Reply #20: I have to agree with you.

[Flammable Materials]

I spent a total of $10 on my mother's gift. Two boxes of Tastykakes (she grew up in Philadelphia and can't get them in Hellhole, Texas where she lives now) and DVD-Rs of an old television series we used to watch together when I was a kid.

My sister is getting some family heirlooms: The flag that was draped over our father's casket at his military funeral; a coffee cup that I bought him when I was a kid that he drank from daily until he died, and; a DVDR of a 70's Hollywood movie (shot in Arizona) that he appeared in several times as an extra. (I was lucky enough to catch the movie on cable TV - it has never been released on VHS or DVD.)

My wife is getting the Lord of the Rings boxed set and a gift certificate to put toward a decent sturdy winter jacket. Something that will last for at least four years.

My daughter is getting a Homestar Runner hooded sweatshirt and a pair of sports sneakers.

Total cost: $160.

I can't afford anything else, and I refuse to put anything on the credit card this year.