Holiday Shopping Flurries

I have officially completed all of my Christmas shopping!! I am so proud of myself. Typically, I am the nutty one shopping on Christmas Eve scrambling frantically to find which good items are left. I would always manage to find a eclectic selection. For example, unique cooking utensils for my step-mom or an array of odd-named hot sauces and booze for my Dad. My mom is easy to buy for, she loves gift cards! My older sister is the same, show her the money! My younger brothers and sisters used to be easy, but now their in high school and it is real tough! Needless to say, I found them all gifts (ok, so I went the easy route and got some gift cards too) BEFORE Christmas week.
Score:
Brandi-1
Stress- 0.

When I was out shopping (and gift card hunting), I was amazed at how packed the parking lots were everywhere. My friend Corinne and I went to the mall and it took us ten minutes of driving around to find a parking spot! We walked into the mall and to put it lightly - it was "nucking futs"!! Every store was crammed to the brim. It felt like a Miley Cyrus concert had just let out. Teens and tweens ran around like monkeys, parents staggered from store to store with a glint of spiked eggnog in their eyes, strays barely scraped the wall attempting to escape the "lotion man." While it may seem a little extreme due to the holidays, this is the picture perfect reason why I despise going to the mall.

Expensive colognes, Gucci purses, the new Beatles Rockband kit, leather boots....they nearly hit me in the head as they flew off the counters! These items were not sale items either. Recession? Nah, I don't think so. People are still spending money just as much as they ever have!

Meanwhile, I am extremely grateful to be back in the comforts of home. Nat King Cole's Christmas songs is serenading the room on the radio, a heater is purring out warmth, and a bottle of red wine is tempting me from across the room.

SCORE:
Home-1.
Mall-0.