Christmas Shopping Day One

(Written December 21, 2009)
The season is upon us! Yes, that wonderful time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Or, for us non-Christians or non-delusionals...the time of year when we spend a shit ton of money on stuff for people who won't appreciate it. No no, I'm just kidding...that's not always the case, and truthfully...I LOVE CHRISTMAS SHOPPING!!!

Even though I didn't grow up in a home where we celebrated Christmas, it's still the most magical time of the year to me. I should mention that when I was a little girl my parents felt bad for my sister and I so they psuedo-celebrated Christmas. They didn't want us to feel left out when all our friends were getting presents so they used to buy us a few presents to open on christmas day when we were very young. I should also mention that although we did put up Christmas lights outside, we did NOT have a Christmas tree. Soooo...our presents, that we wouldn run to find on Christmas morning...were under the dining room table. Yep...dining room table. But hey, it had a long table cloth on it so they were totally concealed. Don't judge.

Anyway, I just started my Christmas shopping today...four days before Christmas. I woke up and headed straight to Target.* I walked through the automatic doors expecting the worst: chaos, long lines, a dwindling inventory, but instead found the store to be fairly quiet and pretty normal. I got the few things on my list and was out of the store in 30 minutes. Could this be a sign of what's to come for the rest of my holiday shopping? Has the recession slowed Christmas again this year?

A few errands later and now after 12:00 noon...I figured Beachwood Place would be just as quiet as Target, if not quieter. Until I went into Banana Republic. And walked out of Banana Republic. I'm sorry...but no sweater is worth waiting in a 6 mile line for. Not even a cashmere blend, baby soft, fits like a glove, dream sweater that's 50% off. Ok, so I went back and bought the sweater. And ok, so it was for me...but I hid it under some full price menswear until I could come back when the line to pay was shorter. Experience people. I call that experience!

By the end of day one...I had no one completely off my list. I did however, have a great new outfit to wear for shopping day number two.




*Mecca