Gifts!

I have picked up hours at my old job-- Lisa's Gift Wrappers-- and in the few shifts that I've worked since returning, I have already been reminded of the wonderful side of the holidays. I want to be clear about one thing: I would be happy if no gifts were exchanged for any of the winter holidays. I think that, in some cases, Christmas has become merely an economic term. But, aside from that general cynicism (realism?), it's customary to give gifts to the loved ones. And since I'm paid to package and decorate gifts, I am privy to a wide spectrum of these gifts. I've gotten to wrap some of the most beautiful and luxurious items, and I've gotten to wrap some of the coolest, and most clever, gifts.

One of our clients, "Irene", has really impressed me with what she's giving her family this year. And granted, she has quite a bit of financial freedom, so there's some ka-pow! behind the basic thoughtfulness. But behind each gift is the power to make life more enjoyable, if even for a little while, and that's really what resonates. For instance, instead of some clothes or a new blender, she's giving her stepson and stepdaughter-in-law an evening out-- wrapped in a lovely box, there are hotel reservations, a gift certificate for dinner at a great restaurant, and tickets for a great show. What a great idea! That couple has this great date night to anticipate after all of the holiday ado has quieted down. Irene also had to shop for 2 young girls-- they are each getting some standard holiday gift stuff, but one of them is getting a book on how JFK's inaugural speech was drafted and the entire transcript of the speech, totally f-ing awesome, and the other is getting personalized stationery from a tiny one-woman stationery studio. Irene is a sharp lady, and it's clear that she really thought about what would make her loved ones happy. For real, it's not about the price tags. (Plus, she has empowered my colleagues and me to make these gifts look fantastic. Irene's Christmas tree is going to get upstaged in a big way by everything that will be sitting beneath it.)

I am so looking forward to the coming weeks. We all love to get pretty presents to unwrap, but I get giddy about finding the perfect gift for someone else. Meeting other giddy gift-givers, and hearing their stories about what they're giving to their mom/boss/boyfriend/grandpa/roommate can be really entertaining. A groom-to-be came in a few years ago, and he was a few days away from his wedding. He had so much to say about his wife-to-be and how excited he was about their upcoming wedding. On a whim, he'd decided that he want to get her a special gift, something to give her before the chaos began, so he went out and bought her a simple but GORGEOUS watch. He was like, "She has one already, but I wanted to get her a better one. She's due for an upgrade"-- something like that. He picked out paper and ribbon that he thought she'd like, and basically floated out of the store once the box was wrapped. I didn't know this guy personally, but it was so great to participate in such a lovely gesture. Meeting people like that groom-to-be, people who are excited by the idea of making someone else feel adored, never gets old.

I'm sure I'll glean some great anecdotes from the coming weeks. Stay tuned!