Gift Giving   

I don’t know about you, but I find that deciding on an appropriate gift—be it for a birthday or Christmas—for adult children can sometimes be a challenge. Their homes are well equipped with all sorts of gadgets, and do they really need another sweater?

         There are other options of course like the latest bestseller, that is if they haven’t already downloaded it for their e-readers. Or tickets for a show or a sporting event are always nice to receive, but almost impossible to obtain if the children live out-of-town.

To me, a gift doesn’t have to mean something you purchase. I think that children appreciate receiving something that is being passed on, be it an exquisite set of glassware or a piece of art that you have owned for some time—or inherited—and no longer need nor use.  These types of gifts will no doubt make their way down the line to their children and beyond in due course where they will be appreciated all over again.

Such gift giving is a valuable tool when it comes to the downsizing we all must face at some point.  It ensures that our things are going to good homes. Of course, one should be sure the adult children will appreciate the things we want to give them. One way to find out is to simply ask them. “What do you think of that lamp?” Or “I wonder how much I could get for my mother’s tea set? Unless you want it, of course.”  Their answers will ensure the right person gets the right gift rather than the recipient thinking where to hide this “thing” while seeming so very grateful!!

Many of you must remember the film The Bird Cage, more specifically the rather provocative design on the china the hosts used to serve dinner. That was the subject of conversation between two women seated behind us as we waited for the film feature to start at the local cinema recently. From what I gathered one of them had such a set of china which she inherited from an uncle years before. She never dared throw it out and kept it packed and well hidden in her attic, however now that she and her husband were thinking of selling their house, she didn’t know what to do with the china. She would be ashamed to give it to her daughter, she said, so her companion offered what she considered the ideal solution. “Give it to a residence for blind people.”