Annual Shrine to Materialism Thread (Or, Post Your Gifts)

[loomer]

Let's have it, folks. What did you get this year?

Best gift here was a genuine triceratops tooth (common, but still, it's a piece of a goddamn dinosaur) and an imitation Confederate kepi, as well as some more obscure books on your Yankee civil war.

[The Yosemite Bear]

1k cheque, a big box of CJ Cherryth books, a small box of murder mysteries, an offer to put me up for two weeks in Hornsea, and a mountain bike with extra bad arse wheels and overconstructions.

[Hawkwings]

Dolphin Pillow Pet

(and some other unimportant things as well)

I am so happy right now.

[Lord_Of_Change 9]

Let me see...

100 Must-Read Science Fiction Novels
The High Crusade
Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire
Lady Gaga: The Monster Ball Tour DVD
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
1632
The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing
Goliath (Scott Westerfield)


And some other stuff.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

$100
$50 Best Buy gift card
The Art of War
A "Beware of the Drop Bears" t-shirt

And a Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf. N
(sadly, only a scale miniature)

[Kojiro]

I got one of these from my girlfriend.

Thing weighs 160kg and is a total bitch to move.

[Zixinus]

Some money.
A Futuro set of tools, set of pliers and set of electrican/clockmaker screwdrivers. Oh, and one of those clipper-things that you pick up small stuff with.
A small, combo bench-grinders, one side with a drywheel and the other with a sandbelt.

[Lost Soal]

Money, more money and my cars MOT.

[Executor32]

Just a bunch of clothes. Oh, and Mario Kart 7.

[Imperial528]

I got a new computer, 1 month ago. Today I got the box.

And clothes.

The best one was the Dilbert calendar though.

[UnderAGreySky]

I got a pair of wooden tongs (for getting stuff out of the oven) and a pasta-picker (the kinds you would use to serve yourself pasta from a bowl).

Words cannot express my joy.

I don't celebrate Christmas - well, I wouldn't if I was alone or with my own family - but if I'm getting presents I'd really like something I'd... like.

[Lord Relvenous]

A Kinect (awesome), lots of clothes (sweet), a metric shitton of food from my sister (free meals for a month!), and a Vibebox-turn-anything-into-a-speaker (what is this sorcery?).

I'm excited to get home and play with my new toys.

[Spekio]

Some clothing, and a pirated Twilight: Eclipse DVD.

As in a totally serious non-humorous gift from an uncle of mine.

No wonder I hate the bastard.

[Ryan Thunder]

Clothes and tools. The latter of the two will go to fixing shit up around the house much more effectively than the rusty old garbage we have in the garage.

Also, hat.

[Starglider]

My wife caught me watching MLP:FIM and presented me with a Fluttershy for Christmas.

[Gerald Tarrant]

Running gear, headband, gloves, running jacket (I'd just been using a generic windbreaker that didn't breathe quite as well as what ever materials sorcery they use in "official" running gear, plus of course the dayglo colors for low-light running).

Books, a trivial pursuit boardgame;

And Star Trek Fleet Captains. A small fleet skirmish game. [edit] I mean they're small fleets, not the game is small, It's a pretty big box actually[/edit]

[Hawkwings]

My wife caught me watching MLP:FIM and presented me with a Fluttershy for Christmas.

A little plastic toy or a custom plushie?

[weemadando]

My wife caught me watching MLP:FIM and presented me with a Fluttershy petition for divorce for Christmas.

Fixed.

[Col. Crackpot]

for the kids construction toys were big this year. Legos, Lincoln Logs and even Tinker Toys (which still exist!) To go with the space themed Legos we also gave them astronaut ice cream. And a giant color-it-in-yourself cardboard space ship. For which the toy planetarium projector makes a great 'navigation computer'.

Santa Claus also brought me a new suit. LEGEN (wait for it) ...... dary.

[Broomstick]

Money. Which we really needed. The family chipped in and got us money. In addition to helping us get back on our feet, it is also enough to allow us to celebrate our wedding anniversary (just a bit late) in our accustomed style, for the first time in four years.

From work, a $25 bonus, three days in a row off, and a Christian-thought-a-day book (which I accepted in the spirit in which it was given, perhaps my spouse will be interested in it. Or maybe not.)

From friends, a fantastic dinner of turkey and ham plus more additional food than 10 people could eat, a couple cards to Best Buy (yay, I can get those DVD's I've been wanting), and a stuffed squirrel toy to commemorate the Rasputin Incident earlier this fall.

Importantly, I have a steady job that I like to do. Which enabled us to give presents to our friends and family for the first time in several years.

However, the best present I received this year was not any of that, nor was it something could hold in my hands. You see, one of my coworkers is homeless this Christmas, living in a shelter away from her family and her children due to terrible things happening in her life. I gave her one of the many blankets I've crocheted over the years. She told me that, not only is she now able to sleep warmly at night, but when she sees it she knows that, even cut off from those she loves, she is not alone in the world and she can believe there is hope for the future. Who would have thought such a little thing could mean so much? Her thank you made me feel like I had taken a little darkness from the world, and how often do we have the privilege of knowing that, because of something we did, the world is truly just a little bit better for someone?

[Phantasee]

Yo Broomie imma let you finish but this thread is about material goods. Please keep the sappiness and intangibles out of here?

Good on you, though.

[Rogue 9]

My loot consists of a $25 gift card to Papa John's, a $25 gift card to Red Lobster, a book on Nordic baking, hobnails for my winter boots, a copy of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and CANDY!!1!

[Temjin]

Let's see. My biggest present was a Kindle, which I'm really liking.

I also got a $40 wal-mart gift card, 2 $20 Liquor Mart gift cards, 8 shots, and a box of chocolates.

But the best part about today? I aced every single person's christmas gift this year. Everyone absolutely loved their gift from me. That was awesome.

[Patrick Degan]

Got something truly useful this year —a digital negative scanner. I made the switch to a DSLR 35mm camer last year but have a ton of negatives and prints from the period I was still shooting film. As soon as I get my last rolls processed, I can start converting all that material.

[Starglider]

My wife caught me watching MLP:FIM and presented me with a Fluttershy for Christmas.

A little plastic toy or a custom plushie?

The toy, but she also made herself a sexy fluttershy costume out of some spare fur and wings we had. Apparently she picked that character because that was the colour we had spare and 'she looked fun to roleplay'. Alas, she won't let me take pictures of her in any of the not-approved-for-public-places costumes.

I also received Ace Combat 7, which turned out to be junk, Skyrim, which I haven't played yet, and assorted DVDs, articles of clothing and sweets. Last year I gave my close family tablet PCs; this year I gave everyone three large tins of Mountain House 30-year freeze dried food. The supplier told me that he was getting a lot of orders from City of London financial people this year.