© J. J. Hanna 2024
“This store is chaos,” Annie said into the phone as she frantically tried to maneuver her cart out of the aisle she’d been blocked into.
“That’s what you get for leaving your shopping to the last minute,” Rachel quipped. “Have you found anything good?”
“Legos for my nephew, a new sweater for my brother, a cozy bubble bath set for my sister-in-law. Let’s see… What else… Annie looked into the cart. She wasn’t going anywhere soon. Bringing the cart into the toy aisle was her first mistake. “Now I just need something for my mom and something for my dad and then maybe I can get out of this mad house. Why don’t carts come equipped with horns?” she asked.
“Take a deep breath babe, you’re going to be fine.” Rachel would say that. She wasn’t the one in gridlock shopping cart traffic afraid to run over the kids running every direction in the toy aisle.
“Sorry, can I just…” Annie gestured forward.
“Oh Hun, I don’t think being nice is going to get you out of there,” Rachel said. “Come on, where’s your road rage?”
“It’s Christmas. I don’t want to have shopping cart road rage!” But it was too late for that. Finally, the grandma ahead of Annie wrangled the new American Girl Doll into the cart and started shuffling forward. Annie tail-gated, keeping a watchful eye on the kids darting around. Two near disasters later, she finally broke free.
“Okay. I’m free,” Annie reported.
“Good job,” Rachel teased. “Why don’t you just shop online like the rest of the world? You can do your shopping from your couch instead of fighting the other last-minute crowds.”
“I’m always afraid something will go wrong with shipping. What if it doesn’t come in time? What if it doesn’t come at all? I’d rather walk out of the store with a gift I picked out for them. Fewer surprises on the big day. Plus, I can see the actual sizes of the items.” Annie took a moment to catch her breath. “Okay. Something for my mom and something for my dad.”
“Do you have any ideas?”
“No, not really. That’s another reason to come to the store. The stores do it for you with these fun little tables. Like, remember when I got you that hot chocolate bomb kit? I wouldn’t have known to look for that online.”
“I guess you have a point there. I still don’t know why you waited so long to go shopping, though. Christmas is this week.”
“I don’t know. Life just got busy.” Annie navigated the packed main aisle toward the books and music. She’d had an idea for her dad, but she didn’t know if it would work until she got there. “So why’d you call?” Annie asked. “Now that I’m not being accosted by children and their parents trying to get more Legos.”
Rachel laughed. “I just wanted to hang out.”
“Oh, well, sorry to begin with such a crazy start to the call,” Annie said. “You’re really finished with your own Christmas shopping?”
“Yeah. I did it online a few weeks ago. Seriously, girl, why do you put this off every year?”
Annie sighed. “I’ve never felt very good at gift-giving,” she said. “I always want it to be special or creative or just right for the person rather than just giving them more ‘stuff’. No one needs more stuff. We all already have too much.”
“I think you’re good at giving gifts. Like that hot cocoa set. That was so fun and we got to do it together.”
“I guess. I mean, yes it was fun, and I love that we did it together. I can do that for you. You’re surprisingly easy to shop for. And I know my nephew is going to love these Legos, that’s a home-run gift no matter how old the boy is you’re giving them to. I could probably still get Legos for my brother and he’d be thrilled.”
“So what’s the problem?” Rachel always had a way of seeing right through Annie’s statements to hear the truth of what was going on. She knew this wasn’t really about giving gifts.
“I mean… is soap the best I can do for my sister in law? Does anyone ever really want soap for Christmas? It feels like a cop-out gift.”
“Is it a cop-out gift?”
“Kind of.”
“Why?”
Annie sighed as she looked at the vinyl records. “I guess I just don’t feel like I know her well enough to know what she would truly like. It feels so generic. Which isn’t bad, but it doesn’t have the thoughtfulness I want to put into it. And I don’t know how to get more thoughtful with her. Especially when I know I’m probably getting a gift card from her this year.”
“There’s something about gift cards. You get to get what you want.”
“Yeah, but they’re the ultimate cop-out. The, ‘I didn’t want to put time into your gift so go pick it yourself’. And sometimes that’s fine. Sometimes that’s not even true! You can make a gift card thoughtful. Like if you gave me a gift card to my favorite local coffee shop. That would be a good gift card.”
“What if what they really want is to pick it out for themselves?” Rachel asked. “I love getting gift cards. It means I can get something more expensive than they would have gifted me. If I got three cards to the same store growing up I could get the cool thing I’d been saving for and not spend all of my own money on it rather than just getting three things that I didn’t really want and that will wear out faster.”
“Yeah. I know. But it doesn’t say ‘I see you and I know you’ the same way.” I grabbed the vinyl for Queen’s Greatest Hits and put it in my cart. My dad had been collecting records ever since he was my age. He probably had these songs already, but a new record always made him smile. I continued on to the books, looking for a boxed set for my mom.
“What’s more important to you?” Rachel asked. “That someone thought of you enough to get you a gift, any gift, or that they gifted you something the way you gift things? People do gift exchanges in really different ways, babe.”
“Yeah.” I tried to keep the disappointment from my voice. “I guess I just view gifts as a way to show people how special they are to me. It’s odd to me that not everyone views it that way.”
“Some people see it as an obligation. Maybe they came from a big family. My friend’s family is so big they assign nuclear families to each other for the big exchange so everyone gets something but no one gets eight things. What hobbies does your sister-in-law have?”
“That’s the problem. I hardly even know what she does for work.”
“Then I think the bubble bath set is a good option.”
“What if she hates Cherry Vanilla?” I asked, reading the package again. “What if I should go get her bath bombs instead? But those can turn into the work of cleaning the tub after the bath. What if she would rather just have a nice box of chocolate?”
“Honey, you’re overthinking Christmas. Don’t overthink it. I promise she’ll like it. If you’re worried, you can add some fuzzy socks and a good candle and make it a little self-care basket.”
“See, you’re so good at this. Face masks, a candle, fuzzy socks, and a bubble bath kit is bound to go over better than just the soaps.”
“It was your idea.”
“But you made it better.”
“Nah, I just helped you think it through. Have you found anything for your mom yet?”
“I was looking for a boxed set, but it looks like there are a few books from her favorite author here. I don’t know if she’s read them though. I guess I could check her Goodreads account.”
“Get your mom a candle too, maybe some tea, and a mug?”
Annie laughed then. “Tea, yes, if I give her another mug I think she’ll make me clear out the cupboards.”
“Better not do that then.”
I grabbed the new books and then headed back into the chaos of the clothing department to try to find a good pair of cozy socks. “Are your family plans settled yet?”
“No, we’re still going back and forth. Everyone wants us on Christmas Day. What about you guys?”
“We lost the Christmas Day attempt, so we’re gathering this weekend.”
“In two days?”
“That’s why I’m shopping,” Annie said.
“Do you have the wrapping paper you need?”
“No.” Annie laughed. “Thanks for the reminder.” She smelled a few candles, settling on lavender. “Lavender is supposed to promote relaxation, right?”
“Yeah,” Rachel said. “That will go well with the bath bundle. Does she have a bath tray?”
“I don’t know.”
“You could get one of those, too. Those make baths way more cozy. She can have wine or tea while she soaks.”
“That’s a great idea.” Annie smiled. This felt better. It was still a pretty generic gift, but Rachel’s additions were making it feel more custom, like she was putting more thought into it. That met both Annie’s needs as a gift giver and the point of the gift. She wandered the store a little longer. The home goods section was surprisingly empty, making it much easier than she expected to find a nice bamboo bath tray. Another quick stop in the Christmas section to dash to the gift bags and wrapping paper and she was ready to check out. “Thanks, Rachel.”
“No problem! After you check out, do you want to meet up for coffee?”
“Sure. Send me a shop.”
“See you in half an hour?”
“Sounds good.” Annie hung up and got in line to check out and then realized she hadn’t gotten anything for Rachel this year. She took a breath and turned back to the store, surveying the departments. She knew Rachel wouldn’t really want anything from her. But she also knew she wouldn’t be very true to herself if she didn’t get her something. She headed toward the kitchenware. There had to be a cute mug somewhere in the mix.
She’d been stressing about this year’s Christmas. It snuck up on her, and she really did prefer giving thoughtful gifts. It was a chance to show someone they were known and loved. But Rachel was also right. A lot of people didn’t think of it that way. Maybe she’d have to work on her own expectations for the gifts she’d receive this year, too.
This story, segments of this story, and ideas from this story are not to be duplicated or replicated in any way. This content belongs to J. J. Hanna alone.
Please note: This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real events is unintended by the author.
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J. J. Hanna is a writer and reader from Colorado. She loves suspense stories above all else, and is currently working on a debut novel. When she’s not writing, you can find her making YouTube videos and Online Courses about the publishing industry. Go find her on social media @authorjjhanna and @jjhannaacademy to keep track of her most recent reads, current adventures, and to get the most up-to-date news on all things publishing. She also runs a freelance marketing business to help authors achieve their own goals. Learn more or hire her at Hanna Book Solutions.
J. J. Hanna, Author 