friday 5

[naath]

1. What's the present you gave you're most proud of?

the 3rd flat sheep (dimensions)

2. What's the most memorable present you've received?

crazy red panda lady bag

3. How many people do you typically buy presents for at once, at the most presents-ish part of the year?

as few as possible. humbug

4. What sort of presents do you usually most enjoy receiving?

you saw it and thought of me. you aren't going tto give me meaningful value, I certainlf don't expect anyone to, so gifts should be personally meaningful. or absent, I'm good with absent. or donate to a useful charity, they need your money much more than I do (I eat chocolate, nomnom)

5. How do you wrap presents? Paper or bag? Sellotape or just folding magic? Ribbon? Gift tag? Other?

I tend ntot to, bucause my hands suck

Comments

[emperor]

'tis an excellent sheep :)

[naath]

I think I saw it in a shop in Stockholm, the shopkeeper may have thought me mad, but I needed that sheep, which was probably very cheap

[hairyears]

1. What's the present you gave you're most proud of?

A present I bought K that made her feel beautiful.

I will not say what it was, because it is unseemly to boast of material things and status goods: what's important about it, is what it did.

I do not believe that it is possible to give a better gift to an adult, than giving something that makes them feel wonderful about themselves.



2. What's the most memorable present you've received?

A bicycle.

Absolutely, a bicycle: my first one as a child; then the one that liberated me as a teenager and gave me the solitude of Leicestershire's lane and backroads and me, with the space to be alone with both silence and the rich interior world; and the gift of it again, renewing and rediscovering that joy as an adult, from K, when we moved here in Leytonstone.


3. How many people do you typically buy presents for at once, at the most presents-ish part of the year?

One.


4. What sort of presents do you usually most enjoy receiving?

you saw it and thought of me

Got it in one, naath!


5. How do you wrap presents? Paper or bag? Sellotape or just folding magic? Ribbon? Gift tag? Other?

Beautifully. Origami is a hobby of mine. Boxmaking is a hobby of mine. Ribbon, less so, but it's difficult to do badly if you buy (or reuse) a good one. Presentation is a skill that I am proud of, and the fact that I've taken time and a little love instead of merely money is itself a gift.

Giving is a gift, even if the gift reflects a total failure of the thought and organisational skill to get 'the right gift': and if it's beautifully-wrapped, there is a little bit of joy and beauty in the fleeting moment of receiving the gift.


If you ever see me give a gift that's just given in a bag, start some discreet conversations among people close to me, to nudge me towards therapy and a return to prescription antidepressants: it means I've stopped caring in a very fundamental way.