The Goose is Getting Fat

Christmas is Coming the Goose is Getting Fat,
Please put a penny in the old man's hat...

Love that song but I always find myself thinking that I could use a few pennies in my hat too.

My yearly Christmas angst is starting. I'm always too short on money, time and sadly patience.
I have these grandiose ideas of how this Christmas I'll do something extra special (cover the roof in lights, or get every person on my list the absolute perfect gift, or make the perfect Christmas dinner). You get the idea. I set myself up for a very big fall.

Well, I started off this year with a fairly realistic plan. I kept the lists for Santa down to 5 choices figuring that would be doable and promised myself that I wouldn't go crazy on the decorating (which I have yet to attempt but I don't plan any roof scaling). The Christmas spread is Phil's domain this year so that leaves the gift buying.

So, list in hand I begin to venture out into the world of the consumer Christmas. I think I'm good to go, I'm hitting Toys R Us and Target and Amazon and then...I find out that Jacob's 'gotta have', number 1 on the list toy, the iCoaster, is THE toy to have this year. It is nowhere (at least a a reasonable price, not the drastically inflated price) to be found and it is not yet Thanksgiving. I've begun to panic and all I can think about is that Arnold Schwarzenegger film where he goes crazy trying to get his son the action figure he wants. If at some point you find I've been arrested for B&E of a toy store, you'll know I completely snapped.

*Sigh* I really do love Christmas...