Advent Calendar December 19: Shopping

Ah, a subject fit to nearly every woman's heart! Today's theme for the Advent of Christmas Memories Calendar is Christmas Shopping:

How did your family handle Christmas Shopping? Did anyone finish early or did anyone start on Christmas Eve?

I remember as a child, after learning the true meaning of Santa Clause, waiting at home with my brothers while my parents went shopping. When they came home, we had to be upstairs so we wouldn't see what they were bringing in.

After we'd moved to Arizona, my parents changed tactics. They'd pick one weekday between Thanksgiving and Christmas and each take that day off work. They'd go to the mall and do all the shopping on that day.

I used to enjoy doing a little shopping each weekend day during the holidays. I loved going to the mall in the midst of the craziness the day after Thanksgiving. Until I worked for Target as a cashier. After those 4 years were done, I rarely shopped the day after Thanksgiving.

These days, I shop when I get the energy to. My biggest problem the last several years is getting it done on time to ship the gifts off to my family out of state. One brother lives in Georgia, the other in various states. As it is, my gifts to Georgia just got shipped via UPS today. They said there's a chance it'll get there Monday, but a good chance the day after Christmas, too.