AppleJuiceFool

The random thoughts of an average American.

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Location: West Texas, United States

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Christmastime is here, by golly

Disapproval would be folly, and indeed my weird mix of Christmas spirit and "Bah, humbug" attitude has served me well thus far, and this year is no different. Along the Christmas spirit thing, I help out by wearing a scarlet suit in our annual Christmas parade. The whiskers kind of itch and we always run out of candy before the end of the trek, but it does get the blood pumping and gets me feeling Christmasy. This year, we had several local tots on the float with us, and that helped significantly with the candy-chucking duties leaving us (Mrs. C and me) to do more "Merry Christmas"ing and Ho-ho-hoing. That was a bonus.

Christmas shopping this year has been a mixed bag. The little woman decided that since I started working recently we would blow $500 apiece on each other. Now, I don't know about you, but for little old me, $500 is a significant wad of cash to simply go out and spend on stuff. I struggled with my usual downfall of shopping for me while shopping for her, and I think I made out pretty well :)

I - er - she got a DVD recorder, a new power drill (hey, she asked for that one specifically), a Sony Commander (it's a slick all-in-one remote with an LCD screen - we're getting way too many remotes floating around to keep up with them all) and the board game Clue - a notable deficiency in our game arsenal.

Just for her - I got a nice little bracelet/earring set and a tiny jewelry box to keep it in. I also got her an air filter, because she has terrible sinus problems. I got her a Christmasy addition to her shot glass collection, some romance novels, trivia questions...(oops, we're moving back into my territory again!)

On the downside of Christmas shopping, there are the CROWDS. Of course, that's what everybody complains about, but I hate going to the shopping center or Wal-Mart and not finding a parking place.

Also, we haven't mailed out presents yet, and it's getting a bit late. Mail-outs are definitely going to be late. Oh well. At least they'll get there eventually.

The whole "Merry Christmas" versus "Happy Holidays" scandal is a big downer for me. My God, what does it matter? If you want to say "Merry Christmas" then say it! If you prefer "Happy holidays," go with that. There should not be a negative connotation to either one. They are both well-wishes, and nothing negative should be read into either. If you really want to be a jerk about it, I guess you could say "Sorry, I don't celebrate Christmas" whenever someone wishes you personally a "Merry Christmas," but even so you should be polite about it. This is the whole Seinfeld Festivus thing all over again. Everybody is celebrating at this time of year, so whenever someone wishes you Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/Happy Kwanzaa etc., just go with it and take it in the spirit it was given.

On the other hand, don't be an ass and go saying "Merry Christmas" to Jews or atheists just to get them riled up. That sucks and is about as unChristmasy as terrorist children with bombs.

Oh well. Merry humbug.

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