With the holidays barrelling down on me, I haven't had the time to think of new and exciting topics to write about. Many apologies. I'm done with school for the winter <does a little dance> but that hasn't quite freed up my schedule as I'd like... who needs a month "off" writing, addressing and stamping envelopes, buying and wrapping gifts, cooking and decorating? Ugh...
Don't get me wrong, I love the holidays. I've never understood the concept of Christmas cards. We've been talking about doing those photo cards for years but I have a confession... I hate them. Not because I don't care to receive them. It's just frustrating getting these really pretty pictures of friends and family that I can't just pop in a frame. I mean, I could... but that'd be a little weird. A wall full of framed Christmas cards wouldn't exactly go with my decor. And then there are the just plain weird photo cards that you just don't know what to do with.
www.akwardfamilyphotos.com fixed this and gave us a place to put them. "Hey Martha, not only did we
love your card, we put it online on this cool website for great pictures so we can see it whenever we want!"
And I'm convinced that the holidays bring out the nutbags in people. Perfect example- people who normally couldn't be green even if they were pukey or jealous suddenly start recycling EVERYTHING. My friend K-Mo told me a story about a person she knows who recycles wrapping paper. Like steams it off, irons the creases out and reuses it. Gift bags, I can understand. Those suckers are durable, they really weren't meant to be used only once. How this lady recycles paper is beyond me- I find it hard wrapping without tearing it when it's brand new. Bows, I can understand... to a point. Some of them just look like the skeletal remains of what were once bows. They are like .25, I know we're in a recession, but for the love of god, buy new ones. Don't get me started on tape... I have received a gift before where the tape had remnants of another design of wrapping paper stuck underneath it. It was a first, and a last, for that matter. But the fact remains that it has happened.
And people get ruthless with their shopping, which is also beyond me. There is a rather simple solution to this-
online!!!!!! Typically the prices are better too. And they are delivered to your door, how much better could it be? Like I'm going to push and shove and run and get all tired so I can pay about the same that I would have online. That'd just be silly. It's not that I'm lazy. I'm busy. There's a big difference. The only day that would be worth it to brave the stores is Black Friday and I work every single one of those, not that I'm particularly torn up about that.
And people that are normally mild mannered and docile get so freaking impatient. They start honking their horns, making smart remarks and those annoying little noises that make everyone else just wanna slap them. Out of nowhere they become all in a hurry to get things done. Here's the thing- I'm like that all year round. I'm quick at getting things done, like grocery shopping in 20 minutes and 3 minutes in the Post Office. Hell, I even poop fast. I'm good at this because I do it all the time. I look at these nincompoops trying and failing to be fast and efficient and I just want to say: they are doing it
wrong. There's a certain level of prep that has to be done in order to be fast and efficient in your every day life. For some reason people just don't get that.
While I'm thinking about shopping, I have to ask something that has been eating at me for years... why are gift cards so taboo for Christmas gifts? All I ever get for birthdays is gift cards and I have no complaints, they are handy. Whether it's a poorly thought out gift or a gift card, it still screams "I had no idea what to get you." At least a gift cards gets the point across that you accepted that fact and didn't lose any sleep over it. I'm actually pretty flattered when I'm given a gift card rather than an actual gift. This person just gave me free money to go to a store and spend however I want! And I get to pretend that I actually have money to spend for a change! It's like two gifts in one. Sure, I can always exchange the actual gift but that puts me in this scenario: now I've been given the "gift" of standing in that long line for an hour to return it for store credit because I wasn't given a gift receipt, all the while hopefully gazing at the people skipping into the store with their gift cards getting straight to business. Oh the agony. This makes no sense to me. Almost like they just want a boxed gift to be wrapped under the tree to add the the already over the top decor. There's a simple solution to this. You take a big box, throw in the gift card, stuff it with heavy objects or tissue paper, and wrap the damn thing. There. Now you have a nicely wrapped box to put under the tree.
