I heart Christmas. It is, hands down, my most absolute favorite holly-day. I love the tree decorating, the shopping, the hustle and bustle, and of course, the mistletoe. I love the apple cider, the pumpkin pie, the Christmas Eve tradition of opening pjs, the Christmas morning tradition of opening one present at a time and having our only-served-once-a-year torte breakfast in the middle of the morning (even though it takes so much longer with nine of us than us original five, I still love it!.
As I've gotten older (as well as my parents, siblings and friends), I've found it harder and harder to buy presents for everyone. I'm at the age where, especially since I'm moving out next spring, that I don't want crap. Therefore, I know my friends/family don't want crap either. I don't need knick-knacks (or patty wacks for that matter, whatever those may be) or dust collectors. I need the dough. The moolah. The dinero. The cash monies. Am I clear?
So here's my thinking: If I want that, then everybody else probably does too. I was watching the Ellen Show today (don't judge me, I have NEVER watched it before, Taylor Swift was performing, I wanted to see if Ellen's holiday giveaway was as good as Oprah's (so far, so good) AND there is literally nothing on at 3pm when you're trying to get a ridiculously tired 2 year old down for a nap), and in a preview for tomorrow's show, Ellen told her band leader, "You don't have to buy me anything" and then followed it with "Cash is just fine." Love it.
My mom has always said, literally as long as I can remember, that gift cards are impersonal and she never gives them for Christmas. Birthdays, yes, but not Christmas. I adopted this mentality for the past however many years I've been buying presents. This year, though, everything's about to change. Not only am I giving gift cards, but I'm also having meals with friends instead of exchanging gifts. Let's be honest here, my two "A" bridesmaids (their names start with "A," ALL my bridesmaids are awesome!) and I always give each other things that we would buy for ourselves. So why not just buy it for ourselves and use our money to enjoy a nice dinner out? It's a win-win situation. And I'd rather have memories anyways (unless it's diamonds...just kidding?)
Is finding gifts for certain people on your list hard for you this year? Do you give gift cards? Do you watch Ellen? I gotta say, I was laughing pretty hard during certain parts today, not gonna lie here.
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