CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

Because this time of year can be hectic, let’s look at some positive things about the hustle and bustle of Christmas time. I love to walk through the mall during this time of the year and watch the people, listen to the music, and observe the little ones visiting with Santa. Even though every one is in a hurry, it seems there is a lot of cheerfulness out there. A lot of “Merry Christmas” greetings.

I enjoy riding around in the early evenings to see how people have decorated their homes and yards; some outlandish, some simple but all of them worth seeing.

The infectious excitement that is around children this time of year is delightful. We have our granddaughter, eight-year-old Sydney, spend a lot of time with us. She brings a child’s enthusiasm of Christmas into our home. She also understands the spiritual side of Christmas and likes to talk about that. Not long ago she came into the house with a bunch of rocks. Asking for a box, she spent an entire evening creating a crèche. It was so simple that it was beautiful. Oh what we can learn from children!

            I have a tendency to bring stress into this season by my procrastination. Not only do I hate shopping, but the thought of it makes me uncomfortable. I’d almost rather go to the dentist, notice I said almost. I have Scotch ancestors, so that is part of the problem as I like to hang onto any money that I have. And I don’t like to be pushed around in crowds like there are at Christmas time.

So this year I decided to set aside September and October for Christmas shopping or at least getting ideas. Besides that, I could do it in good weather and not have to worry about slick roads. Well, in making that decision I forgot that I usually spent a lot of September canning and October is spent trying to get the yard and garden cleaned up, plus we round up the cattle, separate and wean the calves. Those things take time and effort and energy. Plus I have a hard time getting into the Christmas buying spirit unless things are “looking a lot like Christmas.”

So here it is, almost Christmas and I’m still trying to figure out my Christmas shopping list. I’m trying to look back to what I’ve done previous years for ideas. One year I partially solved my shopping dilemma when I made a small book for my mother, with “coupons” she could use. These coupons included things like: taking her out to lunch; helping clean her kitchen cupboards; taking her to Utah to visit my brothers; basically spending time with her. I found, however, that I forgot to do a lot of them as I didn’t keep a record at home of just what I had given her on the coupons. Out of the twelve coupons, one for each month, I probably fulfilled five of them. So learn from my mistake: if you are going to give out hand-made coupons, keep a record of what you promise to do.

I’ve given gift cards to fast-food places to my teenage grandkids. That was easy shopping. But now most of the grandkids have grown past the teenage years, so that won’t work this year.

It’s almost too late to do a lot of sewing or knitting.

I really would like to put a lot of thought and care into each present I give. Facing reality, how much time do I have left for thought and care?

When I don’t have my Christmas shopping done, it makes it difficult me to relax. Perhaps the best gift I can give my family is to refrain from getting caught up in the busyness of the season, and instead enjoy the season for what it is – a time to celebrate the birth of the Savior..