I keep having this nagging feeling that I’ve forgotten something — something that would need to be wrapped by Thursday night. How can it be that my Christmas shopping took me exactly one trip to Target and a few clicks of my mouse? What — or who — am I forgetting?
At night, I stare at the presents under the tree and run through my mental Christmas list, and yet, I come up empty. I know that I don’t have to buy anything for my husband’s siblings this year, because we all decided to find the best bottles of wine for under $10 as our gifts to each other, and Hubby is in charge of all things wine.
Some of my other relatives will receive thoughtful, yet inexpensive, personalized gifts from Kodak.com that I’m hoping will make it here on time despite the Blizzard of ’09, as I was too cheap to pay the expedited shipping costs.
My cousin and I decided not to get each other’s kids gifts this year since we won’t see one another on Christmas, anyhow. She reports that her two-year-old will certainly understand about the recession and all. Good luck with that, Susie.
My kids, however, do understand the recessionary effects on this year’s holiday, and are expecting fewer gifts under the tree on Friday morning. Every once in a while, I get the feeling that I should buy them one or two more things each to up the Christmas morning wow factor, but I get over it quickly. That’s so 2006, after all.
This Christmas, my husband is getting me a set of mini-van tires. Well, two of the tires, as the other two are for my birthday in two weeks. He was going to get a leaf blower for Christmas, but he managed to salvage ours with duct tape and a prayer. The leaves are covered in snow this week, anyway. Happy holidays, honey.
We’ve cut back on Christmas this year, and frankly, it feels good. I have less anxiety and more money than any holiday season since the kids were born during the dot-com boom. And I don’t think they’ll mind much either. When I asked my fifth grader what he looks forward to the most about Christmas, he cited the ham breakfast we have at my parents’ house Christmas morning.
There was no mention of presents at all, which makes me wonder why the heck I spent all those Decembers upping the wow factor, when it appears what the kids wanted was good chow. All I know is that I’m bringing some Tupperware to my parents’ house Christmas morning to fill up on ham, after I apologize for the tardiness of their presents.
See Jen and her neighbors talk about the recession on CBS The Evening News:
Another great article Jen! You and your family have got it right! Focus on that Ham and the time shared together and less on gift exchange. It’s so much better for the kids and adults!