Everyone knows there are several stages a person goes through as they begin Christmas shopping. Essentially, the closer you get to Christmas, the more panicked you become.
First, there's the Christmas shopping you do throughout the year. You casually find a dish set for your mother-in-law or stumble across that sweater your sister has been dying to get her hands on. Maybe you pick up some presents while you're on vacation in September that you know will make great stocking stuffers.
Then, Black Friday rolls around. You compile a list of stores to visit immediately after Thanksgiving dinner to get the best deals. You groggily rush your way from store to store, desperately looking for the pair of boots on your roommate's wish list. You finally make it to the right store just as someone else is picking the boots up off of the display. You swear that you saw them first. You start yelling at each other, until the store manager "asks" you to calm down and step outside.
You don't have the boots and Christmas is approaching fast. Next, comes the Amazon shopping. You end up buying yourself three pairs of jeans, a set of wine glasses and at least one gadget that no one really needs, but you don't buy a damn thing for anyone else. Well, except for your cat. You bought the cat a giant pack of toy balls, but you still don't have a present for your significant other. But, there's still time. It's only December 1st!
But, you get so busy at work that you "forget" to go Christmas shopping and by "forget" I mean, decide to take a bubble bath and drink wine every night for a week instead of braving the cold weather. Now, there's only a week and a half left before Christmas. You contact all of your old high school friends out of desperation. LipSense, Avon, LuLaRoe-you name it: that's what everyone's getting for Christmas.
But then, of course there's still the men you have to shop for. You swear it's fine-you'll just make a quick Target run to get some movies and treats for them. $200 later, you walk out with five new pairs of shoes, a new theme for your kitchen, and still no presents.
December 23rd rolls around so you admit defeat and walk into the nearest WalMart. The parking lot is packed from all the last minute shoppers and parents trying to find the one toy Santa promised to bring their child, which has been sold out since December 15th. You wander around aimlessly moving from one ransacked shelf to the next, looking for anything that could possibly work as a present.
Gift cards. You walk past the gift cards. And just like that all of your Christmas shopping is done.
