'Tis the Season to be Consuming

Well, Thanksgiving came and went, no major catastrophe or blood drawn at the family gathering. Good job! But now the real race to the home stretch starts - Christmas shopping.

I love to shop, but not with every other soul in the greater Atlanta area. I am claustrophobic, so the crowds are too big and hot, and I dislike fighting with a woman twice my size for a sweater for people I don't even want to be giving a present. We do a lot of gift buying on line, but even that can get contentious.

When did shopping become a competition? People were lining up a week ahead of Black Friday for the first 'doorbusters' at a nearby Best Buys. Camping out on the sidewall for a deal is a feat that should be reserved for concert tickets, not electronics! If the deal is that great, then do a drawing or buy in quantities that can handle the demand. Don't create a bizarre game show played out in cities across out country just to amuse corporate drones.

I do believe in supporting local small businesses as much as possible, especially at this time of year. As a small business owner myself, I appreciate the patronage of the community over large, impersonal, national corporations. Money stays in our neighborhood and county to fund needed improvements there, and you develop nice personal relationships with the store owners, which can come in handy at the strangest times.

Personally, I haven't gotten into the spirit of the season yet, but that might be because Thanksgiving was really early this year. Tonight and tomorrow we will get the decorations down and start the process, but until December officially starts on Saturday, it isn't Christmas yet.

Of course, I did watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas" last night... ;)