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Well, I finally killed off the rest of my Christmas shopping last night, and let me tell you: if you're having doubts about, or are short on ideas for what to get for people you know, just mill around the stores for a while, and idly browse through all the parts of the store, even the ones that you'd never go to yourself. I did this for a few hours yesterday, and after I loosened up and slowed down a bit, things actually started leaping out at me from their happy place on the shelves. It was a lot less stressful than I had imagined it being.
I guess that the idea of shopping for some members of my family worries a bit, at times. They're all fairly well-off, while I'm less than a year out of college, so they can buy all these expensive things for themselves that I couldn't afford to give them. Oddly enough, shopping for James' family is less intimidating--they don't have much money to throw around, so the pressure's off. Getting a gift that's remotely meaningful is more than enough to make them happy, whether it's $2 or $200, so there's more room to be thoughtful and creative.
Thing is, I know that's pretty much true for my family, too, but it's harder to tell who already has what, and it's easier to convince yourself that the little gifts you can afford aren't worth anyone's time when everyone else can buy big, impressive stuff. I guess it's pretty irrational, unless you have an incredibly materialistic family, but it's easy to slip into that mindset even when you don't.
I definitely wish that we could all just pick-and-choose who we get things for, rather than trying to cover all the people we "should" get things for, because having to scramble to get gifts for people that we don't particularly feel close to is a definite humbug-inducer. And it's hard to be appreciative when a gift is given due to societal expectations, and not because the giver made any sort of connection between the gift and they person they're giving it to.
Anyway, I'd ramble more, but I still have tons to do before I leave in the morning. I'll be gone through Monday evening, but I'll be checking my e-mail.
I guess that the idea of shopping for some members of my family worries a bit, at times. They're all fairly well-off, while I'm less than a year out of college, so they can buy all these expensive things for themselves that I couldn't afford to give them. Oddly enough, shopping for James' family is less intimidating--they don't have much money to throw around, so the pressure's off. Getting a gift that's remotely meaningful is more than enough to make them happy, whether it's $2 or $200, so there's more room to be thoughtful and creative.
Thing is, I know that's pretty much true for my family, too, but it's harder to tell who already has what, and it's easier to convince yourself that the little gifts you can afford aren't worth anyone's time when everyone else can buy big, impressive stuff. I guess it's pretty irrational, unless you have an incredibly materialistic family, but it's easy to slip into that mindset even when you don't.
I definitely wish that we could all just pick-and-choose who we get things for, rather than trying to cover all the people we "should" get things for, because having to scramble to get gifts for people that we don't particularly feel close to is a definite humbug-inducer. And it's hard to be appreciative when a gift is given due to societal expectations, and not because the giver made any sort of connection between the gift and they person they're giving it to.
Anyway, I'd ramble more, but I still have tons to do before I leave in the morning. I'll be gone through Monday evening, but I'll be checking my e-mail.
