Weekend Plans Post: 9 Shopping Days Until Christmas
We had our Unsolicited Shopping Guide last week and now that I am panicking about what to get people, I realize that it is full of stuff that I got people last year.
Oh no! What do I get them this year! And so I asked a handful of them and they all shrugged and said “I don’t need anything”. Variations of “the last thing I need is more junk” and “oh, man, I needed a thing but I got it in July and now I don’t need a thing anymore.”
And so I’m dealing with the whole “what do you get people who don’t need anything?” issue.
And the answer is “towels”. Everybody doesn’t think about towels. But they get a 40×80 towel and suddenly they realize that they have been missing a 40×80 towel in their life.
Unfortunately, I gave out towels to a couple of friends last year. So now I’m stuck again.
I hate the whole “gift card” thing because that turns into people just trading gift cards around and you buy $100 worth of gift cards and hand them out and you come home with $100 worth of gift cards.
It’s nice to have $100 worth of gift cards, I guess. You can then use them to buy something next week or next month when you realize that you need a new colander or your butter mill dispenser breaks.
This was a lot easier when Kenny Rogers was releasing a new album every year. Oooh, Willie Nelson has a new one. Maybe that one will have to do.
Well, this weekend will be spent going out in a rush and getting some token gifts to give along with the gift cards that the nephews will be getting (they specifically requested athletic clothing and their requirements are such that it’s significantly easier to just get them a gift card to Dick’s Sporting Goods and tell them “make sure it’s cool”) and various presents that are ~$10 for esteemed co-workers.
And then, after that, get prepared for a week at work that has practically everybody either on vacation or WFH and then settle in for a long winter’s nap.
How is it almost the end of the year already?
So… what are you doing?
(Featured image is “Detente”. Photo taken by Maribou.)
I dunno. I may be in the minority but I find receiving gift cards depressing, it’s like “oh. Now I have to go to the effort of going out and buying something* and it’s not going to be a surprise”
(*or going online, yes, I know, but I am Old)
I will say I give those close to me lists of things I would want or need.
A go-to gift I do, provided I know the person’s preferences/allergies/requirements: food. Food or drink. So – good jams or nice tea or some kind of imported chocolates or cookies, or, with a little more planning, seafood or steaks. Everybody eats and drinks, the gift eventually disappears (does not need to be dusted), and if you are careful in your choices you are giving something a bit more special or unusual than what the person typically has.
I would rather receive a small packet of a nice loose tea, or a tiny box of chocolates, than a gift card. But that’s just me.
Today I need to go in and submit my grades (and parry any extra-credit requests or moans of unfairness that came in overnight) and then come back here and pack, because tomorrow I leave for Christmas at my mother’s. A big part of this is choosing the appropriate number of books and knitting projects – it’s going to be cold there, there’s an ongoing covid wave there, so I expect being at home a lot during that time and I will need stuff to stay occupied with.Report
Going to the Green Mill tonight to see Matt Wilson’s Christmas Tree-O with an old friend. If you’re ever in Chicago, hit me up and I’ll take you to a Chicago institution.Report
The show, as expected, kicked ass. Man, I love that place.Report
Yesterday I went to a friend’s house to help him hang his new 65″ TV. We had to do a lot of “creative engineering” because his wall mount is old and some of his cables ended up being too short due to the connections on the back of the new TV being on the opposite side. Despite all of this, we managed to get the new TV mounted. He put batteries in the remote and switched it on…and that’s when we discovered that someone had driven either a pallet jack or a forklift into it. The screen was broken (we’d left the cardboard screen protector in place as we hung it).
So, down came the new TV, back up went the old TV. He’s going to exchange it and take the opportunity to buy a new wall mount and cables (did I mention that whoever installed his current wall mount installed it crooked and having one side of his TV a 1/2″ lower than the other drove him crazy?). We’ll try again in a few days.Report