Now don't get me wrong, a lot of us enjoy the act of giving presents to friends and family. It is hard to not take great pleasure in discovering the perfect gifts for those special people in our lives and it is even more rewarding watching them open and cherish them. It truly is the season for giving. Having said that, we must remember that giving and shopping are two entirely different things. I challenge anyone who says that visiting stores to acquire these gifts during the holiday season is a source of enjoyment. This is a painful and arduous task complete with crowded malls, long line ups, and piped in Bing Crosby Christmas carols. No one, I repeat, no one regardless of how much holiday spirit they may have, enjoys the experience of purchasing Christmas gifts. I don't care if the holidays get you as happy as Kathy Lee Gifford overdosed on prozac, the actual process of going from store to store in search of presents sucks. Everyone hates Christmas shopping. However due to our longing to "give" during the holidays we accept our penance and go through with the terrible act that is Christmas shopping. Knowing that we all must go through this torture, can we not learn to make this an easier and somewhat more palatable experience? There are a few small things that all of us should try to remember during the Christmas season that could help dilute the shopping process. If we could follow these three easy steps it might make the Christmas shopping experience somewhat more manageable.
Step 1: Acquire Lists
Is it too much to ask of people to give us a friggin' Christmas list? A few ideas of what they may want this holiday season. A helpful guide to equip friends, family, and loved ones on what they could possibly buy. Is this really a lot to ask? I don't know about you but trying to predict what a 78 year old woman may want can be a wee bit tricky. This should not be considered a reflection on how well we know our family members, because I don't think I am alone when I say I have difficulty on trying to guess what my father may want to find under the tree on Christmas morn. For those that do provide Christmas lists for us, don't think you are off the hook entirely. There is nothing worse then receiving a list that reads like the following:
Daddy's Ho Ho List
A Bag of Bridge Mixture
Socks- Black preferably
Golfing Gloves- Medium size
Lets try to be a little more creative people. Can we not be a tad bit more ambitious on our wishes and desires? I know how much we spend on gifts is not what's important but if the value of the entire list you provide is $14.78 then there is a problem. Live a little, think bigger. Give us a REAL idea, not something we can buy from a gumball machine. And for all of you who say "oh, I don't need anything for Christmas"…please knock it off with this crap. This sort of retort isn't helping anyone. It is Christmas we have to buy you something…we wouldn't be asking if we didn't have to get you something. So give us a helping hand here! Humor me. I am sure if I followed your lead and gave you nothing, you'd be quite disappointed. It is not selfish to tell us what you want, it's Christmas fer cryin' out loud you are supposed to get gifts!
Step 2: Be Prepared
Once again, another of life's valuable lessons we owe to the boy scouts. Being prepared is the key ingredient in Christmas shopping. Before you leave the comforts of your home, know exactly what you are setting out to purchase. The "aimlessly wandering around the mall and trying to stumble upon an idea" technique is forbidden during the holiday season. Window shoppers need not apply. Christmas shopping should be summed up in three words: In and out. No time must be wasted on comparison shopping, we should be like a flash in that store. We should be fast and precise. No one should even know we were ever at the mall. Stealth shopping people…stealth shopping.
Step 3: Go It Alone
Christmas shopping shouldn't be a social event. There is absolutely no reason we should be inviting five of our friends to join us to partake in these festivities. By involving shopping buddies all we are doing is increasing the volume of bodies at the mall, creating further distractions from our shopping goals, and decreasing the speed from our shopping velocity. Plain and simple, the more people you add to a shopping pack…the slower these groups hunt. One of my biggest pet peeves is being trapped behind slow walkers in a shopping mall. Christmas shopping is not an ideal time to grab a latte and stroll casually throughout the mall while you catch up with your best friend Carol. As far as Christmas shopping goes, we fly solo.
Despite our pains and frustrations, the unfortunate
reality is Christmas shopping has to be done. There is no getting around
it. Skipping the whole giving gifts process is beyond unthinkable. I think
if we could all follow these simple steps Christmas shopping could be
more easily dealt with. It is all about proper planning. By following
these guidelines we will be better equipped to deal with and complete
this holiday exercise. And then all we need to worry about is the returns
and exchanges on Boxing Day. Oh my god, I forgot about the Boxing Day
returns and exchanges process!?!? Kill me now…
…but that's just my opinion.
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