I don’t know if you’ve had this problem, but, personally, I have a hard time buying gifts for the men in my life. (Perhaps if you’re a man, it’s the women you have trouble with.) When it comes to clothes, they all wear XL tall, which can be hard to find unless I order early on the internet, which isn’t likely.  My brother, father, stepfather and partner are all pretty picky about their music.  They make fun of my musical taste, which they call “sad-girl indie.”  Usually, they want stuff like rare LPs, nice cameras, electric guitars, violent games for their X-boxes, survival manuals and other stuff I’ve never heard of in my life.

I consider myself simple: I like good coffee, good chocolate, good poetry, anything cashmere, simple jewelry, classic film, fancy pens and cheap notebooks…although I realize, with this list, that what I consider “good” may be a mystery to them as well.  Plus, how likely is it that my color-blind baby-daddy will be able to choose the right shade of purple, or the correct length of cashmere cardigan? He probably doesn’t even know where a cashmere cardigan might be found. Either way, it’s a hard hard world.

That’s why I believe in browsing, sometimes up until the day or so before Christmas.  Like a magic spell that comes over me in those final days, I often enter a gift-buying zone and hit the jackpot.  Yesterday I was browsing here in Bookmans (why go to the mall?) when I found a rare set of Pink Floyd LPs in good condition, a semi-complete set of the Foxfire series, a perfect copy of Alan Moore’s Watchmen and a small amp.  I know all of these gifts will be treasured by my beloved menfolk, and I didn’t have to break the bank to get them. Sometimes I think all you need is a little trust, and the willingness to pay more for shipping than you did for the actual gifts.  So, may the force be with you, my fellow procrastinators!