Sandy Supposes....

Christmas is nigh??

PROMPT: Talk Tuesday! With Christmas right around the corner (there are only eight more Fridays 'til then)... do you pick up gifts here and there throughout the year, or do you try to get as much as you can in as few trips as possible, or are you a last-minute shopper? And if you don't celebrate Christmas, tell us about your favourite gift-giving occasion.

         Gasp, tremble... If you put it like that, Christmas is imminent. Do you mean it's back again? Whew, I'm happy you didn't enquire about Christmas decorating. Oh, I haven't unpacked all the storage bins just yet, but I do leave several snowmen, excuse me, snowpersons, out all year to fraternize with the other bric-a-brac. Okay, back to the topic at hand, Christmas shopping...

          I must confess that I have experimented with all of the above scenarios when it comes to browsing for Christmas cheer. My dear departed mother attempted to instill in me the year-round method. Hit up the sales immediately after Christmas, peruse opportunities here and there, and squirrel away the goodies in a gigantic box hidden in a strategic spot. This requires planning and an impeachable memory; which item is intended for who? How much has been frittered, I mean spent? My Mom thought of her numerous female relatives, and later determining their share of the goodies was fraught with worry. Was her gifting fair and equitable? Should she add, or subtract? Maybe some things could substitute as birthday presents?

          I'm somewhat like one of my sisters in that I cannot or will not always wait until Christmas to bestow the gifts. Bearing that knowledge and its suspense is stressful. Keeping secrets even good ones is difficult. Apparently, family members better appreciate their surprises at Christmas, so I tease and tantalize them with 'clues.' Most are obscure and are for my merriment. For the most recent holidays, I have forgone early shopping. No gifts to hide, no gifts to hint at.

         When my three offspring were younger, I'm aging myself to state it was while they were in elementary school, I could take them with me as I browsed. They were so gullible, and unobservant. Probably, they were distracted by glittery Christmas decorations, festive music, and throngs of bustling humanity. I slipped gifts for them in the cart, and under their coats. By the time they had donned that winter wear for our trip back home, the Christmas goodies would be stashed in plastic bags . Those were my in-and-out days. Get it done as quickly as possible without attracting undue attention.

         During one of those forays, my toddler son was swept up in a crowd, and separated from this frantic mother. Nothing parts the waves of shoppers like a determined mother pushing a stroller as a battering ram. My infant, along for the ride, seemed to love the increased speed, and my five-year old finally had an excuse to run in the mall. All pretense of shopping was abandoned. Finally reuniting with my thumb-sucking son in a security office was all the gift, and excitement I needed. I should've learned my lesson about 'retailing" with kids in tow the Christmas season before.

         There was no third child then, just two tots. The eldest stripped off her snowsuit, her boots, and her leotards to better wade in a fountain. I thought only golf courses had water hazards.

         Nowadays, I've adapted to become a closer-to-Christmas-consumer. My children and grandchildren are happy with a wonderful invention known as the gift card. They are free to shop and choose what they would like. Hubby is so wise, gift cards don't need to be wrapped.

Last Christmas, we denied ourselves the pleasures of decorating, baking, and gift-giving. Nine of us travelled to Florida to explore Disneyworld and Universal Studios. I don't believe we felt the least bit guilty. It was mainly a spur of the moment decision and one we will never regret.