Swing and a miss....

I don't know what it is about Christmas presents...but me and my hubby can't seem to get it together when it comes to giving each other gifts. I'm not sure if its the pressure of the season but it always seems to come up...well.. swing and a miss.
It's so weird. He knows me like no one else. We have the same sense of humour and have even developed our own language and in-jokes that no one else would get. And last night we discovered he has started finishing my sentences. After 9 years married we are in sync. Except when it come to gift giving!

Take last year, for instance. We actually bought each other the exact same present! We had to have a laugh at each other when we both opened up a Texas Holdem Poker set. Maybe just a little too in in sync?!

One of the first presents I got him was a subscription to a fishing magazine. Except I hadn't bothered to buy him the current magazine. Instead he got to open up (in front of his family) a card that I had lovingly prepared and decorated with pictures of fishing stuff on it. I got the response no one wants to hear..."What is it?"

The year before that he bought me a new frying pan and some bananas. Admittedly it was to make me some Pancakes with bananas and bacon for breakfast, but it was funny opening up bananas in Christmas wrapping.

And this year was no different. I thought since we were going to the beach for the week at Christmas a new snorkeling set would be ideal. I must have asked everyday..."You gonna go out for a snorkel today?". Until finally he revealed he hates snorkeling by himself, and is just a tad fearful of sharks, and probably won't be using it anytime soon.

And although I wasn't expecting anything this year because I bought myself an early Christmas present (A new bike for my triathlon), I was happy to open a gift from my love. A couple of CDs (not quite my taste) and a pack of my favourite brand of coffee.

I really don't want to get to the stage where you buy your own Christmas presents and wrap them up just to open something up on the day. But wasting money is a big downer. How do you all get on with getting the other half a Christmas gift?