End of the Christmas Season

Even though my tree has been down for over three weeks now, today was the last day of Christmas for me. After a month delay (it was a busy month), I finally gave my last present today and it just so happened that it was the one I was most excited about giving so it was like Christmas all over again.

I love giving surprise gifts. If you pay attention to people around you, often they will mention something they really want - either something they wouldn't get for themselves, something they can't find, something they lost that they wished they hadn't. The key to getting a great gift is to listen, and when someone mentions something like that, keep it in mind.

A dear friend of mine mentioned way back in September that he was looking for a specific book - it was only in print for about a year in the late 70s, he'd only ever seen one copy but it wasn't for sale, and if I ever came across one I was to let him know. Three weeks after that conversation, after much searching, I found a copy and bought it. I've been holding on to it ever since.

Though it may sound really corny, the look on his face opening it was the best thing for me. Most people expect gifts they receive to be generic, as if they could be given to any other friend. I like seeing the reaction when someone is surprised by something thoughtful that in a million years they wouldn't have expected to get or really expected you even to remember.

I appreciate gifts other people give me, but I like giving gifts like this even more. Too bad inspiration doesn't strike more often.