen even faster. I ended up with what was probably a last minute thing- a box of Starbucks coffee, cocoa and cookies. Can you say regift? =)
My sister, who works with me, ended up with one of the best gifts- a bottle of Disarrono, with nice liquor glasses. (My parents gave her their fully stocked bar for her wedding, so she always enjoys adding to it) A coworker who just got back from Japan brought a high quality sake, so that was the number one gift. Alcohol always seems to work well- or alcohol related things. I brought a Tic Tac Toe shot glass set this year, and generally I bring wine or martini glasses from Crate and Barrel.
(Oh! what if you are the person that brought the Starbucks? Sorry. )
We don't have a gift swap at work. At my old place, we had a not-a-secret-santa thing in my department, which I've heard this year has morphed into a Yankee swap (which seems too much for a 30+ person department).
The Starbucks gift sounds boring but safe. Not interesting, but easy to regift if it's not useful, anyway.
I'm not much for the booze, but Di Sarronno is just about my favorite; I always have a bottle on hand. Granted, it's been the same bottle for years...
The Yankee swap I remember taking part in (at a small Hanukah party) had some booze, but the $10 maximum (along with the hosts' known oenephilism and penchant for Scotch) led to a lot of non-booze gifts. (For that one, I brought some funky wind chimes made from old silverware, and ended up with a Far Side cartoon-a-day calendar, which I didn't want. It worked out well for me, though, since a friend who was in a small a cappella group offered a copy of their recorded-just-for-themselves CD for the calendar. Score! :-)
It seems, despite their longstanding hatred of the Yankees, people around here are stubbornly proud of _being_ Yankees. And you know, that sort of internal conflict could go a long way to explaining this part of the world.
We just called them "White Elephant Gift Exchanges."
I only actually know of one group that does this sort of gift exchange. And while a number of them are fairly earthy old ladies, I don't think any of them actually acronymized it that way :)
I've participated in only one or two swaps, and they weren't white elephant exchanges at all, but things of reasonable interest (wind chimes, a bottle of wine, a calendar, etc).
Yeah - this group (the weaving guild my mom is in) were/are more into the "white elephant" aspect of it than the Yankee Swaps around here have been. Not that all white elephant gifts suck, mind you; I've bagged a nice pocketknife and a really funky lampshade from the weavers :) (Okay, the lampshade was something one of hte parental units received, but neither of them really wanted it, so I took it when I moved out.)
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Date: 2005-12-15 09:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-16 04:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-16 04:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-16 05:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-15 10:06 pm (UTC)Ours was pretty fun. I started off with a fountain that plays nature sounds, but that got stolen. Then I got a barware set. That got stolen even faster. I ended up with what was probably a last minute thing- a box of Starbucks coffee, cocoa and cookies. Can you say regift? =)
My sister, who works with me, ended up with one of the best gifts- a bottle of Disarrono, with nice liquor glasses. (My parents gave her their fully stocked bar for her wedding, so she always enjoys adding to it) A coworker who just got back from Japan brought a high quality sake, so that was the number one gift. Alcohol always seems to work well- or alcohol related things. I brought a Tic Tac Toe shot glass set this year, and generally I bring wine or martini glasses from Crate and Barrel.
(Oh! what if you are the person that brought the Starbucks? Sorry. )
no subject
Date: 2005-12-16 04:16 pm (UTC)The Starbucks gift sounds boring but safe. Not interesting, but easy to regift if it's not useful, anyway.
I'm not much for the booze, but Di Sarronno is just about my favorite; I always have a bottle on hand. Granted, it's been the same bottle for years...
The Yankee swap I remember taking part in (at a small Hanukah party) had some booze, but the $10 maximum (along with the hosts' known oenephilism and penchant for Scotch) led to a lot of non-booze gifts. (For that one, I brought some funky wind chimes made from old silverware, and ended up with a Far Side cartoon-a-day calendar, which I didn't want. It worked out well for me, though, since a friend who was in a small a cappella group offered a copy of their recorded-just-for-themselves CD for the calendar. Score! :-)
no subject
Date: 2005-12-15 11:49 pm (UTC)It seems, despite their longstanding hatred of the Yankees, people around here are stubbornly proud of _being_ Yankees. And you know, that sort of internal conflict could go a long way to explaining this part of the world.
We just called them "White Elephant Gift Exchanges."
no subject
Date: 2005-12-16 04:25 am (UTC)Or WEdGiEs, for short?
no subject
Date: 2005-12-17 01:26 am (UTC)I only actually know of one group that does this sort of gift exchange. And while a number of them are fairly earthy old ladies, I don't think any of them actually acronymized it that way :)
no subject
Date: 2005-12-16 04:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-17 01:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-17 01:28 am (UTC)