Christmas presents

I like to believe that I am actually one of Santa's elves. I know that this goes against every part of my 6-foot-tall reality, and I would freeze my butt off living in the North Pole, but I love doing my part to distribute joy and goodwill through the holiday season. Ok, maybe I'm not always good at the goodwill part, still working on that. But I'm darn good at gift-giving.

Every year, gift giving is like an outrageous scavenger hunt for me. Starting in October, I start compiling lists and creating Excel spreadsheets with gift ideas, prices, and checklists for purchasing, receiving, and wrapping. And off I go, off into the great land of shopping. This year, that has been accomplished 99.9% online. I love having the FedEx guy deliver my presents right to me, instead of having to brave the packed parking lots of malldom. I am finished with my Christmas shopping, except for two items that I need to pick up at the grocery store, which I do not consider real Christmas shopping, more grocery shopping. I bought presents for 28 people this year (not including my coworkers, who get little token gifts). If you do not get a Christmas present from me, it is not because I don't love you, but because I ran out of money.

Last night, I spent a solid 2-3 hours wrapping presents in front of my TV. I was dismayed to find that "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown" is only a 25 minute video. I was thinking that it would last me throughout my wrapping process, but I was left with reruns of "Sex and the City", which entertained me as I was wrapping away. My hand-me-down fake Christmas tree is now happily sitting in a grassy field of presents. I was exhausted and crazy by the end. But my little elf self was very proud. It should be a fabulous Christmas.