Humbug

Whew! So, November is finally over. Between NaNoWriMo and spending half the month either legitimately sick or just generally feeling like crap, I kinda thought it would never end. And now that it's finally December, Christmas will be here before we know it.

I am really terrible at coming up with ideas when people ask me what I want for Christmas. Which is funny because I have no problem coming up with things I want to buy at any other time of the year. I think part of the issue is that my personal lists tend to be so specific that they don't really translate well to gift-giving. It either feels like a demand instead of a suggestion, or it's just easier to say "gift card."

I'm also really terrible at shopping for others. I wish I could be one of those people who gets more excited about giving gifts than receiving them, but I just can't, because I'm no good at it. I think I've had that experience of having the "perfect gift" and being so excited for the other person to open it maybe once or twice in my life. And, when I can get it right, yeah, it's great. But most of the time I'm not aiming for perfect; it's all I can do to come up with "not terrible."

And then there's the rest of the holiday preparations. Obviously buying and wrapping presents is a big part of it, but also stuff like sending out Christmas cards, which I think we've done once since we've been married. I might even be making that one year up. Always the best intentions, but I'll buy a thing of cards (actually I've had the same one for a while now) and realize it's just a few cards short of how many we actually need, but I never run out and get more. And then I realize we don't have current addresses for some people, and I try to figure out if it's worse to send cards to just some people or to send cards to no one. And eventually I just give up.

Also on the preparation front, I don't think we're doing the tree this year. We haven't really talked about it, but the elliptical is in the spot where we used to put the tree. I'm sure we could move stuff around and make room for it if we really wanted to. I think I'm more interested in putting up some decorations to make the place feel more Christmasy without having to put up the whole tree.

Here's what I need!

It's sort of hit or miss on whether we do it or not (this will be our sixth Christmas as a married couple, and we've put it up I think two, maybe three of those years). When we don't, I don't really miss it; when we do, I feel like it's not worth the work.

I don't know. I guess I've never been super into Christmas. As an adult. As a kid I loved it, even as an older kid. But as soon as I became an adult, Christmas became a huge pain in the ass. It seems like a HUGE time and money sink if you're going to do it "right" (and by "right" I mostly mean buying presents for everyone who buys you one otherwise you feel guilty, and turning your home into a winter wonderland). I mean, I love PARTS of Christmas. But it seems like the annoying and stressful parts outweigh the good parts, and as wonderful and magical as it CAN be, I kind of wish we could just skip it.

I know. I'm like the first half of a holiday special. Bring on the ghosts.