I like a good joke. My definition of “good” is a funny that makes me laugh, no one gets hurt (physically or emotionally), the joke isn’t overplayed, and everyone is still friends in the end.
My Mom is a retired kindergarten teacher. Her students used to be so thoughtful when giving her Christmas and End-of-the-Year presents. It’s the sentiment that counts, and Mom always appreciated each and every acknowledgement from the families.
One year, a little darling sweetly profferred this gift:
a photo frame unlike any other
Yes, that is a Christmas bag, underneath. See, thanks to this…item, mom and I began a back-and-forth running gag: you never knew when you would find this photo tchotchke in your possession. I’d open up a birthday gift…and find my Gift Card inserted into the photo slot. Mom would open up her teatowel drawer…and find the “two hearts” tucked under a dishcloth. There was no rhyme nor reason to our timeframe: three days or three months could go by before – pop! – there would be that dang photo frame back in your possession.
As you can see, I was the last lucky recipient…and it’s been a while since I regifted.
Mom celebrated her birthday yesterday! “29″ once again! 
I had three gifts for her:
#1 (balloon wrap) and #2 (green and white wrap)
[Sidenote: the joke's on me with that Renoir wrap on Gift #3: I bought it last summer in St Petersburg, Florida at Haslam's Book Store, knowing that only Mom would appreciate the exorbitant price the artistry. When I opened the package this week....I saw that bosom-y, unclothed women were featured (misleading product! there are no bare-necked females on that coverlet!!!)...ok, maybe I should have gone with the Van Gogh paper!]
Anyway, back to the story…we gathered yesterday aft so Mom could open her birthday presents.
First up: Gift #1 in the balloon paper:
jane brody's cook book!
mom loves cook books! good choice, right?!
JOKE!!!! I picked up that book at the store for …$1.85!!!
i tucked the receipt inside the cover so mom could see the value of her gift!
[The Jane Brody cookbook IS actually a very good cookbook! I have the same one that I got before 3rd year university; however, it's copyrighted from 1985 so it's not exactly *new,* and not exactly Mom's "style].
mom appreciated the joke. what a good sport!
Next up: Gift #2, wrapped in green and white:
a run for the cure mini tote bag!!!!
isn't that special.
JOKE!!!!! That’s not Mom’s real gift, either!
and again, we enjoy a good laugh
mom with her birthday "blagues," as the french would say...
Time for Mom’s real present (no one likes a joke that overextends its welcome):
red keds!
I thought Mom would enjoy a kicky pair of sneaks for her jaunts around Uptown this summer. Red seemed right for Mom.
a perfect fit (we wear the same size, so i was pretty confident picking out these shoes)
I’m so glad we enjoy a similar sense of humour, Mom! Thanks for being a good sport on your birthday!
official birthday portrait
My day was made when I got to sniff these beautiful blossoms. Joanne‘s parents dropped them off to Mom yesterday!
the scent of lily of the valley is my favourite flower, ever. we had beds of these at my childhood home and at the house we owned before the condo casa
a bounty of lilacs - which also smell so heavenly
So, Mom, now that I have found where I stashed this…
…you just better watch out!
Any gifts that you’ve ever received that have been a little…*not your style?*
Any running gags that you’ve ever participated in?
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So far I have resisted…
this window display caught my eye a few days ago...
…these American Apparel neon nail polishes. They’re $7.50 each…not sure how long I can hold off on treating myself to a flashy hue; just a little pick-me-up for all this dreary rain this month???? I should pick several one up, right??? right??!
Comments
Speaking of nail polishes. Did you continue with your acrylic ones? I haven’t polished my nails in years. I think it’s high time I got a real salon manicure. Maybe for my birthday in a couple of months.
oh yes – treat yourself to the manicure! a perfect “birthday present to self.” haha, those nails were hard to forget!! i miss them…but not the inability to type with them…and no, have not gotten another set. would you believe you can still see variation on the nails themselves, where the adhesive was? potent stuff! but another bright set would be fun for summer!…
Love the “perpetual regifting!”
I bought some nail polishes the other week. A bright orange, a pale blue, and a silver. I don’t paint my fingernails but in the summer, I like doing my toenails.
i walked by american apparel again today, and was sooo tempted. it’s just a matter of WHEN not IF, i am sure! love the variety of colours you picked up! you’ll look very summery with the toenails done + sandals/flipflops!
How funny! My friends do a christmas re-gift party and also a purse exchange at two different times during the year…people wrap up crappy gifts or used purses and then we do the number thing—I ended up with so much junk the last two times, but also a couple great things! The funny part is that there are a couple things that just keep circulating through the years. One is a cowboy wine rack and the other is an old red purse.
Always good for a laugh!
A cowboy wine rack??! That is priceless!! And that is way funny, the regifting party! I bet there are lots of hearty laughs at that!
That is awesome — my mom was a piano teacher for many years and she got plenty of awful gifts — obviously regifted to her, etc. I know it is the thought that counts, but where do people find these hideous things?
Jason and I kind of do the same thing with this stupid stuffed bear — we put it in each other’s cars (hiding it) and he pops up when you kind of least expect it.
oh, i love that stuffed bear exchange – that is very cute, holly!