Blowing your wad

I've had several weeks to contemplate the perils and pitfalls of Christmas shopping.
Thank goodness,Christmas shopping has but one day left. I have to say, I was wary and fearful of shopping before the day, but now I must admit, I am more freaked out at the prospect of hitting the stores once again for boxing day. This, the most wild day in the history of consumer spending. Gone are the days when one toy was enough for the kids, a piece of jewelry would do for the wife or a power tool would suffice for the man of the house. Indeed, anything now bearing the slightest taint of domesticity or practicality can provoke serious discord in a family. It is in fact now the norm to out do yourself every year and it seems that the safest gifts are ones that contain a TV screen the size of either a living-room wall, a tiny device to store hoards of music or most recently, the coveted X-Box 360. The turmoil that swirled in my brain over that terrible responsibility in what to buy for the limited amount of people that actually got on my list this year was as much as if I had to buy for my entire past graduating high school class. My total budget, in sweaty hands, was something in the order of two hundred dollars...Ok, maybe a little more. Perusing the wares of every local shop in my neighborhood, in desperate search of something that would meet my budget, I was met with rude and pushy sales people, angry customers and over priced nonsense. At last, in a sweet shop, I discovered the perfect gifts for the ladies that keep me looking presentable to the rest of the world. The gifts were lovely jewel encrusted ornaments: butterflies, angels and other winged creatures. The looks on their faces as they opened the beautifully wrapped packages. With the exception of purchasing gifts on my favorite famed streets, I had the ease and pleasure of ordering product online. Here I was, worrying that the shopping for 2005 would leave me in the cold. Fortunately, credit cards and the internet allow for a whole new shopping experience and an ease that is indescribable. The only worry I was now faced with was whether the goods would actually arrive on time. Most made it quite clear that they would honor all orders placed before the 20th and guarantee their deliveries to arrive before Christmas. They didn't lie! Aside from birthdays, Christmas is the only time of year when I am forced to shop. I've often heard that shopping makes for good therapy. Shopping under pressure however, does not apply to this past time. It is important to know the prices of things before going head first into any purchase (this is what caused most of my headaches this year). I checked and rechecked, which was a huge undertaking, the prices of things, all in the hopes of being a good consumer. I bought CD's for a friend, a travel case for another, at least 5 boxes of gourmet chocolates (ordered online) and gift certificates for the remaining people on the list. In the end, I had spent every last cent I had put away on gift wrap, but I was smart and went to the dollar store.
So, boxing day will arrive in a flash, list of must haves in hand and I will be ready. One of my good friends claims that wearing your cup is a must and playing defense will save you from any grievous bodily harm. We agree!