Posts by Hannah Wood45

I honestly had no idea that pearls could just... expire? :s I mean, I don't even begin to understand how or why mother-of-pearl would somehow die out... plus, that kind of jewelry can always be passed down to an older sister or Mom in the meantime...
In any case, while maybe certain pieces of jewelry seem unnecessary for kids aged 10 to 14, I am quite certain that if money is invested in them, the value won't just vanish—quite the opposite, actually—it will likely be appreciated later on and definitely find its way back into use...
In my family, we always had this tradition of gifting jewelry, though sometimes things were different; for instance, when my younger brothers wanted a telescope, the whole family pooled our money together just to buy that one telescope...
Some people might argue that gifts aren't necessary, but to me, it feels perfectly natural that a First Communion or Confirmation represents such a massive milestone for a child—that it deserves a little celebration, so they end up with something tangible to look back on and remember that day by...

P.S. please don't just jump down my throat—if you're against giving gifts, then you certainly don't need to buy anything, I was simply trying to suggest some ideas that have been trending lately...

I was merely suggesting that this is just how things stand right now—some people have the means to afford it, while others simply have to save up specifically for the occasion...
And when it comes to those necklaces or bracelets, I suppose it might not be such a bad idea to buy one even if it won't be worn for the first few years. After all, it's probably quite practical to own a high-quality piece of jewelry that can be worn from age 18 through the rest of one's life—something that serves as a lasting reminder of the First Communion and the person who was kind enough to give it...

Here are a few thoughts—just reflecting on what we used to receive a few years back...
smartphones, iPods, jewelry (earrings, necklaces, bracelets... mostly gold, precious stones, or pearls; the guys even knew how to score a nice tie clip), bicycles, computers, laptops, maybe even some motorcycles, summer trips, cash, watches, TVs, full room speaker systems, phones, lamps, paintings... most things were easily $100 and up, which was roughly the baseline even when people were just handing out cash...
I have this feeling that those who ended up getting a Bible were probably pretty disappointed...