Over the years, Christmas for me has fallen into the same pattern as life: Just as in life I do almost everything I do out of a sense of real or implicit obligation, not because I actually want to so, at Christmas, I mainly buy gifts for people that I have to buy gifts for. I do try to find things that people will either enjoy or find useful, but that doesn't lessen the sense of necessity and obligation I feel with regard to their gifts, and the anxiety I feel when I can't come up with something "good enough."
Last year, two special ladies entered my life (this year there are three), and Christmas became different. I wanted to get the gifts to show my appreciation for having made the acquaintances. But they weren't expecting anything, and I was shopping because I wanted to express my gratitude to them and do something nice for them, not because I felt like I had to. With no sense of obligation, I actually enjoyed looking for gifts for them. I am by no means wealthy, and they probably fared better by other clients.
But, somehow, this hobby, whose protocol requires that I compensate the recipients of my gifts for the time they spend with me, has reacquainted me with the joy of giving.
SMH.