As I type this we are now into the last fortnight before Christmas. This both excites and terrifies me. The excitement comes from expectations of all the nice things about the festive season, family, fun, holidays and presents – let’s not forget presents!
However, it’s the thought of presents that also terrifies me. There are two key aspects to this terror. Buying and giving presents, and receiving presents.
We must never look a gift horse in the mouth, of course, but who among has not received a gift for which we have struggled to display a face of appreciation, excitement or at least surprise. Try as we might have to hide it, a look of certain disappointment has made its way onto our dial upon the opening of that present.
The reason for that look of disappointment can vary. It could simply be that you have received a gift that you really do not like. Or it might be slightly more nuanced than that. Perhaps you like the gift, but already have one of your own. Another possibility is that you were expecting and/or hoping for something entirely different to what you’ve received. The look of disappointment in case such as this can be even more noticeable if the gift you’ve opened has come in a package of similar size to the anticipated Christmas present.
The second aspect of Christmas presents that terrifies me is the choosing and buying of them. Avoiding seeing the look of disappointment above makes the selection process a fraught one. But what really gives me nightmares is the prospect of leaving it until it’s too late to buy the presents.
And when I say “nightmares”, I mean that literally. More than once I’ve woken up in a cold sweat having dreamt of waking up on Christmas morning without having organised the presents.
It is an awful, awful sensation. Despite that, you can reliably expect me to be running around various shopping centres like the proverbial Aussie ‘blue-arsed fly come Christmas Eve this year!
What’s your take on giving and receiving Christmas presents? Do you leave your shopping until the last possible minute?
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