Mid-Life Ramblings; Sanity Optional

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Starting and finishing shopping in one fell swoop

Since E is unemployed this year money has become scarce around the Barefoot household, therefore Christmas shopping got postponed until the last minute. Yesterday I went into near panic mode, freaking out about what we could afford and for whom. Then I realized that the adults in our life would completely understand if we didn't get them gifts until after Christmas. But the two little ones wouldn't really get it.

So it was off to find video games for Elyssa and Tyler last evening. I went in search of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Scooby Doo, Night of 100 Frights but quickly found, both online and by calling local stores, that I wasn't the first one with this idea.

That's why 6 pm found me at Toys R Us. May I just say "UGH!!!" ? The parking lot was atrocious. I had to park out by the highway and hike to the store. Upon entering the place, the crowd mood was foul. There were kids screaming while being dragged away from toys by their parents. There were folks growling at the long lines. The cashiers looked like they hadn't had a day off in three months. As I stumbled through the bodies to get to the video game area, I was quickly reminded of why I like to get my shopping done before Thanksgiving.

My search was in vain as they were out of both games I wanted. But I did get this for Elyssa and this for Tyler. They'll love them. We'll be playing them together by Christmas afternoon, I'm sure.

I was awfully thankful that once I left the store I was assured that my shopping was done. I'm not doing it again next year. I'm getting it done early. In fact, I may very well start knitting Christmas gifts in January. Everyone be forewarned. [vbg]