Christmas shopping

I went Christmas shopping at lunch today with my friend and coworker, and we patroned a store that I normally don't frequent: KMart. It was interesting... See, in the world of Big Box stores, KMart is still positioned behind Target and WalMart. (Target is also positioned above WalMart.)

There also aren't very KMarts around, it seems. I remember a few years back when they declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy, brought on an entirely new leadership board, then came back from Chapter 11 with enough capital to buy Sears. Anyway, it would appear that they didn't bother reopening a number of the locations it had previously closed. As someone who works periodically with closing venues, it doesn't surprise me. After all, if sales didn't warrant having it open before the reorganization, why in the world would it make sense to reopen them now?

So, I ventured to KMart at lunch and was quite surprised at what I saw. There are some really nice things there, and almost all of it was discounted by at least 40%! I got a great frame and some candles for gifts, and I found some clothes for the wee one, and it was all very reasonably priced! Now, I'm not saying that I'm going back there to shop more frequently; what I would spend on gas to get there doesn't justify the savings I would receive. But to tag along, it wasn't a bad trip.

After returning to the office (and pushing out the last few things that needed to be done today), I sat down and made my Christmas list. I should have done this earlier, but at least I'm doing it now.

The Christmas list is the one kind of list I really don't enjoy making. I fully understand why it's necessary, but it doesn't mean I'm a fan of making it. I always feel like I need to be equitable to everyone on the list, even though I know that my friendship runs a bit deeper with some people than with others. And then there's the awkward question of how to handle those you don't know all that well. It's just a nuisance.

I'm pleased to say, though, that I have managed to complete shopping for one family on my list and am halfway through with two other families. (There are seven families on my list, not including my sister and in-laws. And I am only at a complete loss for two of them.) It's slowly coming together. I have some gifts for The Boy's teachers at school, but I'm still trying to come up with my plan for my coworkers (there are 16 of them).

If I can actually get the bulk of this done before December, it will be a small miracle.

In the meantime, I still need to figure out what I'm going to do about Christmas cards...