Christmas shopping: a 5-year FLASHBACK blog!

(Originally posted December 4, 2008)

This is how Christmas shopping is supposed to work.  It's Christmas time and you want to give somebody a token of love and/or appreciation.  (Yes it's and/or.  You may not appreciate your son-in-law, and you don't usually love your doorman.)  So then you consider the person, put some THOUGHT into it (that's the key), and select an appropriate gift.  "I THOUGHT you would like this.  Merry Christmas."

It should not be any more complicated than that.  Yet here is a list of phrases that become more and more common with every passing year:

"I have no idea what to get you."

"Should I buy it now or do you want to get it for me for Christmas?"

"They got me the WRONG THING."

"This counts as your Christmas present."

"As long as I HAVE to get you something it might as well be something you like."

"I have the receipt if you need it."

"I need to spend at least $20 on her."

(in the case of gift cards) "This way YOU can pick out whatever YOU WANT."


and then there are the shenanigans.  I have seen people try on a jacket to make sure it fits, and then they leave the store while the other person buys it for them.  Then they have to pretend they don't know it's in the bag and actually go through the charade of having it sealed in a box with wrapping paper until it's actually Christmas Day.

Not to get all Charlie Brown but DOES ANYBODY KNOW WHAT CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT?

It's like people have come to think of Christmas presents as a yearly allowance that they want to ensure they get the most out of.  You're not supposed to pick out exactly what you want and have someone purchase it for you out of a sense of obligation.  You're supposed to be grateful for whatever you get as long as there was some apparent thought put into it.

I mean I'm fine with making a Christmas list or dropping good-natured hints, but some people take it too far.  You shouldn't be calculating how much you're going to get and from whom.  You shouldn't deliberately not buy something you want because you can just get someone else to pay for it.  The only thought you should be putting into Christmas presents is what other people might like.

and there should be no stress involved.  Christmas shopping is not a CHORE, you're supposed to want to do it.  If you have all your Christmas shopping finished by the end of September you a terrible fool that's missing the point.  It also is not a CONTEST.  Who is getting up at 3am the day after Thanksgiving to save money?  Even if you don't have a lot of money, you still have your DIGNITY.  I bet the Waltons never trampled anyone to death because there was a good price on wagon wheels.

If you cannot participate in Christmas without remaining thoughtful, calm, and genuine, you are part of the problem.  The perfect gift is not the biggest television that was purchased at the best price.  The perfect gift is any little thing the recipient didn't realize they wanted or needed right then.  That could mean earmuffs, or it could mean a pizza.  Everybody's different.

Don't buy crap, though.  Nobody needs "Muppet Monopoly."


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