The spirit of Christmas

Yupyupyup. It's that time of year again, when our thoughts turn to friends, to family, and most of all, to all the stuff we can buy to satisfy their need for new possessions for another twelve months.

Admittedly, I'm trying to be less materialistic these days...I don't buy much beyond groceries and household basics these days - books and CDs I haven't bought in Toronto for years now, and DVDs I rent pretty extensively. And definitely I don't need new clothes for quite a while.

Despite all that, I'm finding I'm falling into the pattern of getting one-for-you-one-for-me when I'm looking for Christmas presents this year. I blame this on my instinct to find bargains and chase them down to the ground (probably the part of me that reflects my ethnic heritage the most).

Buying a card to send somebody results in my thinking, "Oh. But I can get a box of sixteen cards for half price. And I'll even use them, one day. One day!" Buying half-price-but-still-pricey anti-gravity-anti-aging-anti-wrinkling-anti-everything lotion for m'mother results in my thinking, "AND it would be a waste to go to all this trouble and not find something for me..." Going into the mall to try and find something for the cousins results in me signing up for ten visits to the gym...(only $20 though!)

Bah.

And I still need to finish up, with the presents. I'm a lot closer to being done, though at least these days I have a good idea of what's left on my list, besides aimlessly browsing...