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December 11, 2005
Holiday Happenings
On the holiday front, I have made it through the phase of Christmas shopping where I browse for hours and buy nothing. I've moved on to the phase where I buy and buy and buy with hardly a thought about whether a gift is suitable for the recipient or not. This I blame on all of the holiday candy that has appeared in our apartment. We have party leftovers: fudge, cheesecake, and gingerbread. We also have sugar cookies and baklava from Derek's annual pilgrimage to Sahadi's. And we're planning to make more fudge and sugar cookies shortly. I'm on a sugar high. I blame the bad gifts on the sugar. And Christmas-is-two-weeks-away panic. Last year, I started early and managed not to BUY so much. I also asked everyone else not to buy so much, to avoid all of the unnecessary commercialism and waste. This year, there's so much going on that I've fallen into some old bad habits -- mainly buying stuff because I can't be bothered with finding substitutes (like museum memberships, tickets, donations, etc.). I did buy books from the used bookstore, and I'll get tickets to something, but I have not been as good as I was last year.
I also have a chronic habit of buying way too much for two people on my list. My mother (because she has reminded me of four thousand things she might like to have, and I know what she likes, so everything jumps out at me as a possible Mom gift), and Derek's almost-one-year-old nephew Xander (toys and baby clothes are just irresistible). Luckily, Xander's birthday is December 26th, so I have an excuse.
Today, thanks to Derek's superior knowledge of discount shopping in the city (if there were a degree offered in this area, he would be a good candidate), we shopped ourselves silly at Pearl River -- a chinese department store on Broadway and Canal. I had never been but I think it will be a standard holiday shopping destination from now on. It has aisles full of great stocking stuffers -- art deco alarm clocks, fancy chop stick sets, unusual Asian candy, slippers, bowls, etc. It was fun just to walk through the place and gawk. I bought a new teapot, which I hopefully will not lose the whistler for and burn to a crisp. We visited a favorite Chinatown restaurant afterwards -- Vegetarian Dim Sum House, for corn cimcheecongee (great corn soup) and dumplings.
Posted by csageday at December 11, 2005 11:36 PM
Comments
I think it's quite right and proper to shower your mother with gifts - no reason to feel guilty particularly since you find the best stuff. Remember we live in the drear of the suburbs where interesting and unusual is anathema.
PS - spell check camaraderie!
Posted by: Mom at December 12, 2005 05:10 PM
One more thing...
Have you released the rest of us now to shop with abandon?
Posted by: Mom at December 12, 2005 05:12 PM
Mom, you are my spell checker, didn't you know that? Well, you and Derek. I'm too lazy to do it myself. And regarding the gifting: Absolutely not! Restrain yourself! Our apartment is tiny and consumerism is bad. Except, of course, when you're buying things I desperately need and can't live without (like, say, chocolate). I'll make a list.
Posted by: Cindy at December 13, 2005 12:41 AM
Since we are talking about spelling, I know that I didn't eat any "corn cimchee" in Chinatown, although I enjoyed our "corn congee."
Posted by: D at December 13, 2005 11:10 AM
Oh, man. Tough audience. Thank you, Blue Sage editorial staff.
Posted by: Cindy at December 13, 2005 01:20 PM