At What Price Peace?

While I've sort of been putting off thinking about (and acting on) cards and gifts this week, I realized that I need to get my office cards and gifts ASAP before everyone leaves on holiday. To this end, Wednesday night I stopped by Target on the way home from work: source of reasonably priced cards and cute plant gifts a few Holiday Seasons ago. This year, I went to the new Super Target at the mall near the office. Combine holiday and rush hour traffic, and it took about 20 minutes to travel the half mile from office to store; add in the nightmare parking lot adventure, and I was already a little flustered when I entered the store. For some reason, the seasonal section was in the spot furthest from the door. The cards selection was pretty pathetic and those amarylis bulbs I was hoping to find were nowhere to be seen. So I left sans cards and gifts, feeling like I'd wasted almost an hour of my life.

Tonight, I thought I'd try my luck locally. I'm fortunate to live within walking distance from several cute shops and boutiques. A few (15? 20 max) minutes of browsing and wandering, and I had all my gifts (pretty ornaments, 20% off at the overpriced gardening store) and cards. No crowds, no parking lots, no long lines at registers, and despite the spendy prices, I felt good about supporting local small businesses.

Mission accomplished.