The final countdown

The final weeks of the year are finally here. If you’re on the ball, you’ve got those holiday presents all ready to go and under the tree, any travel plans set out, the halls decked and the menu planned.

Or, if you’re more like me, you’re still scrambling to find those final perfect gifts, and wondering why you just didn’t decide to send gift cards and family pictures to everyone instead. And don’t even get me started on wrapping. It’ll be a Christmas miracle if I can locate all the spots I’ve been hiding gifts from Louise and the kids, and find time to wrap them.

This is where gift bags come in handy. I like the decorated ones, but I’ll settle for plain brown paper with some glitter and a bow if need be.

Every year, I — and I’m sure plenty others — wait until those last moments of the year to start on the Christmas shopping, even though I know when it’s all done I’ll be making the same annual empty promise to myself — “I’m going to do my shopping through the year instead of waiting.”

Of course, it’s not all about the presents I this time of giving. Pardon me for getting a bit mushy, but the best gifts I’ve received are the memories of all the Christmases past. Home cooked meals at mom’s house, grandpa’s ranch or my in-laws, wild rides on four-wheelers across frozen lakes, snowball fights and fort building.

The memories the season bring are as important as the gifts, but it’s often the gifts that help bring back those memories. As the end of 2017 approaches, have fun making a few more memories to carry with you.