Forever Art Supplies
It’s early November, so that means it’s Christmas time. Some of you reading this might feel obliged to get the girls a Christmas present. And I’m sure the girls will have their lists ready at some point. But I thought I’d give you guys some tips in case you’re the early-shopper type.
First of all, I don’t recommend giving them money or gift cards. The girls have no concept of money or how to spend it. They don’t even seem to have an urge to spend money. In fact, it has never occurred to either of them to spend a gift card they have received. At the risk of self-implication, the majority of gift cards the girls have received have ended up in my own wallet. And the same with money. In a way, you could make the argument that cash gifts do end up benefitting the girls in some way, because I probably spent that money on toilet paper or groceries, which indirectly brought the girls some degree of happiness. But for the most part the girls don’t even understand how money works. If you for some reason really want to give them money, they like to have quarters to buy squinkles at Straw Hat Pizza and Fry’s
I don’t recommend buying them toys either. They do love getting toys. And they will actually play with whatever toy you give them. And the new toy will soon be integrated into their bizarre little world of LittlestPetShop/Squinkles/zhuzhupets/Legos/garbage/etc. But they have so much of that stuff already it hardly makes a difference on their consciousness.
The best gift for the girls is clothing. Clothing will almost always be used. There are some items of clothing that have been consistently worn for the last 5 years by one or both of the girls. If you happen to make a fortuitous pick, the girls might wear what you give them 3 times a week or more. Even the clothing that ends up stuffed in a drawer somewhere, thrown in the back of the closet, or buried under a mountain of zhuzhupets will someday be rediscovered and worn. The most important thing for any piece of clothing is that it should be soft and comfortable. The girls do not like anything rough, stiff, or even slightly coarse. They are quite sensitive.
The easiest item of clothing is a t-shirt from Old Navy. If you were rushing around and were going to see the girls in 15 minutes or something and had to get a gift ASAP, just drop by Old Navy, pick up any random tshirt or two, and I guarantee the girls will wear it. Get one with a cat or a puppy or anything. Doesn’t really matter. Just make it soft, no collar.
If you’re feeling adventurous you can try to get the girls pants. But that’s a higher degree of difficulty because the girls are so oddly skinny it’s hard to find the right size, and some pants are too stiff and coarse for the girls’ sensitive legs to handle. Leggings/Jeggings are a pretty safe bet though.
One other thing is I think the girls can never have too many pairs of flip-flops. Even in the dead of winter they wear them. And in the summer they will wear those things out. They’re Asian, so I guess it’s in their blood.
One last gift idea: art supplies. Forever art supplies.
