As much as I’ve been trying to ignore it, Christmas is coming. I’ve tried putting my fingers in my ears, closing my eyes and humming, but it hasn’t worked. I am going to have to get started on Christmas shopping. Perhaps even harder for me is coming up with ideas to give to others about what my family and I would like for Christmas.
Don’t get me wrong. I am very grateful for gifts. I actually love receiving gifts. I’m also very glad that some people want to know what I want. I hate being ungrateful, but some of my family members need a little bit of guidance. (Like the year I got a Jerusalem napkin holder and a pair of gold ballet-style slippers from my mother-in-law. Guidance would have been nice.)
I have found that the best tool for figuring out a wish list for everyone is Amazon.com. I have several wish lists at Amazon that I add to throughout the year. But about now (think today!) I’ve got to add ideas for everyone in the family. The thing that I like about it is that when I think of one idea, then it shows me the things that other people bought at the same time, so I get more ideas, and before long, I’ve got a wish list several pages long. Not that we get everything. I wouldn’t want that. But my mother wants options. So, she gets options. I get to give guidance. And I tell my mother-in-law exactly what to get me. Sometimes I even buy it myself!
By Kristen H.