Just a quick warning…. If you’re easily offended, or at work, you *may* not want to click on any of the links in this post.

It used to be that everyone in our family would buy for everyone else and Christmas morning would be filled with hours of present opening and sipping warm apple cider.

As my brothers and I got older, and we moved out on our own, with our own bills to pay, we switched to drawing names.  Everyone’s name went into a bowl, you bought for that one person, max $100.

Now with spouses, a few kids, and a high cost of living, new rules have come into play this year.  You can buy presents for the two kids.  For the adults we’ll do a gift game.  Buy a gift, no more than $20, gender neutral, everyone ends up with something.

OK fine.  I can go along with most of that.

Except, in this day and age, what do you buy for $20 that’s not absolute crap?  And add to the fact it has to be non-gender specific?

Gah!

So I’ve been searching and searching for two of these gifts (one for Bil, one for me) to bring to this exchange.

And I’ve come up empty handed.

And also a little irritated.

I’m at the point, where I’m really tempted just to be a bitch and really do something that would just fuck the whole thing up (well, from my mother’s point of view, anyways).

I mean, can you imagine my very straight laced strict Catholic father unwraping a nice big 17 inch surprise for his gift?  In the most technical terms, it is gender neutral.  And OK, so it’s a *bit* over the $20 limit, but not by much.

There’s nothing in the rules that say the gifts had to be appropriate.

But then I think… I don’t want to rock the boat too much.  So perhaps a nice T-Shirt.  You know, something my mom could wear to work on casual days.

Any other suggestions of $20 shit gifts I could bring that aren’t chocolate covered?