Just throwing up a decemberly thread.
As for me I'm just asking for a fitbit band (Think thats what it's called) to monitor my fitness and sleep levels.
What about you?
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Just throwing up a decemberly thread.
As for me I'm just asking for a fitbit band (Think thats what it's called) to monitor my fitness and sleep levels.
What about you?
Nowt. Gave it up years ago. No young kids involved here, and in our family, the adults pretty much have it if they want it. So not bothering avoids large collections of clothes we won't wear, and bath products we won't use.
Each to his ( or her) own, I guess.
Sally's got me a new 18-200mm lens for my Nikons.
Nikon Lens? If so, I have that lens, its decent!
Got a bike already as an early present. Hoping to get some coasters to keep our furniture clear of mug rings :cool:
Lots of time to play all these games I've got, please!
Some good jazz cds would make it a cool yule
Nothing, as if I want something I'll be able to get it myself and not expect anyone else to get me something.
I'm not opposed to giving gifts however.
There are always a few books and other bits and pieces I'd like, but rarely anything I'm desperate for.
18mm Prime Len with 12mm Converter for My Sony Nex 3. Fancy trying some wide angle photography :)
I'd like to play Lego Technic with my boy please.. all morning.. and then give him Minecraft and help him with it in the PM
Will be a good day... that'll do me Santa.... ta
An extra 2 hours in the day that nobody else knows about.
Exactly the same here. This year I'll probably be working (unpaid overtime due to poor management; yay! :rolleyes:), so won't have time/inclination to go and see anyone either.Quote:
Originally Posted by Saracen
But, Sainsbury were doing 25% off when buying 6 bottles of wine and I do like their Mulled Wine, so I've got that to look forward to at some point. :)
New machine heads for my flamenco guitar is my Santa order - the cheap fake gold and white plasticky bits on my current one offend me every time I look.:puke:
Might finally treat myself to a 2560x1600 cheapy Korean monitor as my Happy-Xmas to me.
me too... really fancy one.. 4k as much use as a chocolate tea pot to me but want bigger screen than currentQuote:
Originally Posted by wasabi
Its all about the kids here. Looking forward to them getting over excited and having fun.
Same as output really. If thinks are too expensive for me to buy I can't expect anyone to get it for me.
As I ask for every xmas and birthday the only thing I really need is some peace and quiet!
I've got back into my Games Workshop miniature painting again, so I've been asking for a load of the seriously over-priced miniatures to add to the collection.
http://image.bolterandchainsword.com...35_1436703.jpg
Agree on 4k. Wrong aspect ratio to be useful, and frankly my eyesight is too sucky to need it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zak33
Trouble is for me, going ebay at least, there seem to be DVI-D only (minus) ones with matte screen (plus) that are cheaper (plus) but have no good 'perfect' (0 or 1) pixel policy (minus)
Or shiny (BIG minus), more expensive (minus), multiple connectivity like displayport (plus), and DO have perfect pixel option (plus).
Trying to find combination of both from seller with good feedback.
Ask for nothing. Hate Christmas with an absolute passion. We have 365 days a year why just celebrate this one day when in no one's bible was he born on this day. It's just a money making scheme brought in by pagans. Rant over sorry I work in retail and just hate Christmas.
Some cheese and wine to enjoy while I'm not in the office, and some time to unwind and make some progress in Elite: Dangerous/Alien Isolation/Civ Beyond Earth/This War Of Mine/Dragon Age Inquisition/Football Manager 2015.
I have a backlog of games waiting to be explored and a shortage of time. Like others if I want something I'll pretty much buy it myself, so the festive period is about time with friends and family. I might well drink a little too much, too.
So far I have got Predator Ultimate Edition on Bluray (Predator, Predator 2 & Predators), Monty Python Complete box set & 1 down 5 to go bluray. These are wrapped and under the tree from various family members.
However, my main gift this year is going to be a Wii U, I was given the choice out of PS4, XB1 but I decided to go with the Nintendo as their lineup of games is absolutely fantastic for the next 12 months and what is out already is some of their best work.
I want a ultrawide monitor
A life that doesn't completely suck would be nice but what I'll actually get is socks, things to bolt to a Land Rover that doesn't work right now and indigestion. Joy to the world and all that......
We only buy presents for our son and other children. Haven't bought each other Christmas or birthday presents in over a decade. As per Saracen, if we want something we usually grab it as needed during the year. Leading up to Christmas my wife renovated more of the house and I picked up new speakers (PMC's, lovely), shelves to display my geeky Star Trek ships, some Lego Technics and a new PC upgrade. Not wanting or expecting anything more now.
I would like a nice big 34" curved monitor.
I'm sure I come across as a bit of a Grinch, or at least, apprentice Grinch. I sure hope so, anyway, seeing as I work hard at doing so. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Bugbait
But .... no young kids here. My generation in our family all have adult kids, most of whom have kids of their own. And those kids are old enough to be working, not school or uni. But not old enough to have kids of their own .... or rather, they're old enough, but don't have kids of their own.
Kids or not, I see Christmas as about 90% commercial exploitation these days. It's hideously abused by retailers and manufacturers, usually targeting kids to put pressure on parents to buy the latest over-priced Christmas flash-bang gimmick. And it makes me want to puke.
The other 10%, the bit that's supposed to be a religious celebration, or at least a moral lesson in the principles of giving, and emphatically not about getting for yourself, well that I applaud. I'm not religious myself, but if I was (and, I guess, Christian) I think I'd be fuming at what commercialism had done to Christmas. So, I baulk at giving in to commercialism and going on a present spree. This is the one time of the year I refuse, point blank, to buy presents. And why I've very clearly expressed my view to everybody that might be tempted, I want nothing for Christmas. This is not the same as "nothing I want". There's plenty of things I want. But I want exactly one thing for Christmas, and that is getting NOTHING for Christmas. the rest of the year, if anyone wants to buy me a present, well, it's very generous of them and I'll be suitably grateful. Not to mention astonished. ;)
Everybody except the mum-in-law has got the message. She knows, but insists anyway. So, I smile, thank her and give her a hug. It's what SHE wants to do at Christmas.
So, Grinch? Not really. I don't want to pee on anybody's else's parade, but I detest what Christmas has been perverted into, and want no part of it .... short of upsetting the mum-in-law as a result. She's a wonderful old duck, and if it makes her happy, I'll grin and bear it. For her.
You are in fact speaking the truth, Kids also expect big presents these days, I'm about to buy my Grandson a 24" monitor, as his mum got him a pc. If I could bring 1 thing back to change Christmas, it would be to close shops for 2 days. enabling families to spend time together. So your not a Grinch.Quote:
Originally Posted by Saracen
I was happy with a football and Marathon.
I already have a new coat waiting to be wrapped, a kind of combination Christmas present and congratulations on the 5:2 having gone so well this year :) So far I've resisted the temptation to insist on having it early so I can use it through the winter (I literally have no other coat that actually fits); if the weather gets colder I think I'll just have to refuse to leave the house ;)
Otherwise I really don't need anything else, abnd since we're moving house soon getting more "stuff" for Christmas would just be more stuff to move. If anything the best Christmas present for me would be someone to just clear the old house of everything I don't really need....
Those were the days. Agreed on the shops closing, too, though I'd be more ambitious than 2 days. Say 5 days, a week maybe. Exceptions could include food sections of supermarkets, and very small owner-managed stores, like corner shops. Maybe max of 3 or 4 staff. After all, retail staff deserve a good break with family, too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Darkmyst
It is, though, all about kids and grandkids. I'm sure your grandson will be delighted. I too remember the football and a Marathon era. In my youth, Christmas involved mostly that level of present, and grateful we were, too. Though we did have a tradition of getting ONE Christmas where a 'big' present would appear, usually a bike. Parents had to save, often over several years, to afford that.
We also had a golden rule, that's sadly lacking these days, in my view .... "he who asks, doesn't get". We could get away with dropping hints, but get too obvious with the hints and we'd be very pointedly reminded of that axiom. Subtle hint-dropping became an art form. ;)
We NEVER knew what we were going to get, though. It was always a complete surprise. Looking back, remembering how day-to-day living tended to involve careful wage-packet management, week to week, if you wanted to eat at the end of the week, I seriously wonder just how much my parents sacrificed over the year to be able to afford even a football and a Marathon, let alone the bike. But oh, how I loved that bike. For years.
I wonder how much today's kids will appreciate, for instance, a PC and 24" monitor? Will your grandson be thinking back to it, nostalgically, in 50 years? I wonder? ;)
It would be nice to think they will remember me in 50 years, I will be worm food by then. :surprised:Quote:
Originally Posted by Saracen
I don't think we can blame the pagans for Christmas turning commercial. It was their Winter Solstice celebrations that were hijacked by Christianity. I don't think dancing around naked has any scope for commercialism...Quote:
Originally Posted by Kovoet
My Christmas will be giving 1-year-old a few presents, then watching him get buried in the avalanche of presents the grandparents are bound to bring over. Then lunch, the queen's speech, maybe a (slow) walk to the park with the little one, then a snooze.
Yep - I can see how those two are linked.:yawn:Quote:
Originally Posted by Smudger
Gran's tradition...
Sounds an excellent plan.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zak33
A couple of years ago my kids happily opened their presents, and at the end of which my son (10 at the time) counted out some Christmas money he had been given and asked that I buy him a Minecraft account with it. It didn't take long for my daughter to do the same, so I figured I may as well join in :D
They did play with their other presents in the end, but I had no idea just how much they wanted Minecraft at the time (it was the first I had played with it as well).
Again, if it is down to Minecraft, then possibly yes. Most kids don't get to play full blown Minecraft on a proper PC. There is a definite playground pecking order, with PS/Xbox being the lowly norm, laptops better but a proper desktop PC is the one to have.Quote:
Originally Posted by Saracen
i've asked for cash to update my iPad 3 for a new iPad Air2 and a couple of Lego games & Farcry4 for my Xbox one.
other than that its all about the kids, I built a PC for my daughter to play Sims & Minecraft on and my sons Xbox One setup all courtesy of the grandparents, like people have said I wonder how much they'll appreciate it all as these days most kids expect big things and I now know how my mum must of felt trying to save to get xmas presents for me n my brother back in the day and the sacrifices she must of made.
Christmas marks the day of my first PC build! Got almost all the components now, just a few final touches needed and in 14 days I will have my first REAL PC :D
As i always really struggle with what to buy people, what i'd really like is for someone else to do all my shopping for me.
I'll take your word for it on playground pecking order. No young kids here, so I wouldn't know. But will they remember playing Minecraft, or that it was a Christmas present, and moreover, one that, like my bike, was a once-in-a-childhood level of present. Or is it an ephemeral fad, to be replaced by another fad in a few months, certainly by next year's present?Quote:
Originally Posted by DanceswithUnix
The reason I remember that bike so well is that my parents waited until I was old enough for a 'proper' bike, and it lasted me years. In fact, in was what enabled much of my social life, getting to places, and to see friends, that would have been impractical without. There was certainly no parental taxi service in those days. That bike was central to my childhood, and my most treasured possession for years. Also, unlike a computer game (which didn't exist in those days) it got me off my backside from in front of the telly, and out in the world, getting exercise. ;) :D
Not really sure, parents are wanting to get me something (well my mum) since I didn't get anything from them for my birthday a couple of months ago either.
Currently the contenders seem to be an ereader, maybe monitor stand (just thought of), piano stool and some books/films etc.
I remember getting my Raleigh Arena the same way. From memory that was around £100 worth of bike, which allowing for inflation is about the cost of an OK PC now. Bikes are still something the kids want, and are still a social enabler, but I think in real terms they just aren't as expensive now so not the same aspirational wow factor.Quote:
Originally Posted by Saracen
You're no doubt right, certainly on the "real terms" thing. The world has changed a LOT over the years. At the risk of sounding like a parody of a Monty Python 'lived in a shoebox' sketch, the era I'm talking about was barely out of post-WW2 rationing, and even then, produce availability was limited, there were no supermarkets, and expectations were very different, making a 'big' present, like a bike, far FAR more exceptional than it would be these days, even taking real terms into account,Quote:
Originally Posted by DanceswithUnix
Ah right, I am talking late 70's early 80's in my case. I had an old hand me down bike with a three speed hub gear system. Getting a brand new 10 speed racer was amazing, that thing did more thousands of miles than I can count. I bought a replacement when I was 17 with my first proper wage packet, I still have that bike, the Arena was sold on complete with all the Shimano changer upgrades & tweaks to a young lad who I hope got as much out of it as I did.Quote:
Originally Posted by Saracen
Nice bikes have become the plaything of middle aged men in lycra nowadays, not kids. Which is a shame really.
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/s...-2014121093697Quote:
Originally Posted by wasabi