Buying for Christmas

10/25/2019

I can see you! I know that you're letting out a groan and even perhaps, eye rolling. The hard facts are: that Christmas is coming (news alert - this occurs every year); and, the earlier you buy presents, the less stress you will have. I speak from experience on this. I have for many years, compiled a list in my head (that's scary), of what I want to buy.

This week, while reading a book, an old Benjamin's Christmas list was stuck inside. I don't know what year it was, but the printing was very large, so he was obviously much younger. I've decided to keep this list (of course I am), just for sentimental reasons. There are so many sentimental items in my hope chest now, that I'm soon going to need to buy a new chest! I have friends who are not as sentimental as I am, and have told me that they have packed up their children's things (like hand prints on a ceramic tile, pictures drawn by their children, etc.) This is so not possible for me. I can open up the chest anytime I want and when I pick up an item (like Wendy's wedding dress); or the outfit that Benjamin wore after leaving the hospital, I can go back to the individual memories. I know, you're thinking I'm nuts (and we know that I am), it would break my heart to have to get rid of the things I've been cherishing over the years.

At the last family dinner, I passed out pieces of paper for everybody. I told them to write on their list, the must haves (M) and the wants (N). Benjamin was the only person to actually fill it out. The list is handy, but I often go rogue when buying. But, even if I do that, I still have that person in mind.

I just recently bought two gifts, and I like them so much, I think I'm going to keep them for myself. Sounds greedy I know. Trust me, I'll find something else. For me, it's all about the hunt. Once I have bought something, then the real chore begins - wrapping! Sometimes, Stacey will come and wrap for me. For the boys, they are satisfied with a box closed with packing tape! That kind of wrapping I can do. It's not pretty, but it certainly 
gets the job done!

And, if you're wondering, and I know you're not, there are only 61 days left. Sometimes, Jeff and I will go to a store after Christmas. We're not needing anything, but it's interesting (nah fun), watching people scramble for things to buy. The big ticket items go quickly, like televisions, for instance.

Big baseball game tonight. While there many other things I could watch on television, I really want to watch the game. It's gotten pretty exciting.

P