Making a list, checking it twice
We officially started out holiday shopping on Saturday. Yay us!
The thing is, shopping here is a nightmare any time of year. Really. There's no parking anywhere. The stores are small and crowded, the aisles narrow and cramped. It's never a pleasant or fun experience.
But the closer you get to Christmas, the worse it gets. And the stores run out of things! And don't order more. Or they close--I will never forget, our first year here, trying to order some Angelina Ballerina toys on December 10 for the Princess, and discovering that the online store with the widest selecton closed on December 5t and did not repoen until Jan 10th, "so the employees can spend the holiday with their families." Which is great, I mean, I'm all for employees getting nice long breaks, but it's frankly terrible customer service; what if something is broken or doesn't work? How do you survive with no Christmas shopping being done? Why not give your employees Jan 10th-Feb 15th off, or something, that way they get a nice long break and you actually serve your customers? Sheesh.
Anyway. We have started. And now I'm on Amazon, updating my wish list. I hate doing this. I can never think of things I want, and what I want more, and do I really want that?
This year I'm mostly putting cookware on my list. I have always wanted a nice set of Le Creuset. So I'm putting stuff on the list, or rather I will be as soon as I can figure out what color I like best. I'm thinking instead of all one color I'll get a mix of gray, light blue and dark blue; what do you think? (Of course I know I'm not getting a whole set all at once, but I'm sure I'll get a piece or two under the tree.)
What's going on your list this year? What's your big must-have? And have you started your shopping?
The thing is, shopping here is a nightmare any time of year. Really. There's no parking anywhere. The stores are small and crowded, the aisles narrow and cramped. It's never a pleasant or fun experience.
But the closer you get to Christmas, the worse it gets. And the stores run out of things! And don't order more. Or they close--I will never forget, our first year here, trying to order some Angelina Ballerina toys on December 10 for the Princess, and discovering that the online store with the widest selecton closed on December 5t and did not repoen until Jan 10th, "so the employees can spend the holiday with their families." Which is great, I mean, I'm all for employees getting nice long breaks, but it's frankly terrible customer service; what if something is broken or doesn't work? How do you survive with no Christmas shopping being done? Why not give your employees Jan 10th-Feb 15th off, or something, that way they get a nice long break and you actually serve your customers? Sheesh.
Anyway. We have started. And now I'm on Amazon, updating my wish list. I hate doing this. I can never think of things I want, and what I want more, and do I really want that?
This year I'm mostly putting cookware on my list. I have always wanted a nice set of Le Creuset. So I'm putting stuff on the list, or rather I will be as soon as I can figure out what color I like best. I'm thinking instead of all one color I'll get a mix of gray, light blue and dark blue; what do you think? (Of course I know I'm not getting a whole set all at once, but I'm sure I'll get a piece or two under the tree.)
What's going on your list this year? What's your big must-have? And have you started your shopping?
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