Liz’s rant: Shop ’til ya drop

OK, people – it’s time to get serious. We’re T-minus 27 days until Christmas and I’ve not yet begun to shop. How many of you can relate?

Maybe we should call it what it is for me. Procrastination. Avoiding the inevitable as long as possible. Because as my kids get older, I find it increasingly harder to stay within a reasonable budget. Which means I tend to put off spending the money. What if they change their minds on what they want? What if I find something on sale for a better price next week? Don’tcha just hate the what-ifs of life sometimes?

Anywho, I started thinking about what the “big ticket” items were when I was a child versus the “big ticket” items of the 21st Century. My, how times have changed. I also wonder where my head was on some of my Christmas requests…

Here are the biggies I remember (and I don’t really remember that much to be honest). One year, I got a pogo stick. Another year, it was a unicycle. I must’ve had dreams of joining the circus at some point… I remember getting an Easy-Bake oven one year, lots of Barbies, and a phone. (I’m sure that to this day, Santa still rues that gift, although he mistakenly thought that

This was my first phone. No, I'm not kidding...

getting me a Lily Tomlin phone would slow me down. HA!)

Back then (you know, back in the Dark Ages), Santa could do a lot  with a Ben Franklin. A hundred dollars could be stretched in myriad ways. Today, not so much.

Let’s take Colton’s Christmas wish list:

• I-Touch
• Lego Boba Fett ship
• Air Hog Hawkeye with camera
• Playstation 3 Move bundle
• Three PS3 games
• PS3 bluetooth
• Camcorder

I’m not even gonna address the other things, like a few books, movies and the like. Just a rough cost estimation on the above comes in at no less than $650 – and in reality, my estimation is probably at least $100 shy. By simply purchasing the PS3 Move bundle, Santa’s C-note is spent.The whole wish list thing is really not that different for my other children, either. But with my youngest, the quandary is a tad more complicated, because he’s still a believer, if you know what I mean. And Santa’s purse is endless… right???

Note that we haven’t even addressed stockings. Clearly (in case there’s any question), Santa doesn’t spend upwards of $500 per child – at least not at my house. So where does one begin? Well, that’s what I try to figure out every year. And $100 just doesn’t seem to cut it, anymore.

At the risk of going off on the materialistic state of society (and don’t get me wrong – I like material things, too), I’ll end my rant here. I’m really hoping you guys will let us hear from you, though. I’d love to know what you’ll be doing, how you make ends meet, and other creative ways of making the most magical time of year come to life. So bring it on- Kate and I are waiting!

-Liz