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Home / Hawkes Bay Today

The Hits: I don't have the gift of present buying

By Adam Green
Hawkes Bay Today·
26 Nov, 2019 06:00 PM2 mins to read

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The Hits DJs, Adam Green and Megan Banks. Photo / File

The Hits DJs, Adam Green and Megan Banks. Photo / File

"Less than a month til' Christmas" states the cheery co-worker strolling up the hall.

"How's the Christmas shopping going?" formulating all manner of non-festive replies in my head I hastily reply "Oh you know, same as last year!" Which means I haven't even remotely got close to even thinking about who I need to purchase a present for let alone begun to swipe my plastic debt machine.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not some sort of Christmas Grinch with a penchant for Halloween over holidays, I DO love Christmas, I'm just horrible at buying gifts. I have a tendency to try and put myself in the gift receiver's shoes.

"Hmmm If I was Sarah [my lovely wife] what would I want for Christmas" I'll ponder to myself strolling through the doors of Kmart.

"I would definitely want a radio-controlled drone with a camera and a new charcoal barbecue", and so off I'll meander, over to the toy section, where I'll forget I'm shopping for presents and marvel at the fact a flyable helicopter is now 20 bucks.

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And there are so many people to think of. Like how far out in the circle of co-workers should the present buying spread?

Yeah, there's the office secret Santa, which no doubt will involve a flyable helicopter that I've taken for a test run, but what about gifts for the others?

Roughly $40 a gift for those immediately next to you, down to $5 for those down the hall, and if there are multiple offices, a box of Favourites chocolates with "Merry Christmas, Help Yourself" should be sufficient for the other 30 people you work with right?

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Cherry Ripes for that one that sent you the angry email in June you're still stewing over.

The kids. Oh, the kids. They've been dropping hints since October. One wants a new puppy, which is so far off the cards she may as well have asked for matching family Ferraris, and the other wanted a pony.

Only a pony? What about a holiday home in Pauanui and a launch to head out on after your ride?

So I'll do what I usually do at this time of year, and that's give up.

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Hope like heck the wife has all the gifts under control (She's a gift-buying savant) and then spend Christmas morning wondering what I bought her this year! Hope it's something good!

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