Christmas

Oh dear, is it really only 9 weeks away?  Two months until I see my family again?  (Of course, putting it in those terms, it feels like a long time.  I'm so homesick, it's not even funny.)

Now that Halloween is (almost) passed, I'm starting to look towards the December holidays with a mix of giddiness and trepidation.  Seeing family!  Going to see their new home in Georgia for the first time!  Christmas cookies!  Dad's cooking!  The first time in three years that Alpha and I are going to spend Christmas together!  But then... I have to find the space in the budget for gifts, and cookies.  I have to find and buy gifts.  I'm facing the annual Christmas cookie marathon alone, seeing as how my partner for the last two years hasn't contacted me in months, and I have no family nearby to recruit.  I have to board the girls in a kennel for the first time ever.  Heck, we don't even have anyone to drive us to the airport, so we'll have to pay for parking...

Okay, those last gripes may not be entirely true.  We have been cultivating a friendship with a local couple (whom I have yet to invent creative names for,) and I bet the wife will bake cookies with me.  And if I make fruitcake this year - which I'm seriously considering - we'll really only need to make 2 or 3 kinds of cookies.  Spritz and dark chocolate with pine nuts are essential.  And the same people are likely kind enough to drive us to and from the airport.

But my goodness... buying gifts?  Let's be honest, I barely know my brother and sister anymore.  My brother recently started shooting competitively, and bought his first gun, so I can likely find some awesome gun-related thing for him.  My sister is another story.  I found a lovely piece of jewelry I'd like to buy for Nana, but it is $50, probably out of the budget.  Let's think, who else?
Mom
Dad
Brother
Sister
Nana
Alpha
And then our friends - that couple I just mentioned, and Lady ('cause we already bought it,) and Bella, too.  Her birthday is a few days before Christmas, so I'll need a birthday gift for her, as well.  And if we give Lady a gift, we should probably get her son something...
So I'm looking at about $400 for gifts.  You know I can't just get something small, or simple.  And if Bella suggests gift cards again, she may get taken off the list.  (Kidding!)
I originally thought I'd be super crafty and crochet things for everyone.  Initially it was going to be afghans for everyone, but then I learned how long it takes to make one.  The one I'm currently working on, (the first one, which I designed for myself, as a test,) is currently on hold as I make a pile of hats for my baby niece.  And then, my gosh, the yarn is so pricey, it's really not that much better than buying things for people.

And then, Christmas cards.  My parents were never big into sending cards, but I am.  I think it was partially an attempt to keep in touch with my relatives (because I hardly ever call anyone,) and to help convince everyone that Alpha and I are living a shiny, happy life.  I am one of "those" people, apparently, who sends out a photo card and a letter.  But that also means composing a letter, and ordering cards.  And really, the toughest part is finding someone to take a photo of Alpha and I to put in the card.  I have a lovely photo of A that I'd like to use, so I need a photo of E to complement it.  And then one of Alpha and I, or the four of us together.  Last year, we had to ask the apartment manager to take it.  A little pathetic, in my opinion.