- All you can say is, Wow!
I’m one of those guys that love shopping. My wife can throw her hands up and declare, “there’s just nothing for me here,” but set me loose in Loehmann’s or Neiman Marcus Last Call and I’ll come back to her within half an hour with a year’s worth of must-have wardrobe pieces.
So it’s with a heavy heart (all apologies to LBJ, and gravitas generally) that I ponder this year’s Christmas gift budget. which is virtually non-existent. Last year, one set of nieces and nephews were nicely blown away with Guitar Hero Band Edition, and the wife and I thought nothing of the prices at American Doll Place. Even though I don’t really know how much use the radio controlled Ferrari Enzo actually got during the subsequent year, it certainly looked great under the tree, the aluminum briefcase it came in very, very Mad Men.
So what is the reaction going to be to an “official” Mark Sanchez nerf football, or the “hey ain’t that arty” Tangram play set? It’s harder than I imagine to dream up cool presents in the $25 price range. But the nieces and nephews are still young enough that in the past they seemed less impressed by expensive gifts than their parents. With brownies and playmates galore distracting them, the gifts generally didn’t catch their imagination immediately. Although they were clearly appreciative.
So, kids. Gear up for your first big lesson in anti-materialism. Hey, if I can learn to live with it, so can you, right?
Inspirations and Aspirations 
I know the perfect recipient of that Male Nurse Action Hero. And frankly, I like a nice wooden set of Tangrams. Hours of fun. Since you’re such a great shopper, surely a few hours in Target will turn up the perfect under $25 gift?
Wal mart and Tar-zhey have lots of inexpensive toys.
Obviously, you understand that I’m saying it’s me, not the kids, that needs an attitude adjustment. And I’m thinking that this year I belong to the cohort that is downgrading from Target to Kmart. In my case, downgrading from Saks to Kmart in one year is just a bit of a shock to the system.