Wife and I have not bought gifts for each other in over 20 years, my kids all tell me they need nothing. kinda nice.
The thing I really enjoy are stocking stuffers. The stockings are always over flowing with goodies. Lottery tickets, odds and end work shop or kitchen goodies.. garden stuff, gloves, hunting goodies and at least a little candy and a piece of citrus. Everyone gets a kick out of the unusual things I pick for each. One year I forgot the citrus and man did they all notice! Lol, but it's become their tradition.
I'm kinda a good hearted guy. Really enjoy helping others out. But not in the expected "time for gifts" thing.
My wife has figured out that she does better on the randomness. I'm lucky she likes plants and not cut flowers.
Enjoy and stay safe. To that I hope all our members and families in the south weren't harmed in last night's storms. Condolences to those that lost people or impacted in mother nature's fury. So much destruction, impossibly sad
Heard on the radio of a $100 challenge. A woman in St. Cloud invited 20 friends to Applebee's each brought $100 they had the meal and every one put their $100 in and said keep the change, the waitress got a $1700 tip. Who in the service industry doesn't need a little help this year?
Brought the dogs to the WMA for a walk, I forgot the utter joy the dogs have running thru the woods and sniffing it up. My dogs and me miss the hell out of having a patch of woods
Yesterday morning the wife won A $900 reclining chair in a contest the local radio stations put on. It was the top price. Today she pulls her hair out trying to find room for it in the Livingroom. We set an all time record for Christmas shopping yesterday afternoon. 3 hours and DONE !!! Actually was kind of fun as it went really good other then going over budget a little.
Got a text from my daughter this morning, they are headed over after the grandson gets up from his nap. Had to run to town for dinner ingredients. Can't wait won't even watch football till the lad heads home. So glad I moved closer to them.
Looking at a piece of land next Saturday, it will be auctioned off. If nobody buys the parcel in one piece I am in, hopefully. Nice to have hunting land within 6 miles from the house. Funny around here nobody wants wooded acres. I have had good luck with this property it is where I won my liquor cabinet at the auction of personal property.
I don't find it too hectic. Other Holidays were more hectic for us than Christmas. Christmas is basically two days and since my family generally got together on the 25th and hers on the 24th it worked out great and neither family had to change anything. What was hectic was trying to go both places for Thanksgiving and Easter. We got tired of that quickly and now rotate it each year, so this year for example we went to her parents for Easter and mine for Thanksgiving. Next year we'll do Easter with my family and Thanksgiving with hers. My sister and BIL still go to both family's get-togethers for all holidays. Holidays and family get-togethers shouldn't stress the heck out of you, that's what I tell them every single time they complain about running around like chickens with their heads cut off.
You do know that is a woman's state of mind for most holidays. Every year I'd LITERALLY drive my self ill at Christmas. This year I have gifts purchased and wrapped. Everything but kitchen cleaned ceiling to floor and all decorating done. This will be the first year I won't be up 24 hrs. straight trying to get things finished..I will relax at least the two days prior. I do miss the big family gatherings even though I'd complain about packing up to go and come home. Lots of memories made many way too funny some harrowing. Like the year we drove from my family dinner to his in a blizzard driving my Vega. Couldn't see 10 ft ahead and the snow banks on each side of the road was 10+ft high. The 30 min drive took two hours. Then the year MIL refused to serve dinner until FIL came back from picking up SIL' s from airport. This was before cell phones. We all woke up our VERY young kids to eat dinner at 12:30 a.m. then open gifts before driving home for Santa's turn. Yes sir, 3 angry mom's and several disgusted adults. A great story for many, many years. Enjoy the season.
