This is why I hate Christmas...

For starters, I should preface this entire entry by saying that I don't like surprises!  This includes presents.  My friends don't celebrate my birthday (I don't really even give them a chance by keeping my birthday a secret), and I don't care for Christmas presents most of the time.  I think it's ridiculous that the calendar determines when someone is obligated to buy something for me, and then they spend money (they often don't have) on something (I often don't need) just because they know me.

My coolest gift ever!

Granted, I enjoy buying gifts for others and I've always been exceptionally good at it (according to my family) but putting other people out is not something I appreciate at all, and often times, presents leave me with the notion as if I have.

This fully excludes buying me something with a certainty that I would like it.  It even excludes getting things that people genuinely believe I need or want, although that is a slippery slope right into the above-referenced drawback of presents.

Buying a "Christmas present" for me in the manner described above comes with a lot of additional pressure.  The buyer is hoping that the receiver will appreciate it greatly.  The receiver is hoping that they will feel grateful.  And onlookers, if any, are hoping that the exchange will result in a moment of overwhelming joy.

That's a lot to ask out of an obligation.

Case in point, here is what I received this Christmas:

• GPS from my family (I've never wanted a GPS, and I love finding places on my own - most of the time, so I suspect this expensive device will get minimal usage).
• Marvel T-shirt from Jeordie (I don't read comics - she later exchanged it for an extremely useful pair of slippers for me).
• Lime green Mohegan Sun T-shirt from Chad (I don't care for the color, but I dig the venue).
• Little stocking with "K" on it from Jeordie (more later).
• "The Dangerous Book for Boys" from Melanie (I'm 30+, although I have a nephew at the right age so reading through this book should improve interactions with him).
• Loot of books & candy from Samm Tyler, Jeordie's friend (very appreciated).
• Dinner at Pita Jungle from Amy (delicious, and totally unexpected)

Have a Very Penny Christmas!

My favorite gift?  The "K" stocking because it held a peronalized note from Jeordie & Chad thanking me for everything I've done for them over the past year (and longer).  Also, I like the stocking because I can put my Canadian hockey puck in it (which is probaby the best gift I've ever been given, and Jeordie only bought it for me because she knew I cheer hockey teams from Canada).

Later on, I found out that Melanie had purchased the book I received a while ago but, as she explained, "I was just waiting to find the right person to give it to," so those words alone made the book significantly more valuable to me.  She scoffed at my suggestion that I'd need my nephew to maximize the value of the book, stating that there is a young boy in every grown man.  Maybe so, I just don't get along with mine very well at all.

For the record, that dinner at Pita Jungle was a pretty close second to my favorite gift.  The true meaning of Christmas is togetherness and sharing love.  That is what I love about Christmas.  We just get caught up in the forced giving and questionable acts of gratitude because they're harder to do.