The realization you have to go buy presents
This can come in the form of your friend texting you they got the perfect present for you or seeing someone put up Christmas decorations.
Making a Plan
This can be as elaborate or as last minute as possible. You have to plan who you have to buy stuff for before you leave for winter break, which family members to buy for, and which friends can wait until you return to school in January. Then you have to plan what to buy online, what stores you have to go to in person, and what to even buy. It’s too stressful.
Actually Going Shopping
The crowds are not so jolly and the parking lot is a Holiday Nightmare. You’re losing your holiday cheer right about now while children cry and adults yell at teenage retail workers for no reason.
WAITING
Waiting for the packages to ship, waiting for a parking space, waiting to hear what your S.O. wants, waiting in the longest check-out line possible, waiting to get this all over with. The waiting does not end. It’s the worst.
A Glimmer of Hope
You find it! The perfect present! It may not be for the most important person in your life, but it’s still the perfect gift for that friend of a friend! Maybe holiday shopping won’t be so bad after all…