Christmas shopping

I finished my Christmas shopping this afternoon! Yay!
Mom's done; Brian's done; and Howie's done. And yes, I'm done, too. I usually avoid spending any part of the last weekend before Christmas in the mall, but as Christmas lands on a Sunday next week, my timeline was completely messed, and it could not be helped. I'm really excited about the selection of gifts I've got going on this year, and am anxious for the day of the opening. I think Brian will be pretty surprised by a couple of my choices for him, though I know that he'll like them.
The mall itself though, was not the zoo I had thought it might be. The shops opened at 8 this morning, and when I arrived about 9:30, the shops were still pretty empty. Actually, even at noon when Brian met me for lunch, the place wasn't as insane as I've known malls to be right before the holiday. A refreshing change! (As a veteran shopper, I get very frustrated and annoyed with being jostled too much in a store, and do not hesitate to drop my stuff and leave if it gets too uncomfortable and crowded.)
Cut to this afternoon, and I still had another idea or two to act on, so I also walked up to the other mall this afternoon, to finish up the last of the shopping. Thankfully, the one thing I was looking for was at the store, and some other pleasant surprises were found, so all in all, it was a very successful day!
(Hey! Wave at Santa! He's saying "Hi" to you!!)