Christmas has become the most tiresome time of the year. I feel physically, emotionally, and psychically drained from the over commercialized holiday and the overt expectation from almost everyone that it's going to be the best Christmas yet. I never have the money for gifts and rarely have any idea of what to buy, so I've resorted to the very impersonal gift card, like cash but non refundable. I suppose there's a little bit of a manipulation there too. You don't expect someone to say, "oh wow, what were you thinking, I hate it." Actually, I taught my family years ago that I would say just such a thing and the better gift should always be the impersonal gift card or preferably cold hard cash. The only place I felt able to gather a little creative energy together was in the wrapping of my meager gifts. Originally, I wasn't going to wrap gifts at all but then decided to do some minimal wrapping, like tissue with a rubber band holding it together. Then I got the inspired idea, I thought, of inserting parts of plants into the wrapping. No blooms were used but leaves and berries. Needless to say it was completely overlooked and probably not understood by my clan but it was a good thing. Just wait, next year it'll be all the rage.
