Well, it's official! The holiday season is upon us. With it the snow softly covered my house this morning as well. I must admit I wasn't quite ready to see the white stuff covering my car BUT we did almost make it to December this year before seeing it fall.
So, For the past couple of months I have been busy preparing all sorts of things for this year and I still feel like I have not even started. Where does the time go? It's not like I haven't been busy. I have spent many days and nights working on gifts for friends and family as well as adding a stock pile to my store. But as I said it seems like I have gotten no where fast. I thought I was doing pretty good But apparently I was only fooling myself.
My children are older this year and with that age comes a much longer Christmas wish list filled with a few more expensive toys than previous years. Now I know I have my limits as well as my budget has limits too but I just can't believe the cost of some "toys". I remember back in the day when the Atari gaming system was the hot item that everyone had to have under the Christmas tree. I think back in the day it cost around $80 - $100 bucks (not really sure about the price but I'm ball parking it). It wasn't exactly cheap back than BUT it was more geared towards family entertainment than just one individual. Now we have all of these hand held devices that would put my poor Atari into a coma. We have gaming devices that can immediately excess the internet where we can conveniently play our games with our friends while we are in the line at the super market all the while never actually ever having to have any social contact with said friend. Most of our devices today are geared to just that thing. Making everything so readily available that social contact is becoming absolute. It's a shame really. I remember the good ole days of hanging out with my friends just for the sake of hanging out when we had nothing better to do. Some of my fondest memories are of such gatherings. Today we are so busy tweeting about our lives, facebooking about our lives and consumed by all of our other gizmo gadgets that human contact becomes irrelevant. And the cost of these said gadgets could send any parent into near hysteria. My 8 year old asked for a lap top and a Nintendo DS this year for Christmas. Now the first request I pretty much laughed at! A lap top for my 8 year old!!! Just what does she think she needs a lap top for at 8 years old?? I did do some checking into the Nintendo DS thing though and was a little surprised. The device itself is about $120-$160 depending on what kind you want and than the games are at least another $20 bucks a piece. So much for being affordable! Well, there goes a big portion of said Christmas budget and that would be for just one present??? I just can't justify it! Maybe when she is older and can understand that that will be the only present waiting under the Christmas tree but for this year I guess that particular present will have to remain on the wish list a while longer.
So now I am on the hunt for some more reasonable Christmas gift suggestions. Anyone out there have some ideas to throw my way? I am open to all sorts of ideas. Come on throw them at me. I only have so many shopping days left!
