Day Nineteen 2016

What is your Christmas shopping tradition?  Do you go early, look for the best deals, make a list? Are you a Black Friday shopper?  Cyber Monday?  Do you shop at craft fairs? Make all your gifts?

In the past few years I have become something of a last minute shopper.  I used to make lists, and have a plan, and I also used to enjoy going to the mall. So, since that is no longer true, I have a new sort of tradition.  I call it the “wait for last minute then run out and spend too much” method.  This method seems to cause my coworkers no amount of stress, for a month I have been fielding questions about what I am gifting Kat and the boys.  I have written about trying the something they need, something they want, something something else and something to read, and that works, unless they need more than one thing, or you can’t find a book for them when you are last minute shopping.  So my new method works better.

This is how it works; some night, pretty much right before Christmas, (like the night before Christmas eve for example) you gather up your whole family and drag take them to get dinner.  Pick someplace sort of affordable that everyone likes.  Remember you are going to be spending more than your budget allows so don’t go all crazy with a fancy dinner.  5 Guys Burgers is a good choice.

Then go to your favorite mega store.  We are fans of Target, but you do you.  Divide and conquer.  One parent takes one kid and the other parent takes the other kid.  I think we have done it were the kids go off on their own before, but not this year.  Leave your coat in the car, otherwise you get to hot in the store and irritable.  As you shop, if you see something you want for yourself, go ahead and add it to the cart.  Listen to the imput of your children.  I never would have purchased onsie pajamas for my adult sized children without the input of the other child.  Also, I could have spent $60 on a video game for one child had the other child not shared that they were planning on getting it used, and that the child who wanted it had heard bad reviews about it so they were waiting. 

Then when you just can’t stand to be there anymore meet your family at checkout.  You probably want to do a count of gifts so that one child isn’t getting two gifts while the other is getting 12, but that may just be my family.

“Wait for last minute and spend too much” it is not too late for you to try it this year.