Usually I have to settle for getting something novel and useless from my family, as they are not inclined to proffer anything in a gendre I could use, despite the many years I've confided my expertise to them. So I've accumulated ties, cheap hand tools, throw away flashlights, and bottle openers.
This year my wife suggested I get on her account at Amazon and stuff her cart with items I would like. Then she can pick the things she wants to get for me, without having to vet them first. I reciprocated the idea, and suggested she share the notion with our children.
I have been informed that everything I put in her cart has been ordered.
I've never been one for surprises. So knowing what I am getting for Christmas, especially since I also know now it will things I actually desire, is a pleasant, if not wholly materialistic, experience.
Life has just become one order of magnitude easier.
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The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
-- Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)