COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE

Ever read those advertisements which are extras in the newspapers this time of year? Old Trunks and her sweet elf wrapped the last gift last night.

Page through the ads with me, won't you?


The first ad states to 'come to the right place' and that if using their charge card, you will be rewarded with triple points.

A model sits wrapped in a robe warmer than a coat and bare feet. The robe isn't necessary but I would take her feet, which have never seen a Ped Egg and all her toes are straight.

The store offers men's dress shirts a brand with sleeves that are not 32-33", rather about 30". BUT Tom would take their hands which do not get purple from the cold.

The entire stock of Christmas table linens are 60% off, wait until after Christmas, they will be 90% by the first of February.

There is a four page spread on fragrance. Give me only the memories of 20 Karat cutting loose under the seat in the Chevy on skip weekend or a mini wisp of Chantilly.

When Penney's advertises, "DOOR BUSTERS", I think about that poor man who was trampled by the stampede at Walmart. Skip JCPENNEY.

Sheels advertises a turkey cannon for $14.99, regularly $24.99. What is a turkey cannon? It is a metal device that goes into the cavity of the bird to make it cook from the inside. And of course, all of us want a key ring advertising North Dakota Universities, right?

At Sears you get double points on your purchases! AND, one can purchase 2 carbide blades on sale for $19.88. Shall we connect these blades with the turkey cannon and see where the meat flies?

And what about the magic of Macy's?

Or Expecting great things at Kohl's?

Although I am a product of my parent's, I do not shop as they did. Christmas shopping was dress to the nines on a Friday night and go out to eat. After supper, shop. Walk the streets of Thief River Falls and go in and out of stores like the Jewel Box and Ole Granum's Northern Supply. Or a dress shop or the drug store. In an hour, they were finished.

How did they do that? Limited buying for one. One gift per person, which was cherished. Grandpa Ranum got a new wool shirt and a new hat. One for his birthday and one for Christmas, which was on December 25. Uncle Bennie got a shirt. The boy cousins got choppers, which are mittens made out of deer hide. Cousin Judy got mittens. Okay, moving right along from Ole's to the Jewel Box in 1958, Greg and I got rings. At the other jewelry store, Daddy bought Mother more pieces of dishes or glassware to fill out one kind of collection or another. Daddy got Pendleton shirts from Mother. I can not remember what Grandma received from my parents or from Harry and Lillian.

What do you get for someone who claims they need nothing? And who said it was about need? Harp, Harp....Isn't it about knowing someone well enough to give a gift from some inside tract or off a hint you have heard throughout the year? Harp, Harp.....

Tom and I were talking at the table last night. He was saying that at one time the family and families got so big there were so many gifts purchased by family members who may well have spent the cash on their own children. He put a stop to the avalanche of gift buying. It is a delicate and complicated situation but it worked and everyone was okay with it.

Some families draw names. If there are 10 members, you give one gift. Some have a boy pile, a girl pile, and an adult pile. Some families, don't, won't, or can't do gifts. I can understand the don't and won't. For the life of me, I don't understand the can't.

We don't have to shop for an hour after dinner and purchase all gifts. We can shop a little each month. We can be clever and find really neat things for less than $10. The gift of giving, believe it or not, is NOT about one upmanship, it's about an extension of oneself. And what.........about the gift of friendship which is daily? What about a letter to a shut in monthly? What about dinner with an old friend? What about shoveling some one's driveway? Does it have to have a bow?

This Christmas, I hope each of you have a memory of a gift you were not expecting. I am hopeful you were surprised because you are worth it. I am hopeful something you received made you laugh or cry or somewhere in between.

I am hopeful that if you get socks for Christmas, you will find the toy in them by juggling them with a camera running. If you get a fishing rod, I am hopeful it comes with your own personal dream for the big bass in the spring. If you receive a paring knife, I am hopeful you have much to peel. And if you ask for shirts and get shirts remember that was your wish. And if you get a gift and have no clue as to why someone thought of you in such a way, look into yourself and realize that someone else knows you from another angle. Do not be dismayed if your parents give you toys, they are remembering a child ripping paper and simply can not let go of the image even if you are in your forties. And for those parents who give their children money, don't expect them to spend it on themselves, they will use it for their children. WHY? Because you have taught them to be givers but not taught them to be receivers.

Although we are told it is better to give than to receive, dear Ella amended that years ago: One gets the gift, the other gets the blessing.

Harp, Harp.

Come to the right place, it is all inside.

e