As you all know, I'm Jewish. Despite that, I've been celebrating Christmas Day with Ian's family for the last eight or nine years, and consequently, I've been exposed to the flurry of Christmas present giving and receiving. Even if I don't exchange presents with my own family, Ian's family buys me presents and it's only fair that I reciprocate. Yesterday, in fact, I had a $2 gift exchange (in which everyone, I think, spent more than $2) with Ian, Kristin, and Marc. Add to that the presents circulating by Ian's father, sister, and cousins, and there were quite a large number of presents under the tree.

I just wasn't into it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be a Scrooge. If other people like giving and receiving presents, more power to them. But for me, there isn't actually all that much that I want, in terms of physical objects. And the stuff I do want is either too expensive for me to reasonably request it as a gift (eg: scanner, new ipod, etc.) or personalized enough that I'd want to be at the store when it was purchased (eg: clothing). And while I'm grateful for the thought and time and money that people put into getting my presents, I really have no need for a Jelly Belly dispenser in the shape of a gumball machine or a four-set of crystal tea-light holders or a glass flower. And I'm sure most of the gifts that other people received yesterday fall into the same category of, "Oh... how nice."

I'm not sure what I'm going to do about this for next year. Maybe I'll let people know I'd prefer services, like cooking classes or a massage. Or maybe that I don't want gifts at all. I don't know.

Anyone else in this situation?
1. How retailers trick you into buying crap you don't need and how to fight back -- the title says it all, really. A bit opinionated, probably common-sensical, but still an interesting read.

2. How I burn 600 calories a day blogging -- essentially, he has his computer set up on a treadmill and walks at 1 mph, which is practically nothing. Some nice pictures of the setup, as well.

3. 30 frugal gift ideas to show you appreciate someone -- featuring such items as homemade cookies, a small plant, and (my personal favourite) an IOU book.

4. How to resurrect your high school Spanish... or any language -- I need to try out this technique with Hebrew and Yiddish to see how well it works.

5. Internet addiction test -- according to this, I'm actually not addicted to the internet! Who knew!?

6. Reflections on money: 20 valuable questions to ask yourself -- actually more self-discovery than about money, but a very useful list of questions to reflect on.

7. The big lie about credit card debt -- time for a paradox: the average American has $9,300 in credit card debt, but 90% of the population think they have the same as or less than the average amount... and they're right! How does it work? Hint: it's all about the difference between "average" and "median."

8. Tumbleweed tiny house company -- pictures and floor-plans for teeny tiny houses: mostly 120 square feet or less! Though you won't catch me in a house that small, it's a sort of follow-up to my post from yesterday.
Okay, so I've been a bit behind in the updates. I blame this on, first, being extraordinarily tired, and second, on actually having lots of people to spend time with and thus little time for the computer. (Though still enough that Marc can make jokes about the internet being my crack.)

So, backtracking a little, here's a recap:

Toronto Day 3 (Saturday): Shoes, Tea, and Good Food )

Toronto Day 4 (Sunday): 'Montreal' Breakfast, I Kill It and Take Its Treasure )

Toronto Day 5 (Monday): New Acquisitions, The Drive Home )

And that, dear readers, was my time in Toronto. I'm glad I got a chance to do so much, though I could have done without the obnoxiousness of the drive back. But now I'm home, with practically nothing on my schedule other than Tuesday afternoon sessions at Dawson, a dentist appointment, and a bunch of holiday parties. That's it for now!

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