"Here's what I think," my friend said to me over a late afternoon lunch at a Park Slope diner. "You shouldn't smoke pot because I'm doing it. You should smoke it because you like it." I nodded in understanding and continued with my grilled cheese sandwich while he finished off his breakfast platter.
I thought I could escape them this year. I created wish lists, dropped hints, even accompanied friends as they went shopping. But I still ended up with that dreaded cop-out gift: the gift card. And as if the plastic card wasn't enough to say "I couldn't really find anything that fit just right," I also ended up with gifts I already had. I will save the pain by not mentioning any names.
Call me a Scrooge for thinking Christmas is all about the gifts, but just for once, I wouldn't mind receiving something I actually wanted. It would be even nicer if it was something I didn't already have. I've always wanted one of those Christmases, where I unwrap a mystery gift to find the book or the toy or the movie that I had been longing for the entire year. Christmas isn't about the material goods, but it wouldn't hurt to receive a gift one actually liked.
