Christmas

I am not fond of the November 1st launch date for the Christmas marketing campaigns. Mercifully someone invented Halloween or we would see St. Nick on the first day of Autumn. I subscribe to the twelve days of Christmas philosophy. So that means December 16th to December 27th. You can think about gifts in advance if the mood strikes, but all buying and delivering should be done within that window.

My mom was the first one to take me out delivering Christmas stuff to people I didn't know. As a teacher she probably knew they didn't have much coming. I have to admit I haven't done any volunteering to deliver stuff personally, but I enjoy the shopping part of the process. If you want to have some fun and light up a friend's day then give stuff to people you don't know at Christmas. You might also consider reducing the amount you give to the people on your list in order to accomplish this. The process might go something like this:

1st: Chill out
Take someone you enjoy hanging out with, or even better, invite a group from work to skip lunch and head to the mall - park as far away from the door as possible, don't even think about driving up and down rows of cars looiking to follow someone to their parking spot.

2nd: Know what they need
Find the "wish tree" or whatever they call it in your town - around here the Salvation Army run it and a radio station help promote it. Ask them what they need. It is always fun to buy toys, but some age groups get under served.

3rd: Buy more
Head to the nearest store (I wouldn't suggest Walmart as an option until the Walton Family give substantially more than the miserly ~ 1% they have donated to charity). Buy at least twice as many of the recommended item(s). Head back to said wish tree with arms full of stuff. And then think about half as many gifts as you had planned to the people on your own list.

Option B:
Not going to the mall because you bought everything in November? Figure out how much you spent. Get out your credit card. Point your browser at some charities, ideally a couple you don't normally support. Need some suggestions - try some of the links on this blog.

Merry Christmas !