Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Christmas Shopping Blues

They say the best thing about Christmas is the "giving" of presents to your friends and loved ones. While the old saying "To give is better than to receive" may be true in many ways, you still have to shop for them. This is the part I can't stand.

First, I have no idea what many of my friends or family members want. My requests for people to write me some shopping lists reaped a few responses, but mostly I am on my own here. As the day draws closer (and it doesn't help that I have out of state relatives I have to SHIP the gifts too) the chances of someone getting a gift certificate or other totally meaningless present are getting higher.

One thing is for sure and that is: I can't wait to be done with the shopping. Once that part is done, I can enjoy badly wrapping presents and watching people's faces as they smirk at the way one side of my packaging always looks different than the other side. Or watch someone's complete mock surprise when they open a gift that their aunt just gave them.

Of course, I kid. I love Christmas and I actually like buying presents when I know what to buy. I just hate the freakin deadlines which are quickly approaching. We have a toy drive this Saturday which leaves me with Sunday to finish ALL my holiday shopping (plus I have to hang the Christmas lights at some point when it's light outside but before Christmas). That limits me to Sunday or next year.

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