Christmas can be one of the most wonderful times of the year
I bet. If the stress and depression are held at bay, I’m half certain it could
be downright pleasant. With all of the colorful
decorations, joyous music, and warm family gatherings, what’s not to love?
Bankruptcy, snowstorms, and warm family gatherings should get us started.
The holiday’s can be a real minefield. Since it’s the season
of giving it’s important that I get something thoughtful for those closest to
me while avoiding the excess debt and foreclosures that sometimes happen afterwards.
To walk this fine line I have found a few simple tricks to be extremely useful.
To begin, nowhere does it state in the gift giving manual
that the gift has to be newly purchased. This means I can give something that has
already been bought at some point in the past, and preferably by someone else.
What makes this great is that I have a whole plethora of gift ideas sitting
right in my living room. But, since all of those things are mine and I want
them, I find it’s best to go to the family members house for whom I’m getting
the gift to do my shopping. This way I know they’ll use and love whatever I get
them because they already are.
If, as I’m picking
out the perfect gift, they happen to catch me putting, say, their car keys in
my pocket, I’ll just say, “If you’re surprised now, just wait until Christmas!”
They may nag me and say how they need to get to work, but I know it’ll be worth
it to wait.
Once I have all of my shopping done I’m always quite
confident that I made the right choice for everyone. The next step in the holiday process is the
often dreaded family get-together. I’m always a little apprehensive about it at
first, but then I remember I’ll get to see the look on everyone’s face as they
unwrap all of my presents. Uncle Joe will be delighted to discover the very TV
remote he’s been looking for, and Aunt Lyn’s loaf of Wonderbread® should really hit the spot.
One of the most memorable moments was when I got to watch my
17 year old niece unwrap her very own Epilepsy medication. Sure, she was
extremely angry with me for going so far out of my way, but the look of relief
on her face afterword assured me it was the right choice. It’s funny how it’s
the little things that often have the biggest impact.
Sometimes I’ll forget to get someone a present until we’re
already all gathered. The guilt usual builds up until I decide to do a little
last minute shopping under the Christmas tree, where everyone else has already
stacked their presents with care. It’s neat to watch my brother open the gift I
got him, which turns out to be the nicely wrapped gift he got for dad. Now one
present turns into two. It’s a nice way to get the whole family involved.
One year I forgot so many gifts that I had to do all of my
shopping under the tree. It was so thoughtful to see one giant present from me
sitting under the shimmering Christmas pine, with all of the other gifts inside.
After the family get-together wraps up I always make sure I do
a little browsing before I leave to get ideas for next year. I may even take a
sample home with me to try it out before giving it as a gift.
Often, when Christmas rolls around again, I’ll decide the
item I sampled is something I could use more than the person it was intended
for. It’s funny how things work out sometimes. No matter, I’ll just bite the
bullet and go back to their house to do a little more shopping. It can be a
bear at times to pick up something “they can’t wait until Christmas for”, but I
know it’ll only make the gift that much more meaningful.
I’ve always enjoyed going to the extreme to ensure my gifts
are something that will be treasured. If that means prying the ventilator out
of grandma’s cold, desperate fingers, so be it. I’ve found that the more they
resist, the more they’ll enjoy it when Christmas rolls around in a few weeks or
years or whenever. And let me tell you, with the ventilator, the more grandma
struggled and fussed, the more I knew I was on to something big. As her eyes
grew wider, my smile grew broader, as if they were connected in some special way.
I just knew I had to get that thing away from her for Christmas.
The holidays shouldn’t be something that everyone fears.
With a little creativity and resourcefulness I usually find myself walking away
from all the festivities no worse for wear. And, as I drive away from the
gathering with all of the meat from my brother’s freezer in my trunk, I know I
have a year of delicious sampling to look forward to. What a Merry Christmas.
