Thursday, December 22, 2011

Christmas List

Mike's family tradition for Christmas gifts involved making lists of what you wanted for Christmas so the purchaser of the gift just had to go shopping from that list.   Do any of you do that?  That makes sense for the  kids, I think, as they always had a certain toy or something that was filling their dreams.  It was fun to get them exactly what they were wanting.

For me, though, I have always found it difficult to cooperate with his request for a list from me.  It takes away that element of surprise I guess.  I love getting gifts that are totally unexpected, something that says the purchaser saw something cool and thought of me.  However, that is hard to do, especially when rushed.  I know that feeling of panic when nothing seems like just the right gift so I can see that a list can be helpful.

I tried to think of something I could use.  I thought about my closet.  It is FULL.  Sure, I have many times when I don't see just what I want to wear but I definitely have more clothes than I need.

I looked around the rest of the house and what I saw was a house full of stuff.  I have too much stuff!  I have to organize stuff, clean stuff, dust around stuff, put away stuff and find stuff among the stuff.  Sometimes I feel burdened by my stuff.  Do any of you ever feel that way?

That's when it came to me! 

For Christmas, I asked Mike to take away stuff from me!

I was proud of myself but for some reason that didn't go over with Mike.  That's just as well.  He might take away the wrong stuff.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

We're definitely list makers. Or, well, I am -- I love to have ideas of things that people want. Never quite sure on that whole "surprise me" thing -- I might be setting them up for a regift, which I guess is ok, too! LOL! One thing I've thought about the last couple of years, though, is to give the gift of charity. We all have too much stuff, don't we? So why not give a gift to the charity of our choice, or a charity we know our loved one likes, in their name? I think that would make a tremendous gift. :) Can't wait to see you!

Maria Rose said...

Maybe he could just gift you with 30-100lbs of stuff editing without saying a word.

EJN said...

Laughing OUT LOUD, RIGHT NOW! Too Funny. I agree, my Christmas break plan after Christmas is to organize the too much stuff and pear down!
On my list this year -
Turkey platter,
Gravy Boat,
Books
Easy-Peasy!
Blessings to you Funny One,
Love
Jojo

affectioknit said...

I definitely know that feeling..and one of the blessings of packing to move (and there aren't many) is that you really do get rid of a whole lot of stuff you don't need...

Have a lovely day!

Darla said...

Merry Christmas, Sue & Mike!! Your writing has been a wonderful gift for me this year!! I love your sense of humor & your outlook on life!! I too laughed out loud today!! I have way too much stuff, but some of it is precious!!!

Victoria said...

As I am reading this, I am just taking a break from organizing STUFF!! Too funny.

Onlythemanager said...

Kate, I like your idea. We have done that in the past and I'm not sure why we didn't do it again this year.

Victoria and EJN, you are starting to inspire me. Maybe next week I will organize and give-away more stuff.

Affectionknit, you have been on my mind and in my prayers a lot lately. Endings are so hard and new beginnings are so exciting!

Maria, good plan.

Onlythemanager said...

Darla and Victoria, thanks. I love it when I can manage to make someone laugh...or even just smile.

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