The Spirit of Giving

Here’s the thing.  I LOVE Christmas.  I LOVE time spent with family and decorations and shopping for people and wrapping presents and yummy food.  But I seriously lose my patience when it comes to holiday crowds and the traffic around shopping centers.  It’s as simple as

1.       Learn how to drive

2.       Don’t be an a-hole

3.       Don’t crowd my personal space

This is supposed to be a festive time, people!  Why all the chaos?

Anyway, 8 months pregnant + holiday a-holes = not a good combination.  So, I relied mostly on online shopping, the majority of which was done at Amazon (free shipping!) or Etsy (If you haven’t explored Etsy, please do.  There are a bunch of different sellers with their own “shops.”  Pretty much everything is handmade, unique, and a better bargain than what you’ll find in the big box stores.  I’ve bought jewelry, scarves, a nursing cover, the baby’s first rattle, hand-etched glasses, Christmas ornaments, and probably a bunch of other stuff I’m forgetting on there.  My only warning is that it’s quite addicting). 

I probably saved a ton of time, stress, and money by shopping online, but it came at a cost- not to me, but to our poor mail delivery lady, who has delivered packages to our door practically every day for the past 2 weeks.  Not only is it more for her to carry around and probably a huge hassle to get in and out of the truck, but she is absolutely terrified of our dogs.  I can’t really blame her for that, the sound of all 3 of them barking can be quite terrifying.  She usually puts the packages on the porch, rings the bell, and literally runs back to her truck.

Yep, pretty sure she hates us.

Not only that, but I can tell she’s been swamped.  Normally, we get our mail by 4pm, but the other night I saw her drive by at nearly 8pm.  Yuck.  Remember, people, postal workers don’t have “hours,” they have a route, and they work until they’re done.  I can only imagine what a nightmare this time of year is.

So, to help make up for this, I’ve decided to get her a Christmas gift.  Normally, I’m not one of those people that gives out gifts to everyone who serves me in some way (pest control, hair stylist, etc), but I feel like she deserves a Starbucks gift card or something as a way to say “Thanks for all you do and sorry for being a pain. Merry Christmas.”

I’m excited to do this for her, and I encourage you to look around at the people who serve you.  Maybe you’ll find a good opportunity to give a little something and brighten someone’s holiday J