The clock is ticking. Black Friday is over.
As of tomorrow Christmas is twenty five
days away. The first Hanukkah candle is lit
twenty two days from now. Hence like it
or not most of us have a list that must be
checked off. Which is the reason that many
are ticked off. Whether you like to shop or
not isn't the issue. Finding the perfect gift
is. In part because the options are so vast
that it's hard to see the Christmas trees for
the forest. No wonder many are whirling
dervishes as they attempt to find something.
If only Santa could be your secret shopper.
Most of us love the holidays. However few if
any love the risk related procurement process.
Even the most passionate shopaholic struggles
with the plethora of "gifts" options available.
Many which serve no purpose except to be a
checks off their list. And destined to transition
from under another's tree to state of purgatory
known as the gift closet. Where they will sit
idle for years before ending up in the hands
of some unsuspecting white elephant, school
teacher, or mailman. Ample proof that holiday
gift giving is nothing but a viscous cycle. One
that seems hardly worth the time and effort.
All of the above seems to be a necessary evil.
That is unless the recipient of one's largesse
is a child. Seeing the holidays through their
eyes transforms even the most mundane of
yuletide tasks into magic. Motivation enough
to hunt and gather while deep in Santa mode.
Less than a month from now it will be over.
Then just one year from now we'll be back
in holiday hell. Could this frenzy be the gift
that keeps on giving and then some? Or is it
nothing but an unnecessary evil? Rather than
shop till we drop should we simply stop the
foolishness? To find the reason for the season?
