Christmas Shopping Made Easy

Haley's Big Sis sends me an email each year listing in detail what she wants for Christmas.  The list is not long but, it is specific.  I appreciate that.  It makes my job easier.

I don't (usually) get that kind of help from Haley.

She doesn't really ask for anything. She is always happy to receive presents. She likes to open presents. She isn't picky.

She always likes new clothes.  She likes new videos.  Sometime it is easy, like when a movie comes out with toys.  Cars is a good example of that.  I got on EBay and bought every die-cast car they made.  I couldn't find them in the stores.

This year is different.  She has been asking for things, in her own way.

Haley gets catalogs in the mail that feature railroad memorabilia, t-shirts and model trains.  She likes to point out her favorites to me.  I usually make a comment about the picture or to be honest I usually just mumble "uh, huh..." 

I mean, she points to just about every picture, in every catalog many times a day, all day long, every day.

Now that she has earned the money for a t-shirt and a video from the catalogs it has changed a little bit.  After I comment she usually says "Nine Dollars."  Not everything in the catalog is nine dollars, but most prices end in .99 so to her that is what it means.

She especially likes to point out the model of her favorite steam engine, the 4449.  She tells me that it is nine dollars, but it is not. 

It is $499.00. 

I know that she wants it, that is obvious.  Little does she know that even if I had a momentary lack of judgement and bought it for her I wouldn't let her touch it.  That wouldn't work for her. 

She would want to touch it.  She would want to carry it in her purse.  She would want to sleep with it.

So the other day Haley was on the computer.  She was talking and she wanted my attention.  She wanted to show me something.  I walked over to the desk and looked over her shoulder. 

She was on EBay. 

She was pointing at a picture of the Daylight.  I looked closer.  It was a Christmas ornament.  It was pretty detailed.  It was about nine dollars.  I said "uh, huh...", distracted her, signed in to EBay and put it on my watch list.

This morning I found many of the same ornaments with many different prices.  I decided to bid on one and buy another.  I will put one away for her in it's original box.  The other one will be for her to touch.

To put in her purse.

To sleep with.

Christmas shopping made easy. 

Thanks, Haley.