Armchair shopping gets the job done

Okay, I'll admit. I'm having too much fun shopping online this year.

Mall decorations are worth the trip.

Yes, the mall decorations were fun to see the other night, and I did enjoy watching some young boys chatting with Santa Claus, but I just couldn't get into all the piles and piles of merchandise and swarms of panicked gift seekers everywhere I turned.

Nothing looked good to me. It all just reeked of excess.

Hubby and I took a spin around the mall to say we saw the signs of the season and I had a bit of fun using some store coupons to bag a few good deals. You know, those $10 gift cards the stores send where you only need to spend $10. Free stuff! I'd be a fool to not use them, right? But the trick is to find something useful and not bring home anything you don't need just because it's free.

Well, I managed to get my fill at the mall, we made it home tired, and I thought about the night, realizing that I didn't want to do much more of that this holiday season.

I thought about alternatives. Although I don't like getting a lot of snail mail, I do appreciate a fresh catalog just delivered. Piled in our mailbox, they always hold a promise of good stuff to ponder with all their artful and creative pages, yes, enticing you to buy. And catalogs usually lead me to company websites, since I like to search and browse online also.

Now, don't get me wrong. I have done and still do my fair share of reality store shopping. Yes, sometimes there's nothing like touching and feeling a purchase you're considering. But I've found that if you get to know the quality of a store's merchandise, online shopping can be a satisfying experience. And you can always read reviews from other shoppers to get a sense if what you've found will work for you.

So what's this weary shopper to do? This holiday season, I'm virtually shopping, online, that is. It's a good thing that's working for me and many others too.

Here are just a few reasons to consider trying this out yourself if you haven't already:

1. You can still experience the thrill of the hunt with plenty of bargains to be had online. 
2. The world is at your fingertips with easy access to unique gifts for everyone on your list, including you. (I'm a charter member in the one-for-me, one-for-you club.)
3. You're not spending time and wasting gas driving all around from here to there.
4. More time for family, fun, and relaxing since there's no need to stand in long lines and fight crowds for the gifts on your list. 
5. It's always nice to have a delivered package waiting for you at home after a long day at work, especially if some are for you. 

Not sure if online shopping is for you? Maybe try it for at least some of the gifts you want to get this year. See if shopping from your armchair or kitchen table works for you.

Then when you do make it to the mall, enjoy the sights and sounds, have a bite to eat, and take a stroll through the crowds, knowing that you don't have to be there, but you're having fun because you want to be there.

Good luck! Let me know what works for you.

Until next time, yours in fun and stress-free shopping...Therese

A good reason to visit the mall: To see the man in red.

Great but different expectations

I have no anxiety about being ready for Christmas. And I like it this way.

For more years than I'd care to admit, I thought too much about the perfect Christmas. Maybe it was because I had three little ones to surprise and delight, but there were years I'd aspire to finish my holiday shopping by November 1. Then a light bulb went on one year (or did it dim?) and I moved up my goal to September, until finally I dreamed about being done all my holiday shopping the summer before! It was all-consuming to "be done," but yet I never was. No matter how early I started, I'd still always be doing stuff right up until the end. Now I chuckle and think what nonsense was all that?

I can remember years where I'd have a bad dream that I forgot someone. I remember one year when I really did. I remember years when I was sewing like a fiend right up until it was time to attend a family party because I insisted that gifts for relatives had to be homemade (during brief delusional episodes). I remember years when I didn't get to bed Christmas Eve night until 4:30 a.m. because everything had to be just so.

So what's changed? I don't know for sure, but I think it's a combo that my children are all adults now and a realization that none of us really need anything. My goal for years has been to simplify (I'm still working on it) and another holiday tchotchke is the last thing I want or need.

What's always been important to me to celebrate Christmas has been good food, family, and friends. So I wasn't too far off track. Now that the kiddies are all grown, the food is more important to them, too. Although I have fond memories of those times, Christmas morning is no longer about the kiddies waiting patiently at the top of the stairs while exhausted mom and dad try to catch a few winks before giving the okay to scurry downstairs to open presents.

Once the children reached high school and college, their ideal Christmas morning was to sleep late, lounge around in pajamas, and indulge in what became our customary all-out Christmas brunch. Turns out everyone wants to enjoy the food around the table now before we even open gifts. And all that is okay with mom and dad. Certainly no arguments from us on a day to chill out with good eats and family.

No longer do I have a gift list to work from or goals to shop the sales and find the latest hot toy Santa told me one of our kiddies asked for. Yes, those were good times, but it's just as good now. No more panic-ridden thoughts racing through my mind to keep me up wondering whether I've found the perfect gifts. No more stress that it all has to be done by a certain date early in the season.

It took some time, but I've learned it all gets done. And if it doesn't, oh well. My parents love gift cards (Trader Joe's is a favorite) and the kids are so much easier to shop for as adults. I really only need one slow-paced day (treating myself to lunch and some gifts for myself along the way!) to accomplish my holiday shopping.

And I used to think that it was the worst to be out shopping right before Christmas, but now I find it's fun to enjoy a spirited day shopping with no pressure just a few days before the 25th.

Did I lower my expectations for a "perfect" Christmas? No. I'll always have great expectations for this special time of year. It's just great now in a different way. And that's just fine since health, food, and family are all we really need.

Until next time, yours in fun and great expectations...Therese