‘Tis the Season…for Catalogs

Quite a few years ago when my children were very little, I decided it would be a lot easier to do holiday shopping from catalogs rather than battle the crowds at any of the various metropolitan malls around here.

I thought I was so smart. I sat curled on my couch, pen in hand, circling gifts for friends and family, then I went on the Internet or the telephone and placed my orders. A few weeks later, boxes started arriving and lo and behold, I was ready to start wrapping.

The downside of catalog shopping hit me about two years ago when one August afternoon I came back from the mail box with my arms loaded – catalog after Christmas catalog began arriving, sometimes 6 or 7 a day. By Halloween I had piles of unread catalogs on my desk, and piles of catalogs with pages dogeared to things I wanted to order.

My name had gotten around. I get catalogs from places I’ve never heard of, from places warning me that if I don’t place an order soon, I’ll never see another one of their catalogs again {like that’s a threat!} I know the truth, if I don’t place an order today, I’ll get another catalog from them in 10-14 days with the same warning on the outside and the same stuff on the inside. They can’t scare me. I won’t miss out on their next sale because they can’t bear to strike my name from their mailing list. I get coupons, promises of nearly inexhaustible credit, offers of interest free purchases, free delivery if I order right now, and guaranteed arrival by December 23rd. They’ll do almost anything to get me to order.

And I do. That’s why it all never stops. I like the convenience of ordering on line or over the phone. I like things being delivered to my door. I hate battling traffic and long check out lines and carrying heavy shopping bags. Am I saving money? I don’t know. But I’m saving myself aggravation and that may be worth a lot more. I just hope my mail carrier will forgive me. His bag gets heavier every year.