Gift Season

I love giving people presents. You know that Leslie Knope quote from Parks and Rec about how gift giving is like a sport to her? "Finding or making that perfect something..." she says. I feel that in my bones. I always have. When I was little, I wanted to give my mom gloves so bad (because she always wore gloves) that I made a pair out of felt and staples. Granted, felt and staples do not make for good gloves...not AT ALL...but I was working with a seven-year-old's resources at the time. I can spend hours―weeks―months deciding what to get someone for their birthday or for the holidays. I do research. Consider my options. Plan. For ten years I gave my brother photo albums (as I was the "family photographer" who had and would organize/label all of them). Almost every photograph he has of his kids from ages 1 week to 15 years was taken by me. When it comes to my sister, who is an avid photographer herself, I've started putting together little quote books for her. They feature all the adorable things her kids when I babysit them after school. One year, I sent a photograph of Colin Firth to his talent agency so I could get a signed photo back for my best friend because she is the BIGGEST MR. DARCY FAN. And just a few months ago, I gave my mom a scrapbook with old "Dear Editor" letters her parents wrote to their local newspaper back in the 1970s, which I found by searching their names through newspaper databases.

Needless to say, I get carried away. I usually start my Chanukuh and Christmas shopping in July. As it stands now, we are a week into September and I already know what I'm getting (or in a number of cases, making) for most of my friends and family. As much as I love gifting, it's hard to switch my brain out of gifting mode. I've considered blogging about gifting, but it's so personal and specific to the person for whom you are shopping. But I love gifting. And I love weird.

Subsequently, I've started making cards. And bizarre cynical posters. And other oddities you can put together and sell on Zazzle. I call it Emma Audrey Greetings. Need a Dorian Gray themed birthday card? I made one of those. Or stickers that that declare you only watch horror movies where the dog survives? Made those too. I know a lot of these things are super niche and probably don't have any practical application in the real world, but I enjoying designing them. I enjoy making them available to other people.

What is my goal exactly? Excellent question. Is this a business? A hobby? A coping method for daily anxiety? I really have no idea. I just know that I like making presents. So, now I'm making presents.

It's what Leslie would want me to do, right?