Only 100 shopping days til Christmas!
By Jeff Dorsett
I love Christmas. I love giving presents. I like to try and give the present that people want or need…and they usually don’t know they want nor need it! For my family I scour Christmas catalogs for that educational or unique game, book or gift.
And I hate traffic, and time was short, so last Christmas I set out to visit every retail store in downtown Osawatomie to see how many gifts I could find. I had a blast!
I immediately found a parking space in front of one of the banks that has donated to our local YMCA, schools, and library. I waved to my barber who always asks about my wife and kids. I like to mark things off my list so I started with a Trojan hoodie for my daughter from the local sporting good store. Then I found a very affordable Jayhawk sweatshirt for my Spanish foreign exchange daughter at a surplus store. I’m sure she’ll be wearing it in her home in Spain this winter.
In three different flea markets I found gifts for my parents and wife. But I also had a blast looking at games, books, movies and memorabilia that brought back lots of great memories. I picked out candles, Christmas decorations for myself and others, and delicious jams make by Missouri Amish (yes, I kept some myself)
I found a discounted new birdfeeder for my wife. But my best find was a handmade metal sailboat wall sculpture for her that looks great in our sun room that has an ocean theme. I had looked for 2 years for something like that in catalogs, out of town gift shops, and in souvenir shops on the Gulf Coast. They did not have what I had imagined. Downtown Osawatomie did.
When I shop for a specific item I like to “get in and get out”. But when I don’t know what I want until I see it downtown Oz was the perfect low stress place. I am amazed at the broad selection of house wares. I told daughter Julia to make sure to check the local stores before heading to college. What great bargains for a college student or someone just starting out! I know where to look when I break my next coffee pot or casserole dish lid.
I plan to do the same “trip” this year and will encourage my kids to do the same. What I am hoping to find is even more Christmas music and decorations, more smiles and “Merry Christmas” and even more of my friends and neighbors experiencing the same low stress and affordable “trip” close to home. Maybe I will even walk there!
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