Doing holiday shopping ahead of time is so overrated. Leaving the gift-getting to the last minute will be sure to get your creative juices, and your adrenaline, flowing like rum and eggnog.
In the back of every Christmas gift-giver’s mind there’s a little voice that whispers, “Maybe you should start thinking about shopping for gifts,” right around November 1. Most of us ignore the whispers until, by the third week of December, there’s a screeching banshee in your brain telling you to run to the mall and throw handfuls of money at any store with stock still on the shelves. Secretly, though, we enjoy that last-minute stress. Why else would we ignore the little nudges for so long?
Sure, when a friend posts a smug Facebook photo showing off all of her holiday shopping wrapped and placed under her immaculately decorated tree you may participate in the obligatory “you’re amazing!” and “I’m so jealous!” comments. But what you’re really thinking is “That bitch be crazy.”
Putting off Christmas shopping allows for all sorts of benefits you miss out on when you get it all done by the beginning of December. When the old, reliable mall stores are out of what you’re looking for, you’ll be forced to expand your horizons and explore new shops and possibly exciting new areas of town.
One never knows what treasures await in the magical lands of industrial Langford. When even those areas prove to be less than fruitful, you get to let your creativity shine by thinking of a wholly original gift.
Maybe mom would really love that novelty belt buckle. Heck, you might even opt for making a present, which, whether it’s marshmallow squares or a macaroni necklace, is sure to fill you with enough pride to stifle that last-minute-shopper’s guilt.
Some might say that beginning to shop early allows one to carefully select each gift, putting real thought and care into what the person might really appreciate. But such care will just cause heartbreak if the gift is received with a forced, uncomfortable grin.
When you resort to last-minute shopping, you can blame that disappointment on your lack of time instead of being confronted with the harsh truth: you really know nothing about the person you’ve shopped for.
After all, Christmas is about tradition. And if you’ve spent the last few decades putting off your shopping, it would be downright Grinch-y of you to stop now.