Monday, December 15, 2003
Christmas
I love Christmas, I really do.
But I am late to the holiday spirit this year. What with everything else going on, I haven't even BEGUN my shopping.
I have a very strange self-imposed stress about Christmas gifts. They have to be awesome, they have to be meaningful, they have to be really, really special. Last year I gave both my parents "memory books" of photos of their kids through the years—inexpensive, yes, but highly time-consuming and very sentimental. Excellent gifts.
This year, I am looking at electronics.
Maybe it's just me, but electronics seem so impersonal. There's something so cold and mechanical about buying someone a PDA or printer. And Lord knows my dad doesn't need any more electronics. Mom probably wouldn't know what to do with them if she had them.
And there's the ever-present question of the SO. Electronics are definitely not the way to go—not with a technophile, at least. Jewelry seems like a good idea, and I know he wants a new watch, but jewelry is also dangerous. What if he doesn't like it? What if it's not what he was hoping for? What if what if what if?
I know, I know, the season is not about the gifts, it's about the spirit. But then, I know he likes to be extravagant. Extravagance at Christmas makes me nervous, it stresses me out a lot. I don't like paying off Christmas for the next nine months. I don't like watching my credit card balances inch upwards.
I want to be in the spirit of Christmas, feel that holiday joy and fun. But all I can think of right now is how much shopping I have left, how little I've already done, and how everyone is going to be so disappointed in our gifts this year.
But I am late to the holiday spirit this year. What with everything else going on, I haven't even BEGUN my shopping.
I have a very strange self-imposed stress about Christmas gifts. They have to be awesome, they have to be meaningful, they have to be really, really special. Last year I gave both my parents "memory books" of photos of their kids through the years—inexpensive, yes, but highly time-consuming and very sentimental. Excellent gifts.
This year, I am looking at electronics.
Maybe it's just me, but electronics seem so impersonal. There's something so cold and mechanical about buying someone a PDA or printer. And Lord knows my dad doesn't need any more electronics. Mom probably wouldn't know what to do with them if she had them.
And there's the ever-present question of the SO. Electronics are definitely not the way to go—not with a technophile, at least. Jewelry seems like a good idea, and I know he wants a new watch, but jewelry is also dangerous. What if he doesn't like it? What if it's not what he was hoping for? What if what if what if?
I know, I know, the season is not about the gifts, it's about the spirit. But then, I know he likes to be extravagant. Extravagance at Christmas makes me nervous, it stresses me out a lot. I don't like paying off Christmas for the next nine months. I don't like watching my credit card balances inch upwards.
I want to be in the spirit of Christmas, feel that holiday joy and fun. But all I can think of right now is how much shopping I have left, how little I've already done, and how everyone is going to be so disappointed in our gifts this year.
