Wish List



Items in this set:

'Tis the season to be greedy? 
For several years I've kept a wish list at Amazon.com for benefit of my family and for a little self indulgence. Sometimes it's fun to fill it up with beautiful expensive shoes I know I'll never buy, dreaming that someone will actually get them for me. Of course I put sensible things that don't cost too much on it as well, like books and sweaters from the Gap.


Each year at my church there is a christmas tree full of gift tags with things written on them like "3 year old girl - Sweater". The tags are for a family who can't afford to give their children Christmas presents this year, so members of the church take a tag and buy a gift.


This is something I've done for the past few years, and I've really enjoyed it. Last year shopping for the three year old girl, I went to H&M and was able to get a ton of clothes for her because of their $5 and $10 sale items. I loved choosing all the clothes, and knowing my gifts were going to make a little girl's Christmas morning wonderful.


This morning when I looked at the tags on the tree I felt like they seemed a bit greedy. A pair of Ugg boots, a silver heart necklace from Tiffany's, a Wii.
I know there are a lot of people in this world with these things on their wish lists, and I know many of them will get them. I also know there is a good deal of wealth in my town, and it would be nice to know that an unfortunate family would be benefiting from that.

Yet, I'm bothered.
Perhaps because in my own family we never do extravagant gifts - I wanted an iPod, I had to get a job and buy it myself. Christmas isn't supposed to be about that.
A family who can't afford christmas asking a church to give them a Wii, sounds a little greedy.
Am I wrong?

But I like being able to put myself into the gifts I give. So I chose "13 year old girl, lip gloss and nail polish" and I'm going to have a ton of fun picking those out.

Perhaps I should redo my wish list, and take off those overpriced items that make me seem like a spoiled greedy child - even though when I put them, I do so knowing I wont ever get them.

Do you have a sensible wish list, or are you a little greedy too? What do you want that you know you'll never get?

3 comments

  1. I agree- that's kind of weird. I think there's a difference between having some expensive things on your list and having a list of only expensive things. I dunno.

    I really hope you get the clutch- I want to know what you'd wear it with!

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  2. Wow. That just goes to show you the times in which we live. I'm surprised they would have even included those items on this gift tree... there is obviously no said limit?

    I don't an Amazon wishlist is the same thing... I would look at it more like virtual window shopping... You're probably never going to get that (insert ridiculously expensive item here) but hey, you never know.

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  3. I really enjoyed your post.

    I have this 'wishlist' on my blog and it's filled with beautiful things that I would probably never buy (even if I had a million dollars)... as my husband constantly reminds me I am just entirely too practical.

    It boggles my mind that someone would put a wii on a Christmas tree at church! My childhood Christmas's were definitely not about big extravagant gifts (and they still aren't). So, for me, wishlists are all about far off dreams.

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