It's getting down to the wire. The deadline to end all deadlines is just around the corner - so if you haven't completed your Christmas shopping Cheap New Balance 574 Retro , you had better get started. That is, you had better get started right after reading this informative essay on the joys of wise Christmas shopping.

There are a number of inherent problems when it comes to Christmas shopping. The first is money. Oh, you don't mind so much spending a fair amount for someone you really love or even like a whole lot. However, what do you do when some colleague you've seen two or three times at after-work functions shows up at your office with a big box with a bow and an expectant smile? I had someone show up at my place of business once with a set of four sterling silver julep cups from Tiffany. The only hold he had on me was the fact that I sprang for the check at a not very enjoyable lunch at one of those 眉ber-masculine chophouses that some businessmen like to frequent.

Really, what do you do in this situation? Obviously, the guy is way out of line, but he's sitting there with his expectant smile. He's seen you kick back a couple of martinis Cheap New Balance 574 Mens , so you can't politely decline with some religious objection to holiday gift-giving.

This is where a case of good Scotch or wine, neatly deposited into those little festive bags that are made for this purpose, comes in handy. It's not a cheap gift, but it's not a wildly inappropriate one, either. Hand it over with a lot of geniality and keep edging toward the door. Hit the elevator button for the guy and tell him you'll see him in 2009, by golly.

Another problem I see with Christmas is lugging around big gifts. Oh, I know that there are really organized people who do their shopping early and have everything shipped - even if it's just across town Cheap New Balance 574 Womens , so they can pop out of their airplanerental vehicle, camper looking fresh and chipper, rather than weighed-down and disorganized.

I, however, am not one of those people. I don't particularly like the rush of last-minute shopping, but that's just the way I do it. If I'm traveling, I'm carrying tons of crappily wrapped presents and dropping those cheap little pre-made bows like Hansel and Gretel dropping crumbs. And this year Cheap New Balance 574 , if I'm packing presents, I am without a doubt paying extra baggage fees. So that $50 blender my cousin asked for (to make smoothies, she says, in her dorm room, but since she also asked for tequila, I am guessing margarita smoothies) is going to end up costing me $70, plus Cheap New Balance Sale , let's add the cost of the plane ticket and the airport parking back home and the rental car on the visitors know, that's one pricey blender.

Even if you're just driving across town, isn't it better to bring all your gifts in one little bag? Think about it from the green point of view - less wrapping paper is better for the environment.

I have thusly resolved to buy a set article for each of the gift groups at the old homestead. For instance, the female members of my tribe will all receive earrings - not all the same style of earrings, of course, but earrings. They come in small packages, and you can find earrings to make your spouse happy Cheap New Balance Sport , to put joy into the hearts of teen-aged nieces, and go with those "nice blue scarves" of the more grandmotherly types.

The little kids are even easier than that: money. Not gift cards, mind you, but good, old-fashioned bills. Gift cards require parental input; to give money is to give the gift of complete independence. Money can be spent on toys and candy or saved carefully for all kinds of other cool stuff. Think of this as an educational gift, and make much of it as such when you hand it over, lest anyone think you are merely being lazy.

Finally Cheap New Balance Retro , what earrings are to a woman's gift box, so are cufflinks to a man's. This is the perfect gift for any man who wears shirts or wants to impress people. For the guys who wear shirts, these nifty little items can fasten cuffs. For guys who don't, the cufflinks can sit on the dresser and people who see them can believe that there is more to these guys than just shirtlessness.

Luckily, cuff links come in a number of styles and are available at many prices. From gold and jeweled to enameled and covered with sports logos, there is something for everyone on your Christmas list - and all in tiny, tiny boxes.
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