I was reminded yesterday why I always try to get my Christmas shopping done by the week after Thanksgiving! The three older girls had some shopping left to do and babysitting money burning a hole in their pockets, so we consolidated our travels and made a game plan. We left the house at 9:30 AM.
Our first stop was to stop at a friend's house to drop off some gifts. I ended up visiting over a cup of tea while watching the children attempt to break their necks sliding down the icy snowy hill. So we didn't get back onto our errands until 10:30.
The bank was actually relatively quick and easy. Then, we hit the traffic. Where did all these people come from?!? Don't these people have jobs!?! We made our way to the shopping center and again we were amazed at how full the parking lots were. Of course the mountains of snow that were piled in the centers of the lots taking up 40-50 spaces didn't help the situation.
After getting in and out relatively quickly we battled the traffic yet again. We had to add a stop to our list as the first place didn't have what we were looking for. By now it was 12:30 and our plan for meeting dad at his part-time job for lunch was out the window. In fact, having lunch at all was in question.
At our next stop we stood at a sign that read: "From this point, only a five minute wait." We stood at that sign for 10 minutes. I know this because Hannah had a watch and thought it would be fun to time it; calling out the time as each minute passed. The woman behind me was thrilled. Her audible sighs after each of Hannah's announcments told me of her joy.
We decided to drop two stops from our list and see if we could catch up with my husband. We arrived at his job to find he had given up on us ever showing up for lunch. He had gone to get something to eat. While waiting for him to return we had a very nice conversation with one of Sam's co-workers about homeschooling.
Sam and I revised our plans when he returned to work, we switched vehicles, and I headed home to drop off the girls and head to my 4-H leader meeting. Again, the traffic was amazing. People with a "Gotta get that gift" crazed look in their eyes were driving like maniacs. I have a lead foot and I was being passed like I was standing still!
I much prefer having the peace of knowing my shopping is done. I much prefer staying home, baking cookies, and singing carols. Next year I will insist the girls finish their shopping by the week after Thanksgiving too!
2 comments:
I'm not looking forward to it. We're done with our Christmas shopping, but paychecks fall such that we will be doing our normal two week grocery & supply shopping this weekend. ugh. We're hoping to avoid most of the crowds by going first thing friday morning....
I still do need to food shop for our annual Pre-Christmas Brunch. My first stop will be BJ's Wholesale club and hopefully they will have everything I need. If not, then I am off to Big Y. My intention is to shop tomorrow after the dogs go to the vet, Sam plays Santa, and Hannah has her Dr. appointment. Then the fun part: I get to cook and bake, etc!
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