JFF: To Piggyback on the "Odd Gift" Question. . . .

I am all about practical gifts. Especially when I was in college where you don't have a lot of room for useless stuff. I am trying to get my parents on board with practical gifts for my son, but they are still a lost cause. I joke that I need an extra suitcase every time I go to their house to bring back all of the extra stuff they have bought for him. To me it is tough to get knick knacks or stuff like that because they end up sitting in a box until it's time to donate them. Most of the time they end up going with my dad to India to give away as presents. Kind of awkward when it is a present he or my mom gave me.

I remember when I got a bonus at work for a project I was working on. When my boss told me about it, she told me this was fun money and I should blow it on slots at the casino. I just looked at her with a blank expression on my face and told her it was going to buy me new tires for my car!

I'm super practical. There are too many things I need and far fewer things I want so I usually ask for and receive practical gifts. If there's something fun I really want I'll buy it for myself.

i'm so over tchotchkes. i want more screening trees so the neighbors don't see me swimming or cleaning stalls nakey (sorry, but it's true), and to travel.
jealous of your tractor. i have a bigass craftsman lawn mower for my pastures, but i want a REAL tractor!
other than that, just give me book gift certificates.
:) khairete
S.

I, too, am very pragmatic...... I don't mind practical gifts at all... it still shows they are thinking about you. my kids just went together (we helped) and bought me a new sewing machine for Mother's Day.. I'm really enjoying using that gift!

As far as getting roses... I would far rather get a rose BUSH than just the flowers... we can enjoy the roses much longer that way.

However, I will admit, my most valued gift is the one hubby picked out as a Christmas gift from our first daughter.... it was a pretty pair of opal earrings!

I still really love having them, although I rarely wear earrings anymore.....

depends :) i think (from what you say) you have an amazing family and a husband that loves to spend money (and can) on you. and very thoughtful too, so go him!

i will admit, i would probably feel differently if i DID have that kind of husband. my husband is a little less thoughtful, a little less financially responsible. i am lucky to get flowers once a year and that is IF i basically tell him i want them. and then they are probably going to be a $20 walmart bouquet. i do not have fabulous jewelry. so when my husband does come through with something fabulous, useful or not, i am thrilled. my last "great" gift from him came in the form of the softest, most comfy leather slippers you've ever seen, and i was SO touched. (i guess that was a "useful" gift technically, but to me it's an extravagance - ugh i can just put a pair of socks on - so i guess it's also in your opinion of "useful" vs "fun")

i admit i like the "fun" gifts, that are completely impractical...but the "useful" gifts are great if it is something i/we really NEED and there's nothing in particular i've had my eye on.

our relationship works best when i find something i want and tell him. everyone's is different. that's how we do it.

I say both!
Sometimes, when you have everything you truly "need" it's really nice to get something just for fun.
Example: this past year, for Christmas, I couldn't think of a single thing I needed or really wanted except for this beautiful red enamel dutch oven that I had just read a great review on in one of my favorite cooking magazines. I sent my husband the link with a message, "would love to find THIS under the tree this year, xo" $60 later, done and done. Merry Christmas to me!
However, the year before, hubby had some extra cash. I am NOT a jewelry girl at all, but my wedding ring was never what I really wanted. So after a few hints he goes out and buys me an incredible emerald cut diamond AND a gift certificate to a posh San Francisco jeweler to have it put into the SETTING OF MY CHOICE! I was floored, moved, honored, you name it. This ring is the only thing I wear EVERY single day and I love, love, love it! And I love that after almost twenty years of marriage he did that for me. I don't know if it's "practical" or not but it means more than almost anything else he's ever given me. Besides our kids, of course :)

I am in the floral business along with lots of other retail type businesses. and to be honest, there is not 1 thing I need. I have beautiful things and remember very clearly who gave them to me or where they were from..

I now like to spend fun times with my family and friends. I would rather save the money and go camping or go to the beach. I would rather go to the drive in movies or an out door concert.. Go to a fabulous meal at an amazing restaurant..

I do appreciate when people find the perfect gift with me in mind. I am always touched, but even more, I love just being able to have a long fun conversation and time with them..

For me personally, a "gift" is something that a person wants to... give to you out of nice thoughts. And HOPEFULLY, the gift keeps in mind your own tastes or needs or interests.
Then you know, that the person put thought into it, instead of just buying something on the fly or because it was on sale and them not even thinking if you would like it or not.

So practical gift or not... to me, that is what a gift is.

I would love a nice ceramic water lily container/water garden container for my patio, and a hen... to have my own eggs.
Yah and like Suz T. below, I would also love gift certs from my local bookstore. I love books. I also have 1st edition collectibles/antique books.

Yes, I actually prefer practical gifts for the most part. Before Christmas when my DH asks me what I would like for the holiday, I look around and figure out what things I would want for the house. I don't consider a blender a horrible gift if that is what I asked for! A couple of years ago, my inlaws gave me a e-reader which is the BEST gift ever. I use it all of the time. I really wish they would just give me gift cards to buy books. Mostly, they end up giving me knick-knacks and dust-collectors that are not even close to my taste... I am always at a loss as to where the hell to put everything.

YES YEs YEs, practical makes me sooooo happy.
My mom is spot on for that usually.

Dh, might have good intentions but it always feels like he saw a commericial and decided it would be easy to get a necklace or perfume, neither of which I have ever expressed a desire for.

plus as someone else stated, there are so many things i need that it seems like such a super super waste to get a vase of flowers when i have one pair of jeans and desparetely need new sneakers.

When I receive a gift that is not practical I am sort of offended, because if the giver knows me at all they would know that I only appreciate practical things.

The past few anniversaries/ birthdays I've gotten an flat top oven, a washer machine and new vacuum. I want an in home carpet cleaner, for the 5 year old's/cat stains...see if I can't make the carpet a little more livable myself. I also got a full set of Ginsu knives in a pretty wooden block and an apron. All things I really wanted and use often. I'm not a huge jewelry wearer and flowers die. A nice dinner out and a day to sleep in as long as I like is a good gift too.

I am a big fan of the practical, to give and receve. If DH mentions something he "keeps forgetting to pick up," or a book he'd like to read, etc. I make a mental note. Everything I've gotten him he uses which predates when we were dating and the fru fru gifts like said winter sweater were not used :-).

Usually I will couple a practical gift with something else so I don't feel lame, but DH is always happy with practical.

Both. :)

Usually, there is something quite practical that I have had my eye on and haven't quite mastered the budget to go buy it just yet. So, if it is within the "birthday budget" (or whatever the occasion) I will often ask for that item FOR that occasion.

For example: The quilt on our bed suddenly started getting noticeably worn. Just seemed to happen all at once. So I started shopping for a replacement. I am picky about such things. I finally found something I really liked from my favorite linens store (The Company Store). Now, TCS is not cheap. But I found a set I really liked and it was on sale, a few weeks just before my birthday. So, I asked my husband if I could get that for my birthday, if he liked it too. Last year on my birthday, I had my new bedroom quilt set.

More recently, I have become a runner. And had started needing to borrow my husband's ipod to have some music (he runs too). Well, I was interfering in his running because I would be gone with his ipod, plus, I didn't care for his playlists. So, for Mother's Day, they got me my own. :)

For my birthday the year before, I had been shopping with my dear girlfriend on a 12 hour girls' day out... and decided that I wanted a charm bracelet. I told her (in July) that I would just go ahead and buy the bracelet and my husband could add charms, except that my birthday was right around the corner, and he'd probably rather buy the bracelet and a couple of charms together. She shared that with him, and I got a Brighton charm bracelet in September.
So, "fun" "extravagant" gifts are nice, too... but only if there isn't something more practical in my immediate line-up on my wish list. ;)

For Christmas, I wanted a new desk. I found what I wanted in the weeks leading up to Christmas, and went and paid for it about a week before. Then about 3 days before Xmas, hubby and I went and picked it up, and stuck a bow on the drawer pull. :)

For Mother's Day I got a wok, utensils and a new large wooden cutting board. When my MIL came over the next day and saw me cleaning off my new gifts she said to me "Oh, your not one of those girls who gets all upset when you get practical gifts instead of jewelry."

I was so excited when my husband had actually listened when I told him that these were items I really wanted/needed. It was the best Mother's Day present ever!

I prefer practical gifts.

In the beginning of my marriage I loved all the "fun" stuff like the roses, the perfumes, the clothes etc... But now that I have several years under me and 3 kids, I too like practical. This year for mother's day when my husband asked what I wanted, I said, "a new food processor".

I'm right there with you!! I've tried telling people I didn't want anything but since they insisted, I said, ok, if you really want to get me something, then here is my wish list: coffee, coffee creamer, gift cards to specific stores and/or restaurants I like, etc. - things I definitely will use.

I gave up on frivolous things years ago; especially things that sit around and collect dust. If I get one more little knick-knack I think I will go thru the roof!! The only ones that get away with those kinds of gifts are my kids and even they're getting better at not giving me such items!!!

One year for my birthday I asked my parents and sisters if they wouldn't mind just giving me cash so I could get a birthstone necklace. They loved the idea - I had always wanted one and now I have one that I consider is from everyone and I cherish it (especially now that both my parents are in Heaven).

My mother-in-law, on the other hand - she's a lost cause! Every year for almost 20 years now, she'll ask for gift suggestions for me, her son and our kids. And EVERY year, she'll give things that are totally off-the-wall and useless!! I have gotten tops that are not even close to my style and/or size; my kids have also gotten clothing they can't wear - and she never hangs on to receipts or remembers what stores she shopped at. Let's just say Good Will has gotten lots of stuff from us; especially after Christmas!!!

Fun question!!

I'm like you...I have lots of nice jewelry--but wear the same few things almost everyday (except special occasions) and I love practicality!

My least favorite thing to get from my husband? Flowers! Especially roses! Just such a waste. Poor men have been programmed to think we all love getting roses! I have told him flat out "Give me the $75!!" LOL