Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Thanksgiving is over; now for Christmas!

Well, really, BAH HUMBUG!  Tis the season to go out and buy stuff for people that they don't really want and is most likely fairly useless.  Joe asked me if I've got the lights up yet, NO!  I'm an atheist! 

We do have a small tree that we put up and put presents under but it's pretty low key.  We can celebrate the solstice a few days late.  It won't offend the earth.  We like the tree because it's a fake we bought while living in the Netherlands so it always reminds us of those days.  The lights may get changed out for some LEDs this year but I think that will depend on how the current ones survived the year.  The ornaments all have a story; some the kids made; some are from my wife's mom; some are Swarovski's that we bought when they did more than just put the year on a snowflake.  Like I said, there is a story for almost every one.  I'll post a photo when we get the tree up but it won't be for a while yet.

When I was growing up my folks had a clothing store.  In retail, December is perhaps a quarter of your year; maybe even more.  We were open 13 hours a day, six days a week.  We weren't open (still had 'blue' laws) but there was always work on Sunday as well.  Putting up the Christmas tree was about the last thing my folks had time or energy to do.  It usually waited until the Sunday before Christmas.  My wife's family was just the opposite, they would put the tree up soon after Thanksgiving.  After we got together we kind of compromised so it goes up when we get around to it. 

Gift giving among adults doesn't do a lot for me and I doubt if it does for anyone.  Not having any children around makes the whole thing much more somber.  We have a tradition of me giving my wife some sort of tool; one year it was a set of screwdrivers for her to keep in a kitchen drawer, that sort of thing.  It has become almost a joke but I still have to search Lowes & Home Depot for something.  Who else can claim to be in a family with his and hers Dremel tools?

If you've got a great idea, let me know.  This shopping thing takes way too much time!

1 comment:

JoeinVegas said...

My wife wants one of those new Dremels she sees on TV. Cheaper than jewelry, but with the attachments not by much.