Why I Should Hire a Gift Giving Detective For Christmas

Wow, it was sooooo crowded today shopping for Christmas.  I'm so glad everyone was still in merry spirit and not being rude.  It was funny though when the manager thought he'd be polite by saying, "Hello!" as he passed by.  I said, "Oh, hello Ron!" with a smile.  He practically had whiplash as he spun around to see if he knew me.  Well, he was wearing a name tag.  I love the look strangers get when you call them by name.  It always shocks and makes them smile.

Guys are easy to shop for.  At least for some.  Just buy them
video games.  This'll be my husband or my boys when they
are older.

I'm not a very good gift giver.  I love to give but it's such a science to me in getting the right gift for someone.  My mother-in-law and sister-in-law are such geniuses when it comes to picking out the perfect gift.  I'm always shocked.  How did they know I needed this?  However, when I'm Christmas shopping, I'll stand in one spot for 20 minutes trying to figure out if my niece would even like these pajamas or not.  Are they her size?  Is it her style?  Too babyish?  Argh!  Then I go to the boy section pick out gifts for my nephews.  Okay, at their age what are they into?  I don't know, I don't have young teens. Is THIS too young for their age?  Will they just scoff?  Give a fake smile?  Love it?  Hate it?  I hate the guesswork.  Then I get to the adults.  Man.... my brain begins to spin.  What if they already have this?  Will it just get returned, shelved?  Often I wish my entire family would just create Amazon wish lists so I can just click, click, click, pay.  Then it can be shipped to my house and I just wrap it.  Seriously, I go through this stress every year.

Usually, while my mind is tormented over WHAT to buy, my husband is trailing the shopping cart with a calculator in hand.  Ha ha.  I have to always explain that it's Christmas and it's better to give than receive. Don't get me wrong, we DO NOT go overboard.  Not even for our own kids. Also, we always pay cash so we have it or we don't.  The first Friday December we always set up our Christmas tree so we're excited!  Is Christmas buying a breeze for you or just as puzzling?  It's easy to buy for my own kids because I always know what they want. It just seems harder for anyone outside my own little family.