I have friends that begin purchasing Christmas presents in July and August. I truly believe they begin planning their Christmas gifts for the next year on December 26. Hey, if stores don't sell all the stuff they ordered and have shelves full on December 25... the after Christmas sales will definitely be good.
I don't know, maybe I'm simply not organized enough. No, that's not it. Maybe I'm just too cheap to purchase Christmas gifts on St. Patrick's Day. No, I could if I wanted to. Unfortunately, I believe I'm a "last-minute shopping addict". Yep... that's it! I am an "LSA."
Some people may believe this is a terrible addiction, but let me share with you the positive aspects of being a last-minute shopper.
- All the cool, expensive stuff has already been purchased. It is out-of-stock, not available, can't get any more until after Christmas. I hate it when that happens – NOT! As a last-minute shopper, those words are music to my ears.
- Since I wait until the last minute, I don't have time to drive to Las Cruces or El Paso to shop... so it is great news for the local merchants in my community. They are going to get my dollars rather than some huge mega-store in the big city. And besides being good for the local merchants, it is good for the local government tax coffers. Of course I guess that is true only if I spend lots of dollars. Hmm, sorry Grant County, this year could be a cheap year for gross receipts from me.
- By not having a well-planned list, I can hurry through stores and shops taking whatever I think would be nice to receive if I was giving myself the stuff in my shopping cart. It sounds crazy, but it really speeds up the last-minute shopping process. By the way, I actually buy one gift for myself each year to assure myself that I will get at least one cool present that I really wanted.
- Lastly, the United States Postal Service, Federal Express, United Parcel Service... they all love me because I have to spend so much money for guaranteed over-night delivery. That's right... I am helping a financially strapped United States Postal Service system by waiting until the last minute. So why aren't you helping them also?
Okay, those were four really good, positive reasons to be an "LSA" (Last-minute Shopping Addict).
So what are the drawbacks? Well there really is only one negative to this addiction. There are too many other last-minute shopping addicts. You know who you are, because you and I always say Merry Christmas to one another while standing 12 people deep at the check-out counter on December 24. Sometimes we will even acknowledge each other as we pass on our trek to Snappy Mart to get four AA batteries on Christmas Day. Now that's a challenge!
Fortunately for me and all of the other "last-minute shoppers", there are lots of great shops and stores in Grant County that have wonderful items that make fantastic Christmas gifts.
So don't be surprised if you see me during the next few days, and I will tell you, "Merry Christmas."