Christmas Shopping in the Bizzaro World

Today was a lovely day here in Northern Virginia – cold, but nice and sunny and not too windy. A little cooler than I like it but, hey – it's winter time (well, almost). I should just get over it. M and I drove into Old Town Alexandria this morning, hoping to get a look at the Christmas decorations and take a few snaps. But they were having the annual Scottish Walk (the local Christmas parade), and the place was so packed with locals and tourists that parking spaces were almost nonexistent. Glad to see there was a crowd, though – hopefully, that meant a good day for all the shops and businesses. Unfortunately, it also meant no Old Town photos for us. Maybe next week.

We did get in a little Christmas shopping, although not in Old Town. And I think I may have discovered the perfect shopping routine to keep both myself and the hubby happy. First I hit Tuesday Morning. Spent half an hour or so, browsing and picking out all the stuff I just couldn't resist. Found some great Christmas cards and gift tags and beverage napkins at half price, as well as a really cute little faux suede-covered bucket that would be perfect for corralling all those current magazines and catalogs that I can't seem to throw out right away. Then headed over to pay for all my good stuff and just couldn't face standing in that long, long line to hand over my cash. So I put everything back! Strangely, I didn't feel too bad about it. And M was, of course, delighted.

Then stopped in at the local Borders. Spent another half hour or so looking around. Found some more great Christmas cards (at 30% off this time), plus the couple of magazines I'd been looking for, and a book that would have made a perfect gift for one of the kids on my Christmas list. Headed for the check out line, and once again couldn't face the wait. Put everything back again! Left empty-handed and still didn't feel too bad. I was amazed. And M was, once again, delighted.

As I said, it might be the perfect shopping strategy. I get to pick out everything I want. M saves money. We don't have to stand in line. And I don't come home with stuff I really don't need anyway. How perfect is that?

Not too perfect for all the retailers, of course.

And since we didn't get any photos of holiday decorations in Old Town today, here's a couple from years gone by.