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When giving is really receiving
With the Christmas holidays upon us, my mind turns to gift giving. I thought I’d share with you a particular type of present: a Chewbacca present. This is something we buy for ourselves under the guise of buying it for another.
The name comes from the first Chewbacca present. It was selected by my husband in the late 1970s. The recipient of his kindness? His mother. It was an actual Chewbacca present — a poster of the 200-year-old Wookiee in the Stars Wars films who is called… Chewbacca.
Clearly it was more appropriate for the eight-year-old giver, than the forty-year-old receiver. Predictably after he’d heard “thank you for such a thoughtful Christmas gift,” he also got “are you sure you don’t want to keep it yourself?”
I have received Chewbacca presents from time to time. A wok on my birthday because my husband fancied cooking stir-fries. A box of chocolates as a gift which he polished off himself. I don’t mind really, but I do notice how often it happens to us all. There are many Chewbacca presents out there in the world.
I was on the phone to a friend recently. I was in a bad mood and asked if I could download. She took up the mantle with…
