Please allow me to introduce myself (Guest Blogger)

I�m a man of little wealth and no gift buying taste (Jessica�s husband). This Christmas was one of the few gift-giving holidays in about a decade that did not end up with less than stellar gifts under the tree.  Some of my glories of Christmas' past include moldy, generic brand body butter (yes, I said moldy, as in mold literally growing inside), multiple drugstore brand soaps bought at the 11th hour, �old lady� powder puff blue slippers purchased at BJ�s Wholesale Club, earplugs in an attempt to help her avoid hearing my snoring and unfortunately the list goes on� but I will spare you.

Needless to say, I like many others, have set the bar pretty low for my significant other when it comes to receiving gifts. Every year (after the bruises heal and the tears dry) I make a solemn vow that I will a) start earlier b) be more thoughtful and c) avoid the doghouse when it comes to the next gift giving occasion. I usually fail, until this year!


This year, she was happy with the Christmas gifts I gave her and said it was one of the happiest holidays she can remember. How did I do it? Well, I have prepared a few tips that may be of use to anybody who consistently find themselves in my predicament.

1) Listen � I realized that every once and a while she would mention things she could use, brands or items she liked or things she wanted.

2) Start Early � Now this one may be impossible for most if not all members of the male species, but I realized that if I actually used my recently acquired, aforementioned listening skills, I could hone in on things that my wife wanted as early as October. The beauty of this is that she is clearly not expecting that I am completing research for the purposes of Christmas shopping, so many of the things that come to light that she isn�t expressly hinting at as a potential gift ideas. The downside is that with this much time to Christmas, if she truly wants the item that she is talking about, there is a chance she could go out and buy it on her own. Warning: Do not buy too early, just complete potential gift recon and�

3) Take Notes � Like most things in life, I have to write things down lest I forget. A little scrap of paper that got more and more crumpled and fuzzier as the days wore on accompanied me everywhere, transferred from pants pocket to pants pocket. Be careful here, a moment of forgetfulness and this list heads to the laundry room where it is either destroyed in the wash or discovered by the little lady

4) Blame the kids � If all else fails and you do end up getting a dud, don�t worry, with careful preparation, you too can have a �scapekid� (kid as in baby goat, get it?). Whenever I went shopping, I always brought one or both of the girls and would always manage to have a conversation with them laying the groundwork for them to take the fall should any present fail to delight. Sounds bad, I know, but what mother could ever truly get upset at gift one�s precious angel picks out for Christmas, right?


Well, I hope this helps� and more than that, I hope it gives me another 3 or 4 weeks in good graces (a guy can dream, right?)

The Vintage Pearl, I thank you!