I said, Who wants to touch me?!!
Kmart came to the rescue with a number of Buy 1, Get 1 Free specials. While I was looking for presents for my mom and her girls, my woman spotted something she liked. A few minutes later, heading in another direction, she asked if she could buy the item in question. I said we couldn't afford it, but then picked it up a few minutes later when she went to another store. She made it almost too easy.
One thing I've noted, doing a lot of shopping this season, is the look of not-quite-bliss on so many faces. It's like they don't realize that this is the most wonderful time of the year. Sure, most days are cloudy, there's too much snow on the ground, and the nights are incredibly long, but is it not the Chosen One's big day on Friday?
I think that many resent being slaves to the holiday, having to spend money they don't have on things that their family and friends might not even like. You'll find none of this ridiculousness on Thanksgiving. The joy is in simply being together. Being compelled to give gifts four weeks later doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Sure, I'll like getting Lady Gaga's new EP and a Friday's gift card, but does that compare with making someone smile or laugh? Not even close.
As I waited to get checked out at Kmart, I heard the cashier say to the couple ahead of me, "Would you like to donate $1 to St Jude's?" They said no, but I got an idea. Here is how my conversation with her went:
Cashier: "Would you like to donate $1 to St Jude's?"
Tom: "If you can say, "Suzy sells seashells by the seashore."
Cashier: "I can't do that!"
Tom: "Well, I'll donate the buck, anyway."
I did something similar at the movie theatre earlier this year. A lady was asking people, when they bought their ticket, what their ZIP code was. When she asked me, I said, "12345". Two seconds later, she said "Refusal" to herself and punched a couple buttons.
I got a nice gag gift for my twin sisters. They're 21 now, but I bought them each a RingPop (something they enjoyed as 5-year olds). I may also purchase some Fruit by the Foot; back then, they called it Pruit by the Poot. So cute.
Click here for video of our 2005 get-together.
9 comments:
lol lol lol........
have a wonderful holiday tom......:)
haha.. funny. When I was younger I loved Christmas, as did most kids. I haven't celebrated Christmas in... about 8 years or so and at first I felt a little bit left out but nowadays I'm just relieved that I don't have the "holiday stress" that most everyone feels. Also, taking a step back and looking in makes it all the more obvious how well... silly... it is that people think they ought to be somehow different because it's Christmas. I mean, if you want to show someone how much you love them, or spend time with someone special, you really can do it any time of year... you don't need Christmas for that.
I like Thanksgiving much better for the reasons you point out. Good food an good company and break from the daily BS. Good enough for me.
I hope you did not spend too much on my present Tom.
Your conversations with retail employees and waitresses, LOL.
I know it sounds rather cliched but as I have grown older I have gained more enjoyment from seeing others enjoying Christmas than I ever did myself. I tend to go for silly/fun gifts for my kids and seeing their faces and the kick we get out of it means more than the day or any stress involved in the build up.
Long may it last!!
I just wanted to stop by and wish you guys a wonderful holiday season. Yes, it's been too long catching up on here. The down faces definitely make me want to break out some Bing Crosby Christmas sing-along impersonations.
You definitely have me thinking about my fav movies of the decade. This is a tough list -- Million Dollar Baby, Trees Lounge, ... I'm going to have to put some thought into this one. Robin came back to town here and we just saw "Road" or "The Road" starring Viggo Mortensen. Very dry but great acting and stark realistic portrayal.
Glad you donated to St. Jude's. That is one of the few great charities who don't pull the wool over your eyes. I've had to pitch in a few times at CVS Pharmacy.
Take care,
P.J.
Merry Christmas Tom, hope you and yours have a great holiday.
Hey, everybody. Hope Satan, uh, I mean, Santa (both use the exact same letters, just in a slightly different order) was good to you this year.
As expected, I received a Friday's gift card which I will put to use before most put away their Christmas decorations.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Christmas, Dawn & Dave and glad to hear you got a chuckle out of my post, Fay & Rocket.
Tim, the gift I bought for you didn't set me back at all (I made sure to get something that was tax-deductible).
PJ, great to see you. I'm interested in seeing "The Road", but it hasn't come to my neck of the woods yet.
The next movie I plan to see is George Clooney's highly-acclaimed "Up In The Air". "Avatar" was a real crowd pleaser, but not, in my mind, one of the absolute best of the year.
Re: the $1 donation. Good idea! You probably made that cashier's day. If you hadn't donated the $1, you'd come across as Scrooge.
Re: the zip code. Some cashiers have no sense of humor. Or maybe they'd had a bad day.
Merry (late) Christmas.
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