Christmas Preperations

To poorly paraphrase a great writer: "It is the best of times; it is the worst of times." December is the month I dread and look forward to all year. I love getting ready for Christmas. I love the family get-togethers, the baking, the cooking, the family traditions, the Advent calendar count-downs. I love thinking of people I love and trying to decide on the best gift to give them and unlike most people, I love going to the mall to see all the pretty, wonderful things out there and to people-watch. So what do I dread about December? THERE'S NOT ENOUGH TIME! People tell me, "Don't stress over it all. You don't have to do all those things." The problem is I WANT to shop, to bake, to sing Christmas carols, to read nightly Advent readings as we prepare for the birth of Christ. I WANT to send friends cards, to visit, to watch the great Christmas shows (there are lots of less than great ones, but Charlie Brown, It's A Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street..1934 version are greats) while drinking hot chocolate with my family.

As a rule, I am dismayed by the overuse of gift cards. It seems like a cop-out. Before I get bombarded with the many positives of gift cards, let me qualify. Gift cards, like money, seem so impersonal. Gift cards became the answer to (or contributed to the growth of?) the unreasonable demands of the recipient. "I'd rather a sweater instead of a scarf." "This isn't EXACTLY what I wanted." Somewhere along the way gift-giving became a requirement and somehow the giver was in the hot-seat if the gift weren't just perfect in every way. When I was growing up, I would never have thought to have returned a scarf and exchange it for a sweater. Even if I didn't like the scarf, I would have been appreciative that the giver spent the time picking it out for ME and I would have worn it. Gift cards are so generic...let me do all my shopping in one place and just buy gift cards. As someone else said recently... this season is all about relationships. Somehow receiving the same gift as everyone else on your list takes something away from the uniqueness of this relationship. Having said all that, getting a gift card to Michael's craft store from my scrap-booking friend shows thought and a connection between us. Still, I think people use gift cards because of fear of disappointing the recipient and gifts shouldn't be 'required' or they aren't really a gift.