Christmas thoughts
In a fit of insanity, or perhaps just of boredom, I have gone and completed half of my Christmas shopping today.
Surprisingly, the crowds weren't too thick, the traffic wasn't too bad, and people weren't driving like complete idiots this year. I've gotten parking spots easily everywhere I've gone. I haven't almost been killed by crazies. I've seen no mass zombie effect here. Maybe people are actually feeling some of that Christmas spirit and good will towards man, and acting accordingly with the season. More likely, everyone just went shopping yesterday, and I missed the rush. This is quite alright with me, as I'm somewhat accustomed to the world turning insane from Thanksgiving through December.
I'd prefer to believe in the former, that people are just being nice to each other because they should.
I love both the religious and the commercial sides of Christmas. This post is more about the latter. I love buying presents for people. In fact, usually I feel like I don't get them enough, and I hold myself back a little bit, feeling that if it makes me uncomfortable when people spend a lot on me, it would probably make them uncomfortable if I lavished them too extravagantly. This year I don't feel as bad though; we got our deposit from our old apartment back last week, so a lot of my Christmas budget will come from what is essentially free money. Sure, it was money that came out of my pocket once, but it was so long ago that it feels more like a gift than a refund now.
Christmas shopping is also an excuse for me to go out, see the displays, browse different stores. I don't really like buying a lot of stuff for myself- if there's something I really want, I'll get it, but I just don't really like to drop a lot of money on that type of stuff when it can be better used. So I don't go shopping that often, but when it's not for me, it can be a lot of fun. (Although book stores are always way too tempting.)
Then there are the people who are just hard to shop for (these people are why I'm only halfway done with my shopping). It's difficult to figure out what to get them- what they'll like, what they don't already have, what five other people aren't going to get them as well. Ahh, a challenge.
But when you find that one perfect present, or even better, someone tells you they'd want X right after you've bought it, or as you're holding it in your hands in the store, that feeling of knowing you'll make someone happy is one of the best in the world. And that feeling isn't just materialistic, that you know they'll be happy because they got X, but that you know you'll both be happy for being able to be so perfectly in tune.
Anyway, hurrah for Christmas. I suspect the tree will go up this weekend NOW, and I'll start baking stuff soon. I'll make a reminder post about Christmas cards in a few days, when I'm more prepared to send them out. For now, I am rather bored. I'm contemplating going out for round 2, but... ehh, we'll see. I should find something else to do. I can't believe it's only Saturday!
Surprisingly, the crowds weren't too thick, the traffic wasn't too bad, and people weren't driving like complete idiots this year. I've gotten parking spots easily everywhere I've gone. I haven't almost been killed by crazies. I've seen no mass zombie effect here. Maybe people are actually feeling some of that Christmas spirit and good will towards man, and acting accordingly with the season. More likely, everyone just went shopping yesterday, and I missed the rush. This is quite alright with me, as I'm somewhat accustomed to the world turning insane from Thanksgiving through December.
I'd prefer to believe in the former, that people are just being nice to each other because they should.
I love both the religious and the commercial sides of Christmas. This post is more about the latter. I love buying presents for people. In fact, usually I feel like I don't get them enough, and I hold myself back a little bit, feeling that if it makes me uncomfortable when people spend a lot on me, it would probably make them uncomfortable if I lavished them too extravagantly. This year I don't feel as bad though; we got our deposit from our old apartment back last week, so a lot of my Christmas budget will come from what is essentially free money. Sure, it was money that came out of my pocket once, but it was so long ago that it feels more like a gift than a refund now.
Christmas shopping is also an excuse for me to go out, see the displays, browse different stores. I don't really like buying a lot of stuff for myself- if there's something I really want, I'll get it, but I just don't really like to drop a lot of money on that type of stuff when it can be better used. So I don't go shopping that often, but when it's not for me, it can be a lot of fun. (Although book stores are always way too tempting.)
Then there are the people who are just hard to shop for (these people are why I'm only halfway done with my shopping). It's difficult to figure out what to get them- what they'll like, what they don't already have, what five other people aren't going to get them as well. Ahh, a challenge.
But when you find that one perfect present, or even better, someone tells you they'd want X right after you've bought it, or as you're holding it in your hands in the store, that feeling of knowing you'll make someone happy is one of the best in the world. And that feeling isn't just materialistic, that you know they'll be happy because they got X, but that you know you'll both be happy for being able to be so perfectly in tune.
Anyway, hurrah for Christmas. I suspect the tree will go up this weekend NOW, and I'll start baking stuff soon. I'll make a reminder post about Christmas cards in a few days, when I'm more prepared to send them out. For now, I am rather bored. I'm contemplating going out for round 2, but... ehh, we'll see. I should find something else to do. I can't believe it's only Saturday!