Thoughts about Christmas

I dislike several things about Christmas, much to the chagrin of my friends and family. When pressed for my thoughts about Christmas, I usually narrow my entire dislike of the holiday down to one thing: consumerism.

This can be traced back to the epic Parking Lot Battle of 2004, my very first holiday season working in retail. It was Christmas Eve, I was supposed to be clocking into work in 10 minutes, and there was not a single vacant parking spot in sight at the gargantuan local mall, when behold!--I spotted a car's reverse lights turn on. It was beautiful.

A few other unfortunate circumstances, however, made the experience less beautiful. Gargantuan-Local-Mall's parking lots are designed for one way traffic down each aisle--and a car, coming the wrong way, sat with its blinker on, laying claim to what I felt was MY parking spot. I maintain that I was entitled to it, fair and square. I had driven the correct way down the aisle, as indicated by the arrow painted on the pavement, clear as day. I coasted into the spot, locked up my car, and was obscenely greeted by Angry Last Minute Shopper. To make this story short, and more palatable, I politely wished Angry Last Minute Shopper a happy holiday and went to work.

Angry Last Minute Shopper has been in the back of my mind every year between Black Friday and New Year's Day, through every near fender-bender, through every heated exchange I have overheard, every time I hear Duke Ellington's dizzying rendition of "Jingle Bells". There are many Angry Last Minute Shoppers in this world, myself included, who wait until the eleventh hour of the Christmas shopping season and bleed their wallets dry in the pursuit of the perfect gift for their significant others, friends and families. And how long are these "perfect gifts" remembered...or how long is it before they end up consumed and in the trash?

That is why this Christmas, I have pledged to not become Angry Last Minute Shopper. My goal is to create as many gifts that require thought and heart and a little bit of work as possible. It should be an interesting endeavor, as many of my plans require work in the kitchen, which was mostly off-limits growing up. My other plans are more crafty, but I anticipate them being tedious and I frankly have no idea how they will turn out. However, I will be documenting them religiously in order to determine what works and what does not, and hopefully by the end of this experience I can produce some DIY projects that other people would be interested in creating as well...or at least produce some entertaining stories.