Well, we had our family Christmas celebration last night, in the Austrian manner of things, as we usually do . . . we have never been big on waiting until Christmas morning for presents; that's a tradition that's never stuck with me since my family always celebrated on Christmas Eve. And truly, I prefer it, since the light from the tree casts such a wonderful glow over the proceedings . . .

It's been an excellent Christmas season, by my standards. I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Chicago and the Christkindlmarkt, I've listened to a satisfyingly large amount of Christmas music, the tree has been delightful (and we put it up early for a change!), the standing rib roast was cooked to perfection and the presents turned out just fine. I worried about the presents (as I always do) because neither of our children had anything they wanted - well, nothing in our price range, anyway. We ratcheted Christmas back quite a bit . . . we usually go over the top (okay, I usually go over the top) with last-minute presents, and we couldn't do that this year. Which was really relaxing, truth to tell.

And of course, the kids liked their stuff just fine. I'm happy they did, because in my view, Christmas presents are about getting and giving gifts that let the receiver know that you really see them. I hope the kids learned that it doesn't take a kajillion dollars to do that . . . (but that might be a bit optimistic, given our track record . . . ) At least, I was reminded of it again. And I've been thinking about the truly memorable presents that I've given and received.

The best present I ever got was the birthday present Emil gave me when we lived in Maine. I said I wanted to learn to knit, and so he got me some yarn, needles, and an argyle sock pattern, for all of about $5. A close second was the year my nephew Ben got me The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins: totally unexpected and spot-on. The best present I've given was the telephoto lens I got for Emil the year we moved back from Maine and the Woolworth's in the mall was going out of business; the lens was half-off. Another truly memorable gift was the year I gave my sister-in-law a homemade coffee cake and a copy of the Farmer's Almanac. Her reaction was truly gratifying: "Wow! Do you know me, or what??"

Not that expensive presents aren't nice . . . but sometimes, at least for me, having lots of money to spend means that opulence replaces cleverness, and that's the wrong way to think about it.

So what about you folks out there in the blogosphere? What are the most memorable presents you've given or received? Something to think about this Christmas morning . . . and I'd love to hear about them . . .