Holidays gift-giving – and receiving – are a double edged sword.  “Something you’d never buy for yourself” covers a lot of dangerous territory. For instance, I would never buy myself 50 grams of Petrossian caviar…and I’ve yet to get it. I’d also never buy myself a sweater in a color I hate that’s two sizes too big. That’s when I practice that ‘OMG-I-can’t-believe-it-but-they-meant-well-I-hope” grin until the giver leaves.

But sometimes it is right on the money;  not necessarily expensive but ones that make us feel really heard and seen by the giver – and required a lot of time and effort to secure.

My late husband got me the best gift ever about 30 years ago.  I am an amateur art historian, so every time Michael and I went to Paris we went to the Louvre so I could pay homage to the giants of the Renaissance – Michaelangelo, Rafael and Da Vinci. One Da Vinci that brought tears to my eyes every time I saw it was “The Virgin and Child with St. Anne.” To me it is the purest distillation of maternal love through two generations, beautifully executed.

And during all three Paris vacations we went to the Louvre gift shop…and I couldn’t get it.  (This was long  before the internet was able to put the world in our mailboxes.) The first time the shop was out of that particular poster.  The second time the gift shop was closed on Sunday. The last time…the shop was closed because the staffers were on strike!!  I threw my hands in the air and gave up.

But Wait!

But later that same year, on Christmas, Michael had a big grin as he handed me a large flat package.  My sister-in-law readied her camera, which I thought was odd.  When I opened the package, it was the poster, beautifully framed.  I started to cry.  Michael explained that he knew someone who was going to Paris and paid for him to buy the poster and bring it to him so he could have it framed.

It’s still in a place of honor in my apartment and it was the Best. Gift. Ever.

YOUR TURN

But that’s me. How about you? What was the best gift you ever got? Share your stories in the comments!

Virge Randall is Senior Planet’s Managing Editor. She is also a freelance culture reporter who seeks out hidden gems and unsung (or undersung) treasures for Straus Newspapers; her blog “Don’t Get Me Started” puts a quirky new spin on Old School New York City. Send  Open Thread suggestions to editor@seniorplanet.org