I love Christmas shopping. I usually start making idea lists
in July of things I can get for the people I love. My amazon.com wish list is 4
to 5 pages long with items I have seen that I think JB, the kids, or any of my
other family will love. I spend weeks plotting, buying and wrapping the perfect
gifts. It is possibly the most fun I can have (legally). My family will tell
you I am a GREAT gift giver.
Remember the scene in Christmas Story where Ralphie is so
excited to open his present and is convinced it is going to be the Red Ryder
air rifle he has been asking for? He opens gift after gift expecting to find
the rifle but keeps getting things like socks and bunny pajamas. Well over the
years I have gotten socks, a winter coat, an alarm clock, a box to hold my
books, a lapel pin (shaped like an angel) and a jar of spaghetti sauce.
Needless to say, I have had plenty of practice at pretending I like my gifts. I
should be a pro by now. But I’m not. I’m horrible at it.
I can’t even make the right face when I like the gift. You
know the one. The look that is surprised, excited and overjoyed all at once. I’ve
seen other people pull it off but I have never been able to master it. I just
end up looking constipated or like I’m about to cry. When I opened the lapel
pin I actually said, “What am I supposed to do with this?” I’m a horrible,
horrible person.
Just thinking about opening presents gives me anxiety. Christmas
with its multiple gifts and social settings is my ultimate nightmare. I think I
should be allowed to give everyone their presents, watch them open them and
then fade stage left. But alas, no one will let me do this. So, I am asking everyone
I know for advice on how to overcome the social awkwardness that is Christmas
gift opening.
Any ideas/suggestions?
Cassandra, I feel your pain as I have EXACTLY the same problem. Here's how I've solved it .... I either tell people EXACTLY what I want and send them the links to the items OR as with Rob particularly, I go to my friend Dana's shop (she's a jeweller in Studio City), choose my gift and tell her to keep it by for Rob to pick up. Problem solved and everyone is happy!
ReplyDeleteWas my gift the angel lapel pin or the spaghetti sauce? I don't remember....
ReplyDeleteMarina - good advice. I am getting better about telling people what I want. Now I just need to work on letting the joy show when I open the gift.
ReplyDeletelol... no your gift was new contacts. One of the best presents EVER.
ReplyDelete