Christmas Ideas for Difficult People
“My head just exploded! I was driving down the road and I remembered that we hadn’t gotten mom or dad a gift yet…seriously, what are we going to buy our parents, the ones who.have.everything!?”, my older brother, Reid, asked. I laughed as I heard his dramatic worrisome tone and the sound of a truck engine behind it. Calmly, I spoke, “Let’s get them both stocking stuffers and experiences.”
“Stocking stuffers and experiences.” Reid said in a declarative but inquisitive tone that let me know he was skeptical, but also willing to give it a listen. “Yes,” I spoke, let’s get them some awesome small gifts to wrap, put in stockings and then grab some gift cards or tickets to a restaurant, show, or con-cerrrrrrrt!” I shrieked in a voice that only an ornery, obnoxious little sister would use to annoy anyone within ear range. I kid you not, an hour later, my younger brother, Graham text me, “What are we doing for mom and dad for Christmas, this year?” This is my life, ya’ll, and I love it!
See, if you have parents like my brothers and I, you know it’s difficult to find them a gift—because they’re blessed enough to go out and buy what they want, when they want. Or, they say, “Just get me a card.” But, let’s be honest, there’s no way we are just going to give them a card, right? It’s Christmas, the season of perpetual hope and giving! But, with that being said, we drag our feet year after year and somehow get the coolest gifts executed by Christmas. Vividly, I remember one year, Reid and I left the house on Christmas Eve and did all of our shopping and we had the best time laughing and driving all over Timbuktu. A few years later, I also did that with Graham—we just went to Starbucks, got some holiday drinks and went after it. To better understand what my brothers and I are working with, let me explain both parents quick.
My dad is extremely methodical. He’s the guy you want to be friends with if we ever need to climb in a bunker with canned goods and extra clothes. He will buy new pairs of socks but leave them in the package until the old ones get ratty. If he finds a pair of shoes he loves, he buys a second pair (but won’t take them out of the box until the first are destroyed). He won’t wear new clothes until his old clothes look rough. He has a backup for EVERYTHING. My dad has been a pig farmer since he was five years old and is finally retired, as of two weeks ago. He took his last load of pigs in and we are so proud of him, to say the very least. So, while we work on his bigger gift of an ‘experience’ for his new retired life, I suggested to both brothers that we go to the Holiday Gift Guide and Stocking Stuffer Collections at Royal + Reese! On there is a flask and a bottle opener he would love because it’s simplistic but super tough looking. He loves simple, ‘dude’ gifts. Wrapping those will be a breeze and he’ll be pumped to open them on Christmas.
My mom seems a little easier…but by easier, I just mean, she’ll use the things we get her, well…after she scoffs at us for what we buy, haha. She’s a retired nurse and travels all over. She’s extremely involved in her church, is very compassionate, and loves anything that us kids get her. But I don’t think she realizes how difficult she can be. So, for her we buy practical gifts. For example, she has spatulas with handles melted down, a coffee pot missing pieces, all that still work—but that don’t function at top notch. For her, we have our eyes on bath bombs, some dainty jewelry- specifically the Regina Earrings, and the makeup brushes, on Royal + Reese Stocking Stuffers! (I might even get bath bombs for me, because what better way to decompress and they’re so cheap right now). We will also get her an ‘experience’, to somewhere or something that she’s never done or restaurant she’s never gone to. But she goes crazy over makeup, jewelry and the thought of relaxation.
While we are in the last days leading up to Christmas, check out our collections and Christmas graphics for all the difficult to buy people in your life. We’ve marked down many things and they’re all adorable and a great buy, even down to the bath bombs! *And with that, Brittany remembers that she has a bath bomb upstairs and her evening is completely planned out.* Happy Shopping!