The greatest debt incurring time of year is upon us! Let me just get this out of the way now: “BAH, HUMBUG!” 

 

         Now, what I am referring to is the commercially encouraged season of buying and spending, giving and..giving. We have all recently finished paying for last season’s purchases and finance charges and the next one is waiting impatiently, tapping its foot. I must say, I love getting presents. I also love to give them to people I care about. One of the greatest accomplishments I can think of is actually presenting someone close to me with a gift that I have acquired for them based completely on their interests. I will venture to say that it is almost better to not give a gift than give the wrong one. My proof of this is the fact that the day after Christmas is one of the worst days to be at the mall because the return/exchange lines are ridiculous. Of course, there are those cases where you like the gift, but it is the wrong size. Otherwise, the entire place is filled with people exchanging their gifts for things that they really wanted.

 

         This brings me to my next point. That saying of: “It’s not the gift, but the thought that counts.” Really? Do we all really believe that? If any of you truly believe that, then try an experiment this Christmas. If you do not have the perfect gift for everyone on your list, give them the thought. I know this may sound difficult, but it may force you to test your true thoughts on that person. If all you have purchased for your friend of 10 years is a universal remote or a pair of socks, then something’s probably wrong. Anyone worthy of a 10 year friendship should be informed of how valuable they are to you. So, return the socks and write them a poem indicating how important they really are. Give them a picture of you together and a line or two of the memory recorded with that picture. The possibilities are endless. My theory is that no matter how unconventional this is, they will remember it a lot longer than the socks or remote. Unless, they have sock or remote control fetishes.

 

Happy Holidays!

 

Benjamin S. Brechtel, President

Hawaii Wine Lover.