Just over two weeks remain until Christmas and I have absolutely no ambition to do any shopping, decorating, baking or planning. I don’t feel like taking the kids to meet Santa, I definitely don’t want to wrap gifts – gifts that I have yet to buy.
As years pass, I find Christmas more and more of a hassle. I hate that I feel that way about it, but with the commercialization of it all, it’s just not the happy go-lucky season everyone makes it out to be. It’s a time of anxiety and stress for me. I worry about what to buy for people. Worry if they’re going to like it, and how much money have I have to spend on those gifts.
High stress.
Sure, everyone says it’s the thought that counts, but have you ever really thought THAT when you’ve gotten probably the most shittest gift you’ve ever recieved? Gee, thanks for thinking of me. As you hold up that waterproof shower radio trying to convincingly smile so that your disappointment is not completely apparent by the scowl crossing your face.
I mean, sure maybe that really did put thought into that shower radio, but really? A shower radio?
Mike tells me every year not to stress about it and if I can’t think of anything just get gift cards. I personally find gift cards to be such a cop out. To me they come across as: I really couldn’t be bothered to think of something to get you, so got get it yourself. But on the other hand, I don’t want to go out and stress for hours about what to get for someone when they can take that card and buy what they like and be happy.
I think I just put too much thought into this, and even though I realize that it’s not going to stop me from sitting here and avoiding shopping until I have no time left and even smaller selection to choose from.
Couldn’t make it any harder on myself, could I?
So, tell me. What do you do? How do you decide what to get people? How do you avoid the shopiing stresses?
Diana says:
I feel the same way you do about gift cards. They seem like a cop-out to me. Though, I do like receiving and in that case I think of them more as a “I didn’t know what to get you so I played it safe, enjoy” kind of gift.
The season I still appreciate though. I’m one of those people who loves the holidays, gifts and all. I stress most over finding unique, affordable gifts for the kids in our extended family that are not 100% plastic.
December 11th, 2008 at 9:02 am
Vic says:
I bully my family into telling me exactly what they want, just as everyone else does. The system seems to work quite well and the only time anyone’s ended up with a duplicate gift is cos my dad went shopping on his own (men, eh!).
Especially when I don’t know the budget of the person who’s asking for my wants, I always suggest book tokens to fuel my insatiable book habit.
I find costume jewellery’s a good bet for women (and older girls), toys are easy for the kids and I tear my hair out with men. They’re impossible.
Good luck!
Vic´s last blog post..The Ghosts of Christmas’ Passed
December 11th, 2008 at 9:14 am
ali says:
i fucking love gift cards. i love to get them. and to give them. they might not be super meaningful…but they are so useful!!!
ali´s last blog post..buddy the elf! what’s your favorite color?
December 11th, 2008 at 9:36 am
Shania says:
This is going to sound so…uppity? pretensious? You can feel free to throw ornaments at me, but I listen. Sometime throughout the year, people will mention something that they want or need, and I file that little tidbit away in my awesome steel trap mind and pull it out later for gift buying. I figure if I don’t know them well enough to know what they’d want, what the hell are they doing on my list? And then I buy them a gift card.
December 11th, 2008 at 10:30 am
MC says:
Our family has the holiday tradition of writing Christmas Wishlists with 5 things on it that we really want. We can always deviate from the list but it’s usually get one thing off the list and a stocking stuffer. Easy peasy!
MC´s last blog post..Coping with Sugar Cookies
December 11th, 2008 at 11:15 am
kittenpie says:
I tend to shop all year, but that doesn’t help you right now. So my top two things?
1. Think about the person. Really think. What do they wear? What kind of jewelry? What colours? What kind of home decor do they have? what books or music or movies have they talked about? What hobbies do they have? Any collections? You can usually come up with something that works for them this way, by noticing and then really imagining what they might like.
2. Indigo.ca. Books, DVDs, CDS, and toys, all in one place, with free shipping over $39, which is easy to reach. You can shop for a lot of people at once this way – and they may even have online wish lists to shop from, so check their email addresses and see if anything comes up.
December 11th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Natalie says:
I love receiving gift cards and that is what my very thoughtful stepmother usually sends me. I don’t ever think that she didn’t put thought into it, she is just a practical person and knows that I’ll get more use out of a gift card than something “she” may think is cool. She’s bought me actually gifts before, too (that I’ve loved), but I’m always happy to get a gift card. It is my opinion that the person receiving it should be greatful of any gift they receive.
I only buy for my mom, my dad and stepmom, Jacob (of course) and ocassionally his dad. If I’ve got extra money, I’ll buy for my good friend, Donna, but it is never expected. I don’t stress about this stuff. If I feel obligated to do anything, then I’m missing the point of it all, right?
(I’ve had the decorations up since November 17th)
Last year, I had about $50 to spend on my son, but I didn’t let it get me down. We still decorated. We still enjoyed the spirit and the cheer that the season brings.
Do you want to barf from my positivity yet? Because I do.
Now, if I could just be strong about teaching my son about the “real” meaning of Christmas.
HA! And isn’t it funny that the last post that pops up with commentluv is completely materialistic!
Natalie´s last blog post..Vintage December ‘07 – A Christmas Rhyme
December 11th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
SciFi Dad says:
I feel similarly sometimes, but then other times I look at my kid and get sucked into the “magic”.
SciFi Dad´s last blog post..The One That Got Away: Epilogue
December 11th, 2008 at 7:48 pm