Calling All Last Minute Charlies

I'll meet you at the mall.

Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

Happy December 16,

In case you didn’t know, there are

If you celebrate Christmas… are you done with your shopping?

I’m not.

I’m typically the one running around like a maniac on December 23.

(Remember my Marshalls Death March post last year?)

• From December 8, 2022: This year I made a vow to avoid my annual “Marshall’s Death March.” That’s where you put off buying gifts until Dec. 21, then freak out and spend a Saturday running around, finding nothing. Repeat on Sunday until 4:00 p.m. when you’re exhausted, starving, have to pee, crabby, and decide to “run into Marshalls, maybe you’ll get lucky.” Your only luck is that the bathroom is just slightly disgusting, not filthy. You end up buying a cart full of crap and a sparkly sweater that seemed like a good idea at the time….(read the whole, sorry story here)

I never learn.

However, I make up for it in every other area of my life, as I tend to be (annoyingly) early:

🛫 For example, if the airline says to be there two hours in advance, I’m like, “Um, three feels better.”

🎉 And parties? My husband and I have been known to be the first guests. (And yes, that’s as awkward as it sounds.)

🧑‍💻 During the pandemic, my punctuality was in overdrive for Zoom meetings, especially those that I didn’t organize. (Nothing like beating your boss to the meeting. But in my defense, it’s not like I had any other place I had to be…)

⛪ Ironically, I think my extreme punctuality circles back to Christmas - specifically Christmas Eve mass - when being “on time for mass” was on par with catching an international flight. (Which makes for a long night of sitting.)

But holiday gifting, dinners I’m hosting, and other timely events? I’m that person rushing to the store to buy last-minute gifts and/or meal ingredients.

To combat this problem, I’ve put together some resources that will help with some of the last-minute preparations for these last weeks of December…