When Chris went to the bank the other day,
as luck would have it, their computers were down. She made the best use of her time,
however. The bank is in the parking lot
of Target. And who can resist Target
during the Christmas holidays? The thing
is, she actually got some Christmas shopping done while she was there. That’s the latest thing we have discovered we
miss now that one of us has to stay with Mom all the time. We love going Christmas shopping
together. At least I do. She seems able to stay pretty focused on the
task at hand when we go, but I enjoy drifting off into people watching and or
completely losing myself in the challenge of the moment.
We have totally different styles of gift
shopping. First is the Grand List
Approach. Chris makes a list of the
people we want to get something for. And
inevitably she has something in her mind (but not on her list) that she thinks
would be good for that person. When we
get to the store she is able to go one section at a time and search for one
person at a time. Like in the toy
section, she wants to get to the Legos, because we do have five grandsons. And now that they are making Legos for girls
with princesses and a lot of pink, she could get lost in there. Whenever she finds just the right item, she
pencils it in on her master list. She
then writes over it in ink when she completes the wrapping job. Masterful approach, don’t you think?
There are other options that can get the
job done, though. One that I like to
draw on, primarily because it drives Chris up the wall, is to become the
consumer that the stores dream of, the Product Driven Approach. Sure there’s a list of people somewhere (in my
case, usually in Chris’ purse). But instead
of following proper procedure and checking off names as you go, just walk
around the store and look at stuff. When
something strikes your fancy, why not assume that if it appeals to you, then
surely there is someone on that list who would like it as well? The good thing about this style of shopping
is that you can do it year around and be completely finished by the time the
heat of the season gets here.
The Cold Search Approach can also be
effective, especially when you are coming down to the wire and still have a few
vacancies to fill. It actually combines
the other two. The idea here is to enter
the store with the name in mind, or in your back pocket on “the list.” Walk around until you find items that cost
about what you want to spend. Then
choose anything. That’s right, pick
something up at random. Now, with it in
your hands, picture the person you are gifting.
Here comes the creative part.
Answer the question, “What possible connection could there be between
the person I have in mind and this object, whatever it is?” Brainstorm.
Have a little fun with it. Then
when you give the gift, include a note explaining your thoughts on how it
relates. See, the person might not be
able to make the connection right away, so they will greatly appreciate your thoughtfulness. I love this approach. How else could you give a Barbie doll to a
little boy? Just tell him she is really
a GI Joe action figure. She’s the damsel
in distress that his GI Joe’s need to rescue.
Or how about some random Legos for a little girl? Tell her it’s a brand new, build-it-yourself,
service for six tea set. There are no
instructions, so it is impossible to build it wrong. See a woolen scarf for sale when you live in
a climate where 60 degrees feels like the dead of winter? It becomes an authentic replica of the
slingshot David used to slay Goliath.
What little boy wouldn’t get excited about that?
Ah, Christmas shopping. ‘Tis the season.
Psalms 44:8 says, “In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name
forever.”
Father, thank you for the resources you
have given us to make it possible to give gifts. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment