Early Christmas shopping because of Iowa weather

Hi neighbors. In case you've forgotten, winter does not begin until Dec. 21. Of course, Mother Nature doesn't buy calendars so maybe she is unaware of that fact. Please, if you have any influence on the weather, I'd like a few more weeks of temps in the 60s at least.

Time is getting away from us all for Christmas shopping -- particularly for my family. Due to everyone's work schedules, and Iowa snowstorms of the past, we seldom can all be together for Christmas. Instead, we rely on Thanksgiving as our time to exchange gifts. At least to exchange gifts for those who live in Iowa.

Since Thanksgiving always seems to creep up on me unawares, I'm facing only one week's shopping time.

I never know what people want that they don't already have. My children have a habit of getting what they want when they decide they want it. They may procrastinate about a lot of things, but waiting for something they want badly is not in their natures.

So finding out about something they have wanted for a while is almost impossible. I try to rely on knowing what their on-going interests are, asking other family members if they already have it or not, and hoping for a smile when they open it.

My daughter is into dance, art, interior decorating, genealogy, writing, and photography. Now you would think I'd find enough gift ideas in those areas. I asked her if she knew what Alyssa and Karl would want and then added, "what about you?"

She said she wanted one or two really nice, expensive towels, muted colors, gray or green. Now that sounds simple enough. But, towels? Really? For Christmas? Maybe I'll wrap a big flashy necklace in one of those towels. She normally doesn't wear jewelry, but must wear it for her dance routines. And it has to have large enough stones or designs for the audience to see it.

Now, my granddaughter is 13. I know from experience that 13-year-old teens are not impressed with any gift that is not a back stage pass to their favorite band. I do know her current favorite band, but I also know she has all of their music, and has downloaded all of their videos. A gift card that allows her to buy more music on the Internet is a sure hit. But that's not much to hold onto after gift opening. I have to get her at least one thing more. My daughter suggested a T-shirt with her favorite band on it. That sounds like a great gift, with a poster to boot. However, her best band doesn't seem to have made it into the posters for sale rack at Wal-Mart. I still have a week to look. Too short a time to order online; but I will go to Joplin this week and snoop around there.

My son-in-law is an avid gamer with some game about tank fighting in World War II as his current favorite online game. I asked my daughter if she knew if upgrades or special weapons could be bought online for that particular game. She said she didn't think so, but to ask my son. Bill is the guru of gaming and the go-to-guy for all questions about games, movies, cameras, computers or videos. When asked, he said he didn't think that particular game had any things extra to buy. So I'm at a loss there. Karl's computer's hard drive died a while back and he hadn't saved any of his files for a while. He was terribly upset about the loss.

I asked Jenny about an auto-saving external drive device for his computer. But, as usual, he had already bought it, vowing he would never lose family photos again.

Back to Christmas shopping. Bill and Amber will make me a list. This a tradition I've established with Bill for several years now. He always wants something related to gaming, movie making or watching or photography. A list of what he wants assures him he will get one thing from that list and it will be the correct one for the right game machine. Amber's list is going to be different and I can't wait to see what will be on it. I still have 'till the real Christmas Day in December to shop for those two.

BTW, for those who have asked about wedding plans ... June 20 is the official date! I just hope it doesn't snow that day!

Till the next time friends, remember, that as fun (or horrible) as shopping in crowds gets, you're not shopping for a gift, but to receive those broad smiles when the gifts are opened.