Christmas and the "Husband Syndrome"
HRinGA
412 Posts
OK, I feel confident my husband isn't the only one who does this, but need some confirmation.
I suspect most wives are responsible for buying most of the presents for anyone and everyone. I buy for both sides of the family. I was really proud of myself this year b/c I went shopping early and thought I was pretty much done....until my husband looks over everything I bought for the girls and makes his proclamation (like he does every year): "I thought you went shopping?"
After I peeled myself off the ceiling, I calmly made arrangements for the both of us to go out Sunday so he could buy some "real" stuff they wanted for Christmas. I don't know why I bother shopping at all as he buys twice as much as I do anyway. He must be making up for some childhood trauma he suffered as a child.
I suspect most wives are responsible for buying most of the presents for anyone and everyone. I buy for both sides of the family. I was really proud of myself this year b/c I went shopping early and thought I was pretty much done....until my husband looks over everything I bought for the girls and makes his proclamation (like he does every year): "I thought you went shopping?"
After I peeled myself off the ceiling, I calmly made arrangements for the both of us to go out Sunday so he could buy some "real" stuff they wanted for Christmas. I don't know why I bother shopping at all as he buys twice as much as I do anyway. He must be making up for some childhood trauma he suffered as a child.
Comments
We finally came to an agreement. We have a budget which I allocate among the people we give to (nearly 30 people), and I stick to it. He helps me find stuff, and is often the one standing in line while I am looking. However, he still constantly asks me if I have gone over and am I sure about how much I have spent. It drives me crazy sometimes. I finally created a spreadsheet where I have everyone listed and how much I have spent. He checks it daily until I agree that I am done. I sometimes find it irratating, and sometimes funny. Either way, at least we are not fighting over every $5 gift, and he is all smiles when he sees the happiness on the face of the receiver.
Nae
I like to wrap, but you do get a backache if you do it too long in one sitting. I try to wrap as soon as I bring it home. That staggers it out and helps prevent forgetting who I bought it for (with 4 daughters, 3 sons-in-law, and 8 grandchildren that happens alot).
On an aside: I supposed the spreadsheet does sound bizarre. He is fine with how much we spend. We agree the year before on the amount and save for it all year. But, for some reason he frets that I will go overboard and we will end up borrowing tons to buy presents. I have no idea where this came from, but...there it is. I don't mind the spreadsheet (I do them a lot here at work) if it gives him peace of mind. It is just that sometimes (like at the end of a long shopping day) his fretting becomes annoying. I usually say something I'll regret and he snaps out of it.
Nae
E Wart
There's no way you can't put this one together. What will the kids think? They're not good enough for Santa to put their trampoline together?
He's not happy. At least I told him he didn't have to help wrap presents...
I can't imagine trying to put that together without the kids knowing about it until Christmas morning....
Good luck
Except for our kids' gifts, that is... I am practical, and he's a small child in a 240 pound man's body. I argue that we need to buy toyboxes, bookshelves, clothes, etc., and he argues they need toys. (They get plenty of toys from the rest of the family, they already have tons, do we really need MORE?) He usually wins on that front, though.
This year, he picked out bicycles for our boys, and I must say he did a great job. x:-)
I like that: "she who must be obeyed". I'll have to pass that along. Good luck, Ray.
I thought he came up with it on his own - will have to ask if he's just quoting Rumpole.