random thoughts – Day 1,722 – (Tuesday) – yankee search

Past gifts for myself.

There was some running around today in preparation for the most stressful gift event of the season – tomorrow’s office party and $25 Yankee Swap immediately after work. Usually, I have great luck finding a great piece of local art and get to feel good about supporting a local artist. Past art gifts have included a fused glass piece, a wine bottle heated/melted into a cheese cutting board, and a small mandala painting. I loved the glass piece and the mandala so much that I bought versions for myself. Everybody wins!

This year our office party is a week or two earlier than in the past, putting it before some of the holiday art events. Last weekend I visited the Yuletide Market at City of Lights, a local art gallery/gift shop, and the National Park Service gift shop, and left empty-handed. 

Today, I worked downtown which gave me the chance to power shop on my lunch break. I went to two art gallery/gift shops that turned out to be closed on Tuesdays. Then I shifted the thinking to a gift card at a downtown restaurant. The first two places I checked weren’t open yet because they now only serve dinner. A third was open but doesn’t have gift certificates. The fourth wasn't open and the fifth had six people waiting to order food and it was clearly not the ideal time to be trying to buy a gift certificate. There were at least three other places I forgot about in my fast-paced Yankee search for the Yankee swap. I returned to my desk feeling mentally deflated but also physically energized from the cold air and speed walking. 

The gift thinking shifted again. A TJ Maxx gift card (yes, it has to be for there) is needed for a fundraiser event on Sunday, so after work a trip was made to a store in the TJX group to get the gift card and have a look around. The shoe department was visited because it was there, calling unto me as I entered the store. There was nothing I liked that was also in my size. Next, there was an unsuccessful dash through the pants, skirts, and dresses. The target was a component for an outfit for an event Friday night because the items in my Amazon cart weren’t bought last week when I first saw them and as of Monday when I was ready to open the wallet the delivery time had shifted from two days to five or six and wouldn’t deliver until after the event. Oops. I rarely find anything in this store, so it wasn't a surprise. Then I directed my energy and attention to the gift section of the store and the gift acquisition.

The office gift card and gift acquisition mission was accomplished. The Yankee Swap felt a bit more difficult this year and didn’t fulfill my desire to support a local artist or business, but at least it’s done. Now I just have to remember to take it with me in tomorrow.