Shopping. I hate it. So it’s no wonder this is my least favourite time of year. And it’s prolonged by the fact that my kids were born in September, October and November, my best friend in January and my mother in February.
Don’t get me wrong – I love the giving part. I just can’t stand having to decide what everyone else might want. And then there’s that other dreaded question – what would I like for Christmas or my birthday? (Which is in January, the day before my best friend’s.) Um… let’s see… a car? A new house? Just pay off my bills? Oh, okay. Socks will do. (No, seriously. I always need socks. Maybe I subconsciously named this whole prompt “SoCS” in order to give people hints on what to buy me for Christmas.)
I always leave my Christmas shopping to the last minute. My excuse is I don’t want to buy something and then the recipient gets it in the interim, and then I’ll have to take it back. AND come up with another idea. So I wait until everything I can think of has been bought by everyone who got their shopping done early and then I wander around aimlessly until, finally, I buy everyone a mug. Or socks. (Maybe in hopes that I’ll get them back? I don’t know…) The dog is NOT going to like his present this year if I can’t find anything better than socks. But I will take pictures before he eats them if that’s what he ends up with.
Alex wants to put the tree up this weekend. There’s another thing I dread. Untangling the lights and finding out which ones work, because I never manage to throw out the ones that don’t the year before. Hanging up all the old (some broken) ornaments from when the kids were small. Seriously, I’d like to throw a lot of them out and just keep the good ones. But the kids like them, so we end up with a tree that looks like the floor of a toddler’s room after they’ve trashed it. If the kids ever move out, I’ll buy all new decorations. Or decorate my tree with socks.
Ha! Who am I kidding. I’ll keep the lot of them and sob over them… even the broken ones.
This socky post was brought to you by SoCS, or Stream of Consciousness Saturday if you like. You can join in the fun, or just read more posts when you click here: https://lindaghill.com/2016/12/02/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-316/
December 6, 2016 at 11:24 pm
Just realized that there are a couple of lights not working anymore… not to replace them… grrr…
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December 6, 2016 at 11:35 pm
One of those times the OCD kicks in, eh? Remember when one bulb made the whole set go out and you had to replace every one of them until you got the right one? … or maybe only I’m that old. 😛 😉
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December 7, 2016 at 4:16 am
Oh yes! I remember that time too! It was so annoying… but now I wonder… back then we had to replace all of them. Now we stand in front of our creating nervously blinking as (as you said) OCD kicked in…
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December 4, 2016 at 7:59 pm
Reblogged this on saywhatumean2say and commented:
Thank Heavens Christmas comes but once a year! ~~dru~~
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December 4, 2016 at 8:48 am
Yep, socks for me too please.
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December 4, 2016 at 6:55 am
I, too, hate shopping. All those people. *shudder* the last two years I’ve done all my Christmas shopping online. Reduces a lot of my stress.
We haven’t put up our tree yet. I dread it, even though we have a fiber optic tree, so we don’t have to mess with the lights. Still, I have to dig it out of the closet and set it up, and this year try to make sure the pup leaves it alone.
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December 3, 2016 at 11:54 pm
Everybody needs socks. Unless maybe you live in Hawaii. I have a friend who gives everybody socks, every year. It’s her thing. I’d be happy with socks.
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December 5, 2016 at 10:05 pm
I’m not alone! 😀 I’d rather live in Hawaii though. 😛
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December 3, 2016 at 10:31 pm
I loved that, especially the end.
I cut back drastically on presents shortly after we were married. I think year two or three. At some point, I was wrapping the nine kajillion dollars worth of presents and I looked up at my husband and said, “For all this money, we could have gone to Florida to see my parents.” So I cut back drastically the next year.
I’m taking back my tree you know. This is year two of MY ornaments. Hehehe.
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December 5, 2016 at 10:03 pm
TWO of your own ornaments?! Holy moly, you’re a wild-woman! 😉
I so want to cut back. But I think I’m trying to make up for the fact that I’m single… It’s a psychological thing. 😛
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December 3, 2016 at 9:05 pm
Boy, do I empathize with that stretch of presents. We have one October, FOUR November, one December, one January, and one February. Yikes.
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December 5, 2016 at 9:57 pm
Oh boy! Now I don’t feel so bad. 😛 😉 ❤
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December 3, 2016 at 7:14 pm
I think I’ve found my twin. Loved this post. I always need socks too 😀
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December 5, 2016 at 9:54 pm
😀 Thanks, Jill!
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December 3, 2016 at 6:39 pm
OMG Linda, my sister hates Christmas shopping so late near the actual Xmas Eve event. I love shopping. Retail therapy. 🙂
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December 5, 2016 at 9:48 pm
Sounds like you need to find something she loves to do and you hate and then trade off doing them for each other. 🙂
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December 3, 2016 at 6:08 pm
I don’t shop any more for Christmas. We write checks, celebrate with food, company. It works. I use the mall for walking, and people-watch all the stressed-out gifters. ❣️
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December 5, 2016 at 9:44 pm
Ha! I’ll be watching for you. 😉
Your way sounds perfect to me, Van. 🙂
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December 3, 2016 at 5:56 pm
Keep all the ornaments. It’s what makes your tree special.
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December 5, 2016 at 9:26 pm
Yeah, I know. They’re all up there again this year. 😛 😉
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December 3, 2016 at 5:50 pm
Oh I am the same. I only celebrate it because of my daughter. I’m such a bah humbug! ha ha
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December 5, 2016 at 9:07 pm
I think there must be a reason that’s my favourite Christmas movie. 😉
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December 3, 2016 at 3:21 pm
Oh yeah, and I don’t decorate. I feel it detracts from the REAL meaning of the season (and it’s stressful too!)
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December 3, 2016 at 3:20 pm
I never liked shopping either. Which is why I’m always on the lookout for gifts so I don’t have to make a special trip (and get tied up in the traffic!) Too stressful that way!
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December 5, 2016 at 8:37 pm
Yep, buying them when you can get them without going out of your way is the way to go. 🙂
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December 8, 2016 at 5:23 pm
Wasn’t always like that! I’m getting better at this life thing as I age!
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December 8, 2016 at 10:38 pm
Good for you! You give me hope … going into my 53rd birthday in January. 😛
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December 10, 2016 at 9:39 am
It’s like everything else…practice makes perfect!
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December 10, 2016 at 9:48 am
😀
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December 3, 2016 at 3:08 pm
you can always buy underwear if you don’t want to buy socks. yeh, that sends a loving message.
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December 5, 2016 at 8:35 pm
Hehe. Yeah. 😉 😀
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December 3, 2016 at 3:01 pm
Reblogged this on HarsH ReaLiTy and commented:
Check out Linda’s blog and #SoCS – ‘Tis the season! -OM
Note: Comments disabled here. Please visit their blog.
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December 5, 2016 at 8:34 pm
Thanks, Cush. 🙂
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December 5, 2016 at 9:20 pm
No biggie Linda!
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December 3, 2016 at 2:42 pm
Read the words my feelings completely!
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December 5, 2016 at 9:46 pm
Hope and chaos – sounds about right. 🙂 ❤
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December 3, 2016 at 2:26 pm
Love you emphasis on socks. Enjoyed the read.
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December 5, 2016 at 8:38 pm
Thank you, Oneta. 🙂
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December 3, 2016 at 2:24 pm
We don’t do Christmas per se (long story). I decorate my housesit, and make cards some years, stockpile gifts others. Kinda haphazard. But there is a box somewhere of decorations from when I was a kiddliwink I would never part with broken or no.
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December 5, 2016 at 8:36 pm
Ah, those sentimental keepsakes, eh? 🙂
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December 5, 2016 at 9:23 pm
Especially the illogical ones!
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December 5, 2016 at 9:42 pm
Haha! Yeah, exactly. 🙂
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December 6, 2016 at 12:53 am
🙂
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December 3, 2016 at 1:37 pm
I can never get into the Christmas spirit properly until I have shopped for all the presents. Problem is, like you, I never know what to get people and stress myself out worrying about it! 🙂
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December 3, 2016 at 10:11 pm
I’m the same way, strangely enough. I hate doing it but it has to be done in order to feel better about the whole thing. Sort of like washing up. 😛
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December 4, 2016 at 2:31 am
Ha HA! Yes, exactly like washing up! 🙂
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December 3, 2016 at 1:26 pm
God invented the Interwebs for shopping (well, that and cat videos). I miss having a Christmas tree.
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December 3, 2016 at 9:44 pm
Yep, some of my shopping is coming from the internet this year. I’m always afraid of it not arriving on time though… 😛
Don’t you have room for a tree?
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December 3, 2016 at 1:16 pm
We have cats, so we don’t decorate, and we gave up Christmas shopping a few years ago, so we don’t have to hassle with the malls or trying to guess what everyone wants. Life is easier that way.
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December 3, 2016 at 9:37 pm
It must be! Not looking forward to keeping the dog away from the tree this year. Last year he was small enough to pick up. This year, not so much. 😛
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