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mara williams
on Jun 18 2013 - 06:00 AM
Hey, manchild, mama says: clean your room, wash the dishes, don't drink and drive.
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Emily Parnell
on Jun 16 2013 - 06:00 AM
Eating fresh, local produce is good for body and soul
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Jim Cosgrove
on Jun 13 2013 - 06:00 AM
I just want to buy some pants. Please, turn down the music.
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- kim nakahodo - Profile | Pictures | Blog
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It’s that time of year again…. I would love to tell you tales of how Christmas doesn’t center around presents, but I think we all know that’s a lie. I know, I know, it’s about family and spending time together. Opening presents.
Having worked in retail for years and years, I have met several shoppers. The moms with precise excel spreadsheets, the grandparents with scribbled hand-written notes from their 5 year-old grandsons, the good-hearted Angel Tree shoppers, and the drunk dad/uncle/mom/aunt that comes in after the bars close, two days before Christmas. Then there is my personal favorite…. the shopper who is just plain HATES that society forces them to shop for others in the first place.
When we were growing up, I remember shopping for my sister, brother, mom and dad. I loved the thrill of the hunt and the stress of trying to figure out what I could get them with my limited budget. We are now older of course and Christmas gift giving has certainly changed… now all we do is swap Amazon gift cards.
I must say… the Christmas magic is defiantly gone.
I am looking forward to this Christmas simply because I can’t wait to see Niko-chan open his presents. Real presents. With wrapping paper, bows, ribbons and all. I’m excited because he won’t know what these presents hold… they were not pre-chosen on wish list.
Don’t get me wrong…. I LOVE YOU AMAZON. I love my Amazon wish list, but it does take the magic out of the season.
So is your family gift card traders like mine? Do you guys just give cash?
We actually do presents, although as some of the nieces and nephews are getting older, it's getting tougher not to give a gift card or cash. Mine are young enough that they want to open presents, and although I don't enjoy wrapping, I enjoy giving actual presents (with a gift receipt)!"Green" goals requires thinking of alternative "wrappings". Tradition is my handmade XXL velvet Santa Bags and XXL felt stockings. Creative "wrapping" is sometimes used. One year, recycled balloons used for small gifts. Only did that once, hard to get balloon around small gift, then blow it up. Nearly passed out. Rolled some gifts in blankets, as blanket is unrolled, there's a gift! Grocery store paper bags, once. Grocery store plastic bags, too. *repeat covering gift, makes it hard to guess what's there.* The mystery is the most fun, to me. Gift cards/cash for birthdays and other events.I prefer buying gifts--I actually wrapped a bunch tonight :) My parents are trying to purge their house of all the "trinkets" so I usually give flowers at birthdays and food stuff (or books) at Christmas--things that don't collect dust.There is just the four of us here in KS so it is just us on Christmas day. It use to be more fun when DS was little but he decided at about 6 or 7 that if he didn't ask for it he didn't want it. I used to tell him that it took all the surprise out of it. After we moved here we used to send Christmas presents back to the kids in Atlanta. But once they got old enough to know exactly what they like and don't like it got harder buying for them. Keep in mind we never talk to there parents (which os one of the reasons we live out here buy ourselves) so we don't have a clue what there kids would like nor do they have a clue what DS would want. So I go to Target and buy a bunch of gift cards for them and they in turn send DS some form or gift card, check or cash. It is cheaper on shipping that way. I have worned DH that since DS knows what he is getting and our biggy has already been delivered and in use. This year being a new double oven stove, that if we aren't careful in another year or two there won't be much point in Christmas morning. Just being the four of us is tough.
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