In 1988, my wife cut her knee-length hair to pay for a chain for my heirloom pocket watch. I sold the pocket watch and bought some expensive ivory combs for her long hair. It was a disappointing Christmas until we realized the Undertaker threw Mankind off Hell In A Cell, and plummeted 16 ft through an announcer’s table.
Back when I was about 15, I was invited to a Christmas Eve gathering by a friend of the family, who had a young kid, maybe 7 or 8, and I had a gift picked out for everyone but him. I spent a long time combing through gifts at the mall but I really didn’t know all that much about him. I settled on one of those 3D wooden puzzles, a roadster.
Come Christmas Eve, and I’m anxiously awaiting people opening my gifts hoping I’d chosen well. The kid gets to my gift and turns to his parents and says “Wow, you got it after all!” They were dumbfounded. Turns out he’d been asking for that exact kit but they had passed it up. I felt like a million bucks that night.
My Mom never stops talking about the christmas message I got her from Will Friedle from Boy Meets World on Cameo. I didn’t explain to her how easy cameo is because it would lose some of the magic. She feels so special, and it makes me feel happy.
I got a Commodore 64 in 1985. I know that’s not going to help anyone this year, but I can’t think of a gift any other year that had me more excited. My kids are getting a switch and I hope they’re as excited as I was.
Best I’ve given would be a Chromecast - it was $30 and my sister uses it daily, years later. I can’t think of a better return on dollar spent gift for usefulness.
The PS4 I got half of for my youngest (we split the cost because otherwise their gift would have been too expensive compared to the rest of the kids) has gotten so much use, so much love. Sure your kids will love the Switch.