Where did the summer go?

Can you believe tomorrow is October 1? I can’t believe it. It doesn’t seem right that garden and landscaping items are already being removed from stores and replaced with holiday decorations. It also doesn’t seem right that Santa Claus and a creepy skeleton person are standing side by side at Lowes.

My mind has already drifted toward Christmas shopping. I grew up in a small family so shopping was a hassle but not a major one. My hubby has a much larger brood so shopping is more of an adventure. We normally order most of our gifts online because neither of us is fond of large crowds and traffic. If we do venture out to shop, we try to stay local.

I suspect this will be a hard holiday season on most with the cost of living being so much higher. I would like to try to buy more meaningful gifts this year, things that people could really use or need instead of just token crap. But it’s hard to know what people need particularly when it’s people you only see a few times a year.
I really like gift cards. Many people do not because they think it’s not creative enough. I disagree. If you know someone drinks Starbucks every morning, why not give them a Starbucks card? You’re freeing up money they could spend on something else. Ditto for itunes cards or heck, even a gas card.

That’s not to say I plan to buy everyone on the list a gift card. But I do want to try to put more thought into my gifts this year and most importantly, avoid last minute shopping.

What’s on your list this year?