I guess this is one of those throwaway lines we all say when we have nothing else to say. It’s like “Is it cold enough for you?” (which I got just two days ago).
The answer, in case you really want to know, is “No. I am not ready for Christmas.” The question itself reminds me of just how burdensome Christmas is in today’s society. Why should I have to get “ready” for a holiday? Why is this holiday so difficult to get ready for that the standard question is “Have you done all the crap you need to do?”.
This year I am pretty sure I have bought the fewest number of presents ever. It’s Friday, two days before Christmas, and I just placed an order on Amazon Prime Now for the last present I am buying. The other two presents I bought were also on Amazon. And I am done. Tywana and I shopped together for Kayla. We have agreed, like we do every year, not to buy anything for each other. We got Fitbit bands on a Black Friday deal. Those are our gifts to each other. Usually, we end up buying something for each other anyway. This year we’re sticking to it, though.
Christmas is a time when we spend money we don’t have on junk other people don’t need. With kids, it’s worth it to see the joy on their faces and Buying those unexpected gifts for people is great, except then they feel guilty that they didn’t get anything for you because we don’t actually give gifts on Christmas. We exchange crap. We even set dollar limits on what we’re going to buy for each other in many cases. Then, there’s the gift card. “I couldn’t decide what to get you, so, go get it yourself. Oh, from this place.”
If I could, I’d totally opt out of Christmas this year and probably every year from now on in. Buying for Tywana is nearly impossible. When she sees something she wants, she gets it. I still enjoy buying for Kayla. But, in general. Christmas. Bah humbug.
