Not Quite Feeling It Despite All This And More
The only thing that feels to me like a credible sign of the onslaught of Christmas is the certainty that I will soon be putting on some extra pounds.
The above remark is equally true if I substitute the words “holiday season.”
It just doesn’t feel very holiday-y.
Partly it’s the weather; partly it’s because the season is already so worn out. (The decorations that felt premature on Halloween seem suddenly a bit old hat.)
But mainly, it’s the shopping (and more shopping). Even if I could afford either mentally or financially to buy a bunch of presents, neither me nor mine have any place to put the stuff. (Every once in a while, it would be nice to be able to jam shut a closet door.)
I also get these self-righteous feelings of denial on the part of the Planet.
So my current plan is to buy experiences as gifts.
(You thought I was going to say to make a gift donation to charity, didn’t you? And such donations are great, but they don’t always satisfy the gift imperative either for the donor or for the non-recipient–that is, the person on whose so-called behalf you are sponsoring the turtle, orangutan, heifer or bee hive.)
By gift of experience–I mean, a gift of tickets to the theater, a movie or concert. Or maybe a dinner out, museum admission, flight ticket; ski lift ticket, bowling alley entrance!
The idea is to give something (i) that doesn’t use up space, and (ii) actually benefits the local economy. And, if you are lucky, you too can partake of the gift–i.e. eat out with your donee! (Forget the extra pounds!)
PS – My exception to this newly-decided policy is the gift of books. Particularly, my new comic novel, Nose Dive, by Karin Gustafson, illustrated (terrifically) by Jonathan Segal. Or alternatively, Going on Somewhere (poetry) or 1 Mississippi (children’s picture book). Check the out! (And many thanks!)
ManicDDaily 
Recent Comments