(sent to me by Pam Young at at www.innerkiddies.com)
When my kids were small I would start Christmas shopping for the next Christmas right after Christmas. Really. This year I am worse. I found an awesome gift for my grandkids for next Christmas. Yup, I already bought it but I have this Christmas all mapped out and the gift can wait until next year. This habit I did get from my mother. This was the one time of year that I felt her love for me. She would work super hard at having a 'perfect' Christmas. I learned that she was compensating for the fact that from the time she was about 12 years old her father would write out a check for Christmas. Now, it is true that I have never had anyone return money when given as a gift. However, it is not as much fun for me. Now, we do some of both. I keep to a strict dollar amount for each grandchild. I try to balance out what I am doing so that no one feels slighted. It is fun for me to think, plot, plan out, and search for gifts. I have had epic fails in my gift giving years (I now include the receipts.) I have also had some spectacular successes. Happy faces of those receiving gifts I planned out for them is such a rewarding feeling. I remember one year making phone calls to all the toy stores in the area until I found just the Power Ranger I was looking for, driving frantically across town, in hopes somebody else did not get it first. Yup, young son loved the toy. Happy smiles spelled success. Ebay and Amazon have ended this type of cross country crazy driving. I was tickled to watch my kids very carefully make their selections on line and click buy. Shut the lap top and they were done. Bummer, not nearly as much fun. Standing in a long line is an opportunity to get to know fellow shoppers. Spontaneous moments of shared waiting. I even like figuring out different ways to wrap the presents. Memories of late night Santa workshops on Christmas eve still bring a warmth to my heart and a smile to my face. I am not sorry those years are over. If I need a fix, I know I can go wrap presents for my grandkids. For me, the 'perfect gifts' are the moments of sharing with someone I love. Takes a lot of courage to let down my guard so much but it is so worth it. May each of you have someone in your life that finding the 'perfect' gift is fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment