I never did get what I really wanted for Christmas.

When I was about 12, I started Photoshopping my christmas list and included pictures to combat this. I actually still have a couple of those on my hard drive.

Even after doing that though, my grandparents would sometimes bungle it by getting me a gift card to Borders and telling me to pick out my games there. Borders does NOT sell video games.

My mom has been surprisingly good at finding games I ask for.

A few years ago she actually found me a copy of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (PS2).

I don't ask for video games anymore. I don't want my parents or firends to go out and get something I ask for, and complain when I trade it in 2 months later or so. So I ask for more permanent gifts. Like LEGO's. Yes, motherfucking LEGO's; got a problem with that?

But they did manage to get one I didn't ask for orignially (they got me and my brothers an Xbox once; didn't get us Halo though >.<)

"Parents just don't understand"

I guess I'm in the cool 40%. My parents were pretty good at getting me what I wanted. I even got surprise gifts that I didn't ask for but were still cool. I got a Best Wars Optimus Prime that turned into a jet. Ah, how I miss my childhood Christmases.

It's not that my mom dosn't really know what to get me, because I make a list, but she'll buy me like, 3 or 4 games I wanted, then 10 games I did not ask for, or know what is.

And PwnDaddy, legos are freakin awesome. I went to toys r' us just the other day and we were just looking at all the legos and nerf guns.

All I wanted was Super Mario Bros. I got Gyromite and a big plastic disaster that cant even spin tops right.

My parents are generally good. I make a list of stuff I want (usually games) and describe things in utmost detail, usually even giving Amazon links to them. I also toss on a lot of stuff because "they want me to be surprised." This next part is copypasta from my cblog:

I've been a fan of games since the NES days, but sadly, my parents would never get me a system, so I ended up having to play at friends' houses. The year the N64 came out, I put it on my Christmas wishlist; by the time Christmas rolled around, I had completely forgotten what I had asked for and was (temporarily) overjoyed to own a used Sega Game Gear, with Sonic Chaos and...some crap.

This never happens to me, actually. My mother always shows my gifts to a brother to cross check them all, and vice versa with me and the older brother also. For instance, today my mother brought me with her to Best Buy, to ensure she did in fact get Rock Band. She did, no preorder either. Last one though, surprisingly. It's for my bro.

Yeah, my parents have actually been pretty good with buying video game-related stuff. Like kobewan0824, I have a brother (two years younger), and my mom always shows me the gifts she’s getting him (and vice versa) just to make sure she has everything right. I got every video game system I’ve ever owned for Christmas (yeah, I bought my PS3 on New Year’s Eve, but my mom paid for it as a Christmas gift). And my parents have been great with games, too. I remember being surprised with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 and Tony Hawk’s Underground two Christmases in a row (and as far as I’m concerned, those were the last good Tony Hawk games). And I haven’t really been surprised in a few years now that I’m older — my parents just ask me what I want, and either say, “Okay,” or, “No, that’s not doable.” It’s a great system.

He mentions the Gallery Mall!
God that place is a dump, honestly, if you're ever in Philly, you've got better things to do on Market St. than the Gallery...

This is proof of how spoiled kids are today. The whole point of gifts is to not know what you are getting. I gave my parents ideas, but a lot of the fun was in the mystery. I never told them, "You have to get me..." or took a gift back because I didn't like it. I've gotten some really cool things that I never asked for.

I would have done anything for a Sega Saturn.. It was all I wanted. I stayed up the entire night of Christmas Eve until it was time to open presents. Throughout the entire night I was reading a Sega Saturn pamphlet I had, staring at the amazing graphics.. Then when it came time to open the gifts, I opened a Playstation. I was happy that it was a game console, but pissed that it wasn't a Saturn. Man was I wrong, the PSone turned out to rock.. The guy at the store convinced my parents to pickup a playstation instead of a Saturn. I wish I knew who that guy was, he made a wise decision that day..

my parents were 18 and 22 when I was born (yet they are still married and succesful) but I played THEIR video games. So I usually got all the high profile games. When the 64 and psone were out they didn't game any more but they still read reviews and asked around for good game gifts.

The best one is when they made me choose a 64 or ps1 on a black friday, we picked the 64 then my parents turned around and brought us the ps1 unrequested.

My parents have always been awesome at getting me exactly what I want (game-wise) for christmas. I can't think of even one time that they bungled a christmas for me.

THANKS MOM, THANKS DAD! LOVE YOU!

Although, one year (and this is really not a complaint against my parents) I remember going to the mall with my parents to buy a present for my cousin. We both had an NES, so they decided to get him a NES game. Much like how I picked out my own games in the NES era, they randomly chose Astyanax (I don't care what ppl say, Astyanax was awesome, great music, huge sprites, tight controls...).

Anyhow, I was extremely jelous. I WANTED ASTYANAX. But no, they were only buying for him. They said just wait and get what you get from your aunt and uncle. So Christmas comes, we open presents, my cousin gets an awesome nes game from my parents....and me? I got a VHS tape of Waynes World. Fucking gay. Even if I did like the movie, a VHS tape does no compare in value to a freakin NES game! I was totally gyped!

To my aunt and uncle. You guys suck! You rich bastards, you are cheap!

Problem solved: http://www.gamefly.com/giftcert/giftbuy.asp

If I wasn't already a member I'd be sending this link to my mom and dad. Seriously... This seems like a no brainer to me.

I've already bought two of them for friends. No gift wrap, no giving the wrong gift. Pretty much eliminates the need for decision making altogether. I'm big on the gift certificate. It comes from years of getting (alright and maybe giving) stuff I have no use for whatsoever. If you're going to give a gift, it might as well be useful.