Thrift Store X-mas

Thrift Store X-mas Deux

For the second year in a row Michele and I are celebrating Thrift Store X-mas. Which means the following: we spend $50 +/- bucks on each other via a secondary/used/on-line used store, etc. A freeing experience. There's no expectations. Pressure? Sure. Especially if you devote any cranial mass to picking out gifts, but it's fun, addictive, and just common sense.

Last year I got a pickling jar, a wooden log carrier, books, tapes (for my truck, whose sound system is so 1993), small gifts my wife selected because we shared a joke about them once, or because it was, well, unexpected. Like a English hound iron door stop, painted with realistic, yet semi ironic colors.

For the kids, well it's a mixed bag....The dollars we save goes towards their gifts. And we're not super present givers anyway. One big gift from us, wrapped-- a happiness bomb under the tree, the others laid out by Santa.

We set a precedent for Santa to not leave so much. This year a few Lord of the Rings Action Figures, a few small lego kits (minifigure heavy), and archery stuff (new arrows) for Thor. For Ivy...a mirror gift of numbering... Star Wars, Toy Story (he's a junkie) legos. KISS. Keep it simple stupid.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I remember being spoiled at X-mas. Not that that's a bad thing, either. A field of toys and books.

My kids are spoiled:Uncles, grandparents, and kin spoil my kids plenty (Uncle Eric is freaking Santa Claus, and the gp's are constantly on toy/clothing/gadget alert for the viking brothers, so they're not experiencing toy poverty or anything, just thought that I'd make that clear, if anyone was wondering). Regardless, the whole experience is more or less stress free and pro fun I'd thought I'd share...

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