Oh My Goodness

Christmas is just over two weeks away. Luckily, we (I) have (almost) all of our gift shopping done. I really hate shopping for gifts for people.

Some people are easy: My best friend, Krystina? She's obsessed with...pirates (#1 obsession, by far), Mickey/Minnie Mouse, true/fictional crime books, Law and Order SVU, and the list goes on. EASY to buy for. Then, on the other hand, there's Russell. Who really doesn't want/need much, and other than politics, has no "obsessions" to speak of. So I got him a political T-shirt (as he likes making sure everyone's aware of his political opinion, what better way to express it than to have his clothes speak for him?). (Russell doesn't read this blog, by the way...just in case you were wondering...) But even worse than Russell, there's his family (on his dad's side). Who I've never met. How do you pick an appropriate present for someone you've never even met/spoken to?? So I ask Russell: "What's your dad/brother/sister/etc. like? What're they into?" His reply "Umm...I don't know. They like stuff." (Thanks, honey, that's sooo helpful). So, guess what they're getting? GIFT CARDS.
As much as I dislike them (sure, you open it on Christmas, it's great and all, but then you stick it in your wallet/purse and forget about it until it's expired), they're pretty much my only choice, other than cash. And I don't like sending cash in the mail (call me paranoid). After debating back and forth on the gift card idea (both in my head and with Russell), I realize something wonderful: Discovercard has gift cards. And you can use them anywhere that accepts Discover! (I used to work for Discovercard, and like to take advantage of everything I can get from that card, since I'm more familiar with it than my other cards). So, this is a wonderful solution, because the main reason people (I) never use gift cards is because it's something that always slips your mind, to go to the store the card is for, and then you go there one day and pay cash because you forgot you had the card. If you have a Discover gift card, then you can just use it, wherever you go, whenever you want! Awesome! So I think I've found this wonderful solution, I go to their website, but their cards cost money (in addition to what you're putting on the card)! I've never heard of a company doing that, much less my precious Discover, so I was very disappointed. They start at $3.95 per card (with a minimum of $20 on the card-I wanted some $5 and $10 cards, so that wouldn't have worked anyway)...that adds up fast when I'm buying 5+ cards! What did I decide to do? I went to Wal-Mart, my good old Plan B for all purchases (I'm not a huge fan of Wal-Mart, looking at things from a sweatshop perspective and all...but I like their prices/variety, so I resort to buying there every once in a while).

So there you have it, my gift-giving ordeals. Thank God they're almost over!!