Well, today we will brave the crowds and do a little (a VERY little) Christmas shopping. From what I hear from friends and family, there is no shortage of parking this year. I'm reminded of shopping trips in the past, as kids, and the logic or thought ( or lack of ) that went into what went under the tree. 

When we were single-digit aged, my mother would take my younger brothers and me to Murphy's to shop for my aunt and great-aunt. She let us pick out a small makeup bag and fill it with lipstick, hand cream, compacts, and other aunt-like stuff. She guided us away from anything outlandish (although I can't imagine what might be considered outlandish in the Murphy's cosmetics aisle) until we filled the bags and they were in her cart---then, and only then, were we allowed to LOOK (never to buy) at the toys. My brother Pat was the worst, he would take so long picking out his aunt-stuff, he was sooo slow, he was always behind schedule (he received an award in high school for papering his bedroom with late passes) and we always had to wait for him. Damn, all I wanted to do was check out those army men! Get a move on Pat!!

Mom would buy us a coke at the soda fountain if we were good. That was the big treat (we never had soda at home), it came in a regulation glass with chipped ice and a big straw. We would kneel on the stools and spin ourselves around, trying to cop a sip as we whirled past the glass. 

Anyway, we got the bags of stuff for our aunts, and the whole experience probably cost about ten bucks.