What's the best Christmas present you gave this year?

We don't do Christmas presents in my family. I always end up getting stuff I don't want from my in-laws because they don't ever believe me when I say I don't want anything.

(intimidating because it looks like something between a bludgeoning tool and a blowtorch)

I don't actually know when we decided not to bother with presents - giving stuff was always just something we had to do, rather than something we wanted to do. I would rather spend the money on doing stuff together, whether that be at Christmas or at any other time of year.

But it will never get through to my in-laws. My mother-in-law fails every year to realise that I am being serious when I tell her I got nothing from my parents this year. And she still gives me shit I don't want, and no-one can get their head round the fact I'd rather everyone kept their money rather than give a grown woman with a well-paid job some token shit thing because they feel they're supposed to.

This still applies when a present is nice, I guess. But I never get nice stuff as I am apparently "very difficult to buy for".

The conflict runs deep within me.

(xpost: I tried the "Seriously, I don't want anything" tactic for a couple of years and it didn't work, especially with my in-laws.)

Haha, it should actually be called that.

The Greatest Christmas Present I Ever Gave: A breadmaker for my mom. Maybe the only present I've ever given anyone, for any occasion, that actually got a lot of mileage years after it was given.

The Coolest Christmas Present I Ever Gave: I commissioned Chank Diesel to do a wedding portrait for my brother and his wife.

I'm not sure what the best present I gave this year was - sometimes it can be the simplest gifts which receive the best response. My best friend has four young daughters, and I gave them each a hardbacked journal each of which I had re-covered in silk of their favourite colour and decorated with beading and stitched with their name. I made little silk bags to accompany the journals, and filled them with small cards with calligraphied questions (what's your favourite ice cream? what countries have you visited? what book are you reading? that type of thing) so that they could write little bits about themselves over the course of the year and end up with a journal all about their likes etc. They've loved it (they're very much into that sort of thing), and have started the writing project already.

I put together a gift box for another friend of mine, with a set of pretty ice-cream sundae glasses and spoons, a book of ice-cream sundae recipes, and loads of toppings, gourmet syrups and sauces etc. She's a bit of an ice-cream-o-holic, so this gift was a big hit.

My Other Half collects vintage comedy, so he was pleased with the boxed set of Ealing Comedies on DVD, a few of the old Will Hay films, and a CD of Robb Wilton (a wartime comedian) which found their way into his Christmas Stocking. Searching around to find gifts which, no matter how simple, are just what the recipient will like gives me huge pleasure.