The Christmas Blues

Every year I promise myself that I will begin Christmas shopping early. Every year I fail on that promise. This year, without fail (pun intended), I made the promise again and this time I purchased something in OCTOBER. Bam! Who cared that the purchase was for my dog and a few stockings. I felt so liberated. So powerful. So ahead of the game. . Unfortunately, that feeling didn't last long. Nor did the early shopping.

No one knows what they want so early. We also have November birthdays that hinder our December shopping, and once the birthday people have unwrapped those gifts they can't think of things they want for Christmas. I should just give up except all of that shopping in one month puts a strain on my credit card, not to mention my stomach thinking about the credit card strain. No wonder there are so many bah humbug people out there!

I counted my October purchases and the November tree and house decorating as the check mark on my calendar for early shopping. The rest of it is now coming hurriedly as the advent calendar gets opened each day, and I've made more trips to the mall this month than I have all year. A lot of it is wandering and looking for something to pop out at me. Because Tom and Madison are difficult. Darcy is easy. She wants everything. Everything looks good on her,mshe isn't too picky, and she enjoys fun things like my Dad did so I never have trouble shopping for her. Especially when she accompanies me and points out things. For the most part, the kid knows everything under the tree with her name on it.

In the path of my shopping is also my decision this year to purchase new Christmas decorations. I didn't have anything specific in mind. I just wanted new stuff because the old stuff, no matter how nostalgic it is, is boring me. Mainly because December comes earlier and earlier each year. I mean, I just put this stuff away like four months ago, right? So I've made a few purchases of little decorative things that are sprucing up the house. One of those is a little jingling tree with so much glitter on it that if you touch it glitter is usually all over your face instantly. There is nothing more festive than a holiday face full of glitter that people point out to you endlessly.

People: "You have something on your face."
People: "What is on your face?"
People: "Is your face glittering?"
Me: "A smile?"
Me: "My usual cheery disposition?"
Me: "Damn right it is. Mind your own business. Merry $&%^# Christmas!"

I've also spent this season scoping out other people's decorations and deciding on how I could steal them. Not literally, but figuratively. Like in recreating them or purchasing them. My neighbors have giant candy canes interwined as if hugging and they light up. I want them. I can't find them. I saw these cute snowmen at our public school board building. What a great way to use that shredding I've been doing, I thought. Only I threw away the first batch of shredding and haven't gotten around to the next task of shredding. It's on the list. The list that is slowly wrapping around the outside of my house multiple times.

Today I took a deep breath and told myself to chill. I nominated my neighbor's and their giant candy cane for our neighborhood holiday yard of the season. That alone pushed me toward good will and all that jazz, and motivated me for next week. Come Monday I'm going to touch my glitter tree, turn into the Tasmanian Devil, and knock out Christmas and all of its trimming. Then I'm going to sit back and enjoy it all, the family, the feast, the unwrapping, and the joy. Then I'm going to put Christmas away until a few months from now when it will be time to start all over again.