My plan for today was to take my kids Christmas shopping. I figured we’d go to one store, they’d buy a gift for their dad, then we’d go home.
But something else entirely ended up happening!
As I was driving them through the terrible rainy weather we had today, Jen let me know she was not just planning to shop for her dad today. She also planned on shopping for her friends. I knew she wanted to shop for her friends this weekend, because the next week is her last week of school before Winter Break and she wanted time to be able to give her friends her gifts at school, but I had not expected it to take place on this trip.
Well, it did. And we ended up going to more than one store!
In fact, we ended up shopping at 4 different stores.
Jumping in and out of my car in the downpour then appearing at the store entrance drenched from the rain was a real hassle. But it’s not anything unexpected when it comes to Christmas shopping. For some reason, whenever we go Christmas shopping, it’s raining! (Which is why I prefer to do the bulk of my Christmas shopping online. No fun driving around in the rain or snow!) At one point, after I got into the car at store #3 once again soaked from the rain, I joked, "What does this remind me of? Oh, yeah. Christmas shopping LAST year!"
Then there was the nice little adventure of finding a place to park. That, too, was a hassle, but we got through it without incident.
Even so, we did have a nice time with their Christmas shopping. I had to remind Jen to keep track of her expenses so that she would not go broke before getting all the gifts she needed. I was also sure to remind her to look for deals on items and try to find something that seemed like the “right” gift for that person. She wanted to buy 2 gifts for 1 friend but I told her I didn’t think that was a good idea because it wasn’t fair if she got 1 friend 2 gifts and everybody else 1 gift.
As to Jesse, he was shopping for his dad as well as his teacher. Fortunately, with the little money he had saved up from collecting cans earlier this year, he was able to get both gifts with some money left over. He’ll be using that to buy a gift for his sister. (I consulted with each of them in private to figure out what they wanted to buy each other and plan to take care of that tomorrow.)
After we got home, they got busy wrapping the gifts and they now have them ready to take to school on Monday. Their gifts for their dad are wrapped and under our tree.
I may take them out shopping again tomorrow, but I also think it might be better if Jen goes with her dad tomorrow (since she still has to get her gift for me) and I just take Jesse to get his sister’s gift. At least that way, it’s only one stop for shopping – and this time for sure!
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2 comments:
Hi Dawn:
This year is the first time that I concentrated on purchasing Christmas presents on line - even if it was a local store not far away. I have had a bad run of health issues over the past couple of months and then shingles really took over two weeks ago. Needless to say, I am very happy that I shopped on line.
The benefits are numerous, especially now that I'm a senior. First of all, I didn't have to find a way to get to each store where I had found just the right presents for each person. Secondly, I was able to start early looking for those things, so I wasn't stuck making a mad run for anything at the last minute. This was also easier on my credit card, as I've been able to pay some of the costs off already.
I found that I really enjoyed searching for just the right gifts and could take as long as I needed to make sure it was as perfect as possible for each person. I also found things that I did not know were available, which will hopefully serve as nice surprises for friends and loved ones.
I could also keep close track of my spending and ensure that everyone would get something I hope they like. Although it might have cost more in some cases to have things delivered, I did managed to get quite a few great deals and some items with free shipping included if a certain amount was spent at one store.
Overall, I am so glad I went this route this year. My X-mas shopping was accomplished in record time, which meant a lot less stress. As well with the health issues I have faced, I am not totally worn out, (lol) like I normally would be by this time -just days before X-mas - each year.
I am too old to even worry about missing the Christmas music and festivities of shopping the traditional way. In fact, it was becoming more common for me to get pushed, shoved, bruised, etc. due to the rush of other shoppers. I am so happy to have left all that to those who still have the youth and energy to handle it.
With just a few days left before the big day, I can relax contentedly on my couch and enjoy a little TV or perhaps a computer game. After all these years, I do believe I have earned at least that much. Plus I get to save my energy for Christmas with family visits, dinners, gift exchanges and all that the season entails. That's more than enough excitement for me!
Thanks, for commenting, Martha. :) I am glad you were able to have a pleasant shopping experience this year. That's crazy you had to endure so much when you were going out to shop at stores! I have come across some mighty crazy horror stories of shoppers being trampled, shoved, bullied and assaulted by other shoppers during the Christmas shopping season. It's insane!
I love shopping online. As it is, I really don't like going to the stores. I hate grocery shopping and holiday shopping is worse. I have never had a bad experience with holiday shopping, but the crowds are unbelievable and it's a hassle standing in line for hours, waiting to ring up purchases. I know it can get chaotic. That's why I prefer to shop online but my kids can't do the online shopping thing very much. My teen daughter did buy some things for friends online but otherwise shopped at local stores.
Almost all of my Christmas shopping was done online. I, too, scored some great deals and got free shipping in some cases. I'll be talking more about that in a future blog post. But there were a couple things I needed from local stores. I guess sometimes, there is no way to avoid that. But I'm glad the bulk of my shopping was done online. It helps that what my teen wanted for Xmas was online! :)
I know of some people who do marathon shopping sprees entirely online. They get EVERYTHING for everyone on their list just with the click of a mouse. I think that's pretty cool. Maybe I will be in that position too someday. After my kids are old enough to go out and do their own shopping, I guess. The awesome thing about shopping online is, as you mentioned, being able to take your time looking for just the right gift and finding neat things otherwise unknown. Also, you don't have to deal with any crowds or driving around and running through the rain. :) Or snow, for that matter!
One of my friends recently shared the brilliant idea of creating a "gift box" for Christmas and shopping for gifts to put into it throughout the year. I love that idea and I'll be doing that next year! It's a great way to avoid the crowds during holiday shopping and get the shopping done at leisure and a lot faster. But what I also like about it is that it will mean more gifts for my kids next year. They won't have many gifts under the tree this year unfortunately (I still haven't gotten a new job after over 6 months of searching and we've had some major expenses to take care of this year). At least my kids are getting gifts that they REALLY wanted. :)
I hope you are feeling better soon and sorry to hear about your health issues. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Merry Christmas!
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