Thrusday, December 23, 2004 - Holiday Shopping Blues (and Reds and Greens)

Must remember not to tell Jewish bro-in-law Happy Hanukkah tomorrow at the Christmas Eve family gathering - the celebration is over already...and it would be like saying "happy halloween" when it's already mid-November...

I am happy to report that I did not rip open Return of the King. But, oh, the temptation!

As always, I had a bunch of "last-minute" shopping still to do this week. On Tuesday I packed up the kids and headed to the mall in the late morning. It wasn't too bad then but it was starting to get crowded when we left a couple hours later.

I get home with my packages and discover that I don't have one of the bags. Ugh. I probably left it on the floor when I was trying to get everybody's coats and hats back on, or someone could have just walked up and taken it, and I probably wouldn't have noticed. I'm betting on the former though - my view of humanity isn't too dim today.

Thankfully the package didn't contain an expensive gift (about $20 - none too pleasant, but it's not going to kill me). But, since Ironwolf insisted, I went back to the mall that night after getting the kids to bed. Customer Service didn't have the package (surprise, surprise), so I went shopping.

Let me tell you, the mall is a wonderful place to go shopping after 10 PM during Christmas week, when it is open until 11 PM! No crowds at all! Oh, it was heaven, and I finished up the last bit of shopping I had to do (including replacing the lost present).