Birthday Gift Giving Dilemmas Resolved!

We simply give what the person wants!

Literally!

Two weeks before our birthday, we email each other a list of our best-case-scenario gifts, within a certain budget:

I.e., Adele's CD, the Miss Marple collection, lobster-claw oven mitts, horse-related pillow covers, Judd family memoirs, Disney Pez dispensers, and so on, as long as Amazon (or someone) readily carries it.

We make the list very specific and highly accessible.

And then the four buyers check with each other so there's no duplication. ("I'll get the vibrator lodged in the lint remover. Why don't you get the Cocaine energy drink?")

Voilà -- fulfillment!

This system might sound a little cold and calculated, but it totally works for us, and we all go away from our birthday fetes feeling older but happier, knowing we got just what we desired.

And we always throw in an extra giftie or two to personalize things and keep some element of surprise in there.

I swear, this routine totally works, making an impossible situation enjoyable.

Try it. It's my gift to you!