Christmas Shopping

I bought one Christmas present this week, and ordered a second one. Now, you may be sitting in your comfy chair, munching on your Cheet-O's and thinking, "But, it's only the middle of November! Even the crazy Americans haven't launched into Christmas advertising yet, what with Yankee Thanksgiving still almost two weeks away!"

Well, you see, I hate shopping at the best of times, and I really, really hate shopping anywhere close to Christmas. People are even stupider than normal when there's the perfect gift to be found, plus they swarm the malls in numbers that would do locusts proud. So my goal for when I'll have my holiday list all filled out gets earlier every year. Last year the plan was to get it done no later than the end of November, which I almost managed to do except for the work-related Shop For A Poor Family effort which, let's face it, is out of my control. This year I've set my sights on having it done by Nov 25th. That's right, one full month ahead of the event itself. It's going to be tough, since I've been even busier than usual at work. But I hope to take a vacation day next week and hit a mall or two, as well as possibly ordering a few items online.

Of course, if they keep expanding the holiday period like they've been doing, I'll soon be forced to do my Christmas shopping on my summer vacation!