Merry December

I used to wonder why Christmas decorations start going up so early in stores, or why Christmas specials started in November. This was before I had to buy presents. My friends don't have a tradition of exchanging Christmas presents, nor does my family. As such, I have always been happily free of the holiday stress. This year, though, my parents are visiting from the other side of the world, so I think it would be nice to get them something. Which is why I now understand people who start thinking about Christmas shopping in mid-November.

The last thing I want to do is be part of the desperate rush on December 23, but I've been delaying the actual purchase of gifts for a while now. Sure, I have something in mind, but I'm the indecisive type, so if I buy it now, it'll just give me weeks to agonize over whether I made the right choice. What is that they say about the paralysis of too much choice?

And it's so hard getting gifts for your parents. After all, there's not much you can surprise them with, and you've known them so long you can't imagine anything they really want. It's one of those cases of knowing someone so well there's no distinct like/dislike anymore. Fortunately for me, I think my parents would be happy with anything (because we don't usually exchange gifts). But I think if I had to get something for them every year, I would run out of ideas terribly fast.