It appears that this past “Cyber Monday” (the Monday after Thanksgiving) broke all records for online shopping.
As a youth my family was always very organized and efficient when it came to holiday gift giving. I exchanged gifts with my parents, my sister, my bachelor Uncle Ted (my father’s brother), and my “old maid” Great-Aunt Tess (my father and Ted’s aunt). Each Thanksgiving after dinner at a local restaurant we would return to my uncle’s house and exchange “Christmas Lists” on which we each identified exactly what we wanted for Christmas. Considering my sister’s and my limited spending allowance, the lists of the grown-ups always contained several inexpensive items. Each person would, in turn, leave the room while the others would decide who would purchase what.
This was a great system. I never had to wonder what to get my family for Christmas, and, unless there was a size issue, no gifts were ever returned. Plus I was assured that I would get at least some of what I really wanted each year.
We continued with this system through my adult life, after my aunt and uncle went on to their final audit, until we finally decided to no longer exchange gifts at Christmas several years ago (although my mother would still give my sister, my father and I a “stocking” with mostly nominal items – up until they moved into an Assisted Living facility last August).
In my adult life I only added three people to my annual gift list – and also used the list system, at least where my shopping was concerned. I was given a selection of items to choose from, most of which could be purchased online. I would complete my shopping in front of my computer early in December. Now that two of the three have moved to Florida I no longer purchase any Christmas presents for anyone.
For those of you who still shop – you may want to check out the “Jeremy Vohwinkle's Financial Planning Blog” posting on “Tips to Save Money This Holiday Season”.
TTYL
As a youth my family was always very organized and efficient when it came to holiday gift giving. I exchanged gifts with my parents, my sister, my bachelor Uncle Ted (my father’s brother), and my “old maid” Great-Aunt Tess (my father and Ted’s aunt). Each Thanksgiving after dinner at a local restaurant we would return to my uncle’s house and exchange “Christmas Lists” on which we each identified exactly what we wanted for Christmas. Considering my sister’s and my limited spending allowance, the lists of the grown-ups always contained several inexpensive items. Each person would, in turn, leave the room while the others would decide who would purchase what.
This was a great system. I never had to wonder what to get my family for Christmas, and, unless there was a size issue, no gifts were ever returned. Plus I was assured that I would get at least some of what I really wanted each year.
We continued with this system through my adult life, after my aunt and uncle went on to their final audit, until we finally decided to no longer exchange gifts at Christmas several years ago (although my mother would still give my sister, my father and I a “stocking” with mostly nominal items – up until they moved into an Assisted Living facility last August).
In my adult life I only added three people to my annual gift list – and also used the list system, at least where my shopping was concerned. I was given a selection of items to choose from, most of which could be purchased online. I would complete my shopping in front of my computer early in December. Now that two of the three have moved to Florida I no longer purchase any Christmas presents for anyone.
For those of you who still shop – you may want to check out the “Jeremy Vohwinkle's Financial Planning Blog” posting on “Tips to Save Money This Holiday Season”.
TTYL
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