'Tis the Season for Giving

Every year, I find the process of Christmas shopping less and less fun. When I was younger, I used to love Christmas shopping, and I would spend days searching for just the perfect gift for everyone on my list. These days, not so much. I’ve done about 70% of my shopping, and most of that was over the internets.

I try to make things easy for anyone giving to me. If anyone asks what I want, I tell them about my Amazon wishlist or some other easily available items. Yes, this takes the surprise out of Christmas, but it saves me from having to feign enthusiasm for crockpots and Princess Diana commemorative plates.

Unfortunately, my parents don’t seem to grasp the concept of the Amazon wishlist. Last year, my mother told me that she ordered stuff from my list, but from Barnes&Noble.com, because Amazon “didn’t work.” And my dad printed out the list and took it to Borders, because he “didn’t want to get cookies on my stepmother’s computer.” (I’m pretty sure my dad doesn’t actually understand the concept of cookies.) So, I got duplicates of several items. Obviously, this is not the end of the world. One would rather get too much than nothing at all.

One item that both Mom and Dad ignored was the (then) new Madonna CD I had asked for. My father muttered something about “I didn’t raise you on the Clash and the Ramones so you could listen to that crap” and mother just said “Madonna? Really?” in a disappointed voice. At least I don’t need to worry about getting two copies of VIP: The Complete First Season.