Black Friday

Today is Black Friday, and Monday is Cyber Monday. The busiest shopping days of the year according to the news. I remember, as a kid, going with my father to shop for mom’s Christmas gift on Christmas eve. It always struck me that a gift for mom seemed to be an after-thought. I know that many years, his gift was exchanged after Christmas. He couldn’t be upset considering how much thought he put into it. I suspect this is why I start thinking about Christmas gifts in October. Perhaps it is a little bit of an over-reaction. 

Candi and I stopped exchanging gifts years ago. If we need or want something, we buy it and don’t wait for a holiday. If we haven’t thought of it, we likely don’t want or need it. Our kids give us a gift list, normally Amazon or they get a gift certificate. The grandchildren are getting older, and it is difficult to know what they want. I came up with a solution this year. Since we will be there over Christmas, they will have a small gift under the tree, and we are giving them a shopping trip after Christmas. They will know what they got for Christmas, and we can take them to get what they wanted but did not get. We will see how it works. One reason I thought of this was that one year, I got a blanket for Christmas from my Grandparents. I don’t remember what I wanted that year, but I know that as a ten-year-old, it definitely was not a blanket. What I want for this Christmas and Christmases future is to make shared memories.