Shop Till You Drop

I'm not one of those people you will find setting my alarm clock for half past insanity to get up and fight the crowds on the Friday after Thanksgiving. I would pay money to keep from having to go to a store on that particular day because I would hate to have to put someone in a headlock to snatch the latest toy off a store shelf just to save a couple of dollars.

Although the thought of shopping on "Black Friday" sends me crawling under the bed, the idea of going out the day after Christmas to stock up on all the after Christmas sales, gets me excited. My daughter Kayla, is a great after Christmas shopper. She likes to go with me and we stock up on all the half price Christmas decorations for the next year.

My darlin' Richard always sends us off to shop on Dec. 26th while he "de-Christmases" the house. He has always known how sad it is to me for Christmas to be over. So not to prolong my pouting any longer than necessary, Richard takes all the decorations down the day after Christmas. I even think the Christmas tree looks sad after Christmas morning because all the presents have been opened and the tree's purpose is done. To spare me from being sad, and so he won't have to look at my bottom lip hanging out all day, he tells me to leave the house. Then when I come home, Christmas has disappeared until next year.

My shopping buddy Kayla, and I go on the hunt for all kinds of bargains that we didn't know we couldn't live without until we saw it. We stock up on garlands, wreaths, ribbons and bows ... and Christmas wrapping paper.

The wrapping paper has to have just the right colors and look, so I search through a lot of rolls of paper to find just the right ones. Plus, I like to see many different kinds of paper under my tree so I keep a large stockpile of gift paper. It's a sickness, I know. I get so excited at the store to see a sea of wrapping paper to choose from ... and better yet, they are all half price. I will crawl to the back or climb to the top, just to retrieve that perfect roll of paper. It's the thrill of the hunt. It doesn't take much to make me happy.

We bargain hunters went all over town and came home with a carload of treasures. We were so excited to unload the bags and show Richard all of our finds. Somehow he wasn't quite as excited as we were, he just stood there shaking his head. Then he started gathering and boxing the new Christmas items to be put up in the attic with the other "umpteen" boxes that he had already stored earlier in the day. No one else but my man would put up with all my silliness.

Kayla and I were shopped out by the time we returned home. We were tired and complaining of aching feet and backs, but we will do it all over again next year. Our after Christmas safari in the shopping jungle is a great way to end the Christmas season.