Birthday Gifts

I have a problem with sending birthday gifts or cards on time. It's repeatedly a problem... year after year. I'm not really sure how to fix it! I mean, I know how to fix it, but I can't seem to fix it... ever. Sigh. This month I finally took care of the past due birthday gifts that I've been accumulating since the end of February... yes, February.

So, I had a birthday gift to buy my Dad, who is the most difficult person for me to shop for. Originally, I was going to get him a webcam so that we could Skype. However, I procrastinated long enough that I found out he was shopping around for a new laptop and it would have a built-in camera. Okay, scratch that idea. It took me another two months to finally decide to get him a gift certificate to Barnes & Noble after I found out that my Dad has become an avid reader! Good to know! I gave it to him at the beginning of the month and he's already used it to buy two books!

Next up were my two best friends' little boys. Both turned one. We don't usually buy birthday gifts for each other's kids, except for their first birthday. Anyway, I finally got around tonight to ordering their birthday gifts. My friend Kevin wrote this great book called A Day In The Salt Marsh. It's a SUPER cute book that follows the changes in the salt marsh as the tide changes throughout the day... and it rhymes. Andy absolutely loves it. He loves naming all the animals. He even recognizes and tells me Salt Marsh! whenever we pass the marsh around here! Anyway, it's really cute and I know my friends will love that it was written by someone we know!

And last but not least, my Grandmother's birthday was at the beginning of July. I actually wasn't too late on her gift (only a few days... is that even really considered late?) but only because they were here to visit. I highly doubt I would have gotten it in the mail yet otherwise! Anyway, she's another tough one to shop for... but my Mom gave me a good suggestion this year, and I picked her up some stationary.

I have a few more family birthdays left this year, and I honestly am going to try my hardest to get gifts in the mail ahead of time. I hate being that person who is always late on giving gifts. I also hate how it hangs over my head all the time as something I need to take care of. We'll see how I do the second half of the year!