The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current, December 14, 2019, WEEKEND EDITION, Image 9

Historic Oregon Newspapers

The daily Astorian., December 14, 2019, WEEKEND EDITION, Page 9, Image 9

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Newspaper Page TextB1 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2019 CONTACT US FOLLOW US Lucy Kleiner lkleiner@dailyastorian.com facebook.com/ DailyAstorian Christmas customs The Hunt girls with presents they picked out for each other at Purple Cow Toys in 2010. Thinking and buying for others during the holidays By ED HUNT I used to do all my shopping on Christmas Eve. You can do that when you are young and single and the adrenaline of last minute shopping leaves no room for indecision. I loved the cathar- sis of frantic buying and wrap- ping after a month of jingle bells infused procrastination. I loved the desperation of other last minute shoppers and the half empty shelves. Limited options fuel creativity. It is not that I didn’t love Christmas shopping. I do. In fact, one of my favor- ite things back in those days was shopping for presents for children I’d never meet. My sister worked for c hil- dren’s s ervices and each year her ofﬁ ce had a list of chil- dren who were probably fac- ing a hard Christmas sea- son. Her ofﬁ ce would pool donations and we’d go out shopping for girls and boys who had wishes for pres- ents both practical — new underwear and socks — to the toys they saw on TV. Still, I liked waiting until Christmas Eve for my own shopping. I liked being out in the stores on my own, searching for inspiration and so pressed by deadline that anything that spoke to me had to go into my cart. I had to let the practice die years ago when fam- ily spread out across the country required me to factor in shipping times and travel in the snowy Columbia Gorge. Thinking of others When my daughters were born, I returned to a tradition that my dad had started. Each year he would take each of us children out on a Christmas shopping date. This was years ago in the 1970s — long before Pinterest wish lists on the internet. With my dad traveling a lot for work, the shopping date was a way for each of us to get a little one-on- one time with dad. It worked like this: he’d set aside a night for each of us three kids. We would get to pick the restaurant — usually McDon- alds, since that was considered a treat back then — and then we’d head to the mall. I don’t remem- ber which New Jersey mall, but I know my dad liked the one with a giant Alexander Calder mobile hanging in the open area. These Christmas dates not only gave dad and us kids a lit- tle time together, but it was also an invention of strategic shop- ping genius. The rule was that we were shopping for other people and couldn’t buy any- thing for ourselves. So each kid would pick out a present for the sisters and brothers and for mom. Meanwhile, dad would be watching to see what made our eyes light up while shopping and that would help him know what to put under the tree. See Customs, Page B2 Grace ﬁ nds a treasure at Cargo while Christmas shopping in Astoria.