The Early Birth catches the Worm!

Holiday Gourmet Gift Basket

Every year I wait until the llth hour to decide and get my holiday gifts.  It is tense and irritating to me and I become so overwhelmed that I become a different bellyaching person to everyone I meet.  I end up feeling embarrassed at my childish behavior and I take out my dawdling mania and freak out on everyone else.  Last year I winded up going to the jewelry store in the mall and just getting something as they were closing.
I pleaded with the store clerk to keep it open and spent 8 times more than I normally would have on my wife's gift.  She didn't even like it and returned it and since we were saving money for a Caribbean vacation cruise she was really displeased with me.  The jewelry store would not take it back and would only exchange for something the same value.  This year my plan was to shop the day before Thanksgiving and be completed.  Here it is the second week in December. I just cannot go to the mall or even to stores and fight the crowds.  I hate shopping.  My friend Jason called right after the game and told me his brother never goes in a store for Christmas gifts.  He lives in Denver and likes to support local stores and his favorite is Baskets by Rita, a company out of Aurora.  He said this year he really preferred to keep supporting an Aurora business after the July shooting.  We spoke and tonight my Christmas shopping is complete!  DONE WITH CHRISTMAS SHOPPING...hurray.  I bought really nice holiday baskets online for my parents and they will get there on the east coast by Friday...my parents will be so delighted to receive an early gift from me.  I also noticed holiday gourmet baskets for my sisters and brothers.  They are so tough to buy for and hard to please, but I know they will exhibit the basket as a adornment for their open house party next weekend and then they'll open it and distribute all the goodies.  Excellent gift.  For my wife, her business is so stressful this time of year that I ordered a spa type basket for relaxation and I am having it delivered to my Denver office.  There's a spa by our house and I ran over today and obtained the gift card which I'll include with her card.  On Christmas Eve I can saunter into the house with the beautiful basket and I'm done.  I assured my wife I wouldn't wait and that we'd each pay under $200 on each other.  Excellent remedy.  A secret...know when I did all this?  I ordered all the baskets, the gourmet ones for my brothers and sisters, the one for my parents, the Colorado Christmas ones for my five important clients and my wife's basket today during commercial breaks while I watched football.  I even ordered a New Year's basket for my boss who will be out of the country until December 30.  No malls, no crowds, no crabbiness.  It was astonishingly simple and I know I spent less than I normally do when I run out and just grab whatever at the last minute.  And being in Denver we got loads of calls after the terrible July Aurora shooting at the theater. I will mention to folks when they call to thank me that I sought to support and use a small Aurora business.  Gift giving made hassle-free. Best answer to holiday gifts.