Yule Time

It is finally December. December is that magical time of year when everyone goes temporarily insane and runs amok in shopping-induced frenzies. The night of Thanksgiving, when most of us were still in our tryptophan-induced comas, some crazed shoppers were already out at stores to start their Christmas shopping. I was one of these shoppers (even though I bought nothing). I went to hang out with my friends while they shopped, since I had nothing better to do at 4 am.

I am one of those people that likes to put off everything until the last minute, Christmas shopping no exception. Last year I didn't start shopping for presents until Christmas Eve. In retrospect, this was a mistake. I will not be doing that again. One of my friends is the complete opposite on this. She will just randomly see thing she thinks someone would like and get it to be a present. She went shopping today and bought a lot of stuff. A lot a lot. Presents for almost everyone in her family and cards to boot. She's sitting behind me right now writing Christmas cards. Now if this was me, I wouldn't have any cards to send out. If I was going to write cards, I would do them somewhere around the 21st, not the 1st.

It amazes me that some people can be motivated to shop this early. After going out on Christmas Eve last year though, I am beginning to understand their motivation. Going out that close to the holiday means it is very hard to find gifts for people. Also, it is almost scary to shop then. Everyone out is in a frenzied rush to find gifts before the stores close. While you (like me) may not feel like shopping early for people, remember not to go out too late. Shopping earlier will save you a lot of time, stress, and frustration on Christmas Eve.