The Days of Christmas

                I said I wasn't going to do it, but I did.

                I said I would resist the demands of Madison Avenue to shop early, but I gave in.

                It's not even the end of November and, much to my embarrassment, I'm almost finished with my Christmas shopping.

                I don't start Christmas shopping in the summer nor do I start at Halloween. I wait until December because I love the spirit of the holidays.

                My favorite pastime the first weekend in December is drafting my Christmas list, leisurely deciding what to get for everybody on the list.

                That's about the time my husband hauls all the Christmas decorations out of the attic, and the next weekend we head out to the country to cut down a tree.

                We let the tree sit overnight so the limbs fall a bit, and we decorate the tree on a Sunday afternoon while listening to holiday songs. When the boys lived at home, they'd spend hours shaking the boxes under the tree, trying to figure out what was inside.

                Back then, we'd spend Christmas in Louisiana, and all the Heberts gathered together for Christmas Eve. We'd attend Mass in the morning and then spend the rest of the day playing with all the new toys and visiting with cousins, aunts and uncles.

                Our tree stayed up until the needles were so brown they fell off; but by that time, we'd usually had enough of ho-ho-ho-ing and were ready to get back to the familiar grind.

                That was how Christmas used to be. That's before email, cell phones and cyber shopping became the modern way to shop. My sons now send me emails with a direct link to the gift they'd like or they text me their Christmas list so I know exactly what they want.

                Using their cyber list, I took advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales which was easy but there was little holiday cheer about the experience. And even though I want to pat myself on the back for being organized, there are things I'm going to miss about the Christmas shopping experience.

                I'm going to miss the crowds of people and driving past houses whose yards are practically dancing with holiday lights. I'm going to miss listening to canned Christmas music playing over the loudspeakers as I elbow my way through the store.

                For even though we've heard those songs 100 times before, there's nothing like humming along with "Silver Bells" while carrying bags of treasures found at stores where you know the owner instead of clicking the "order now" button with a mouse.

                Emails and text messages are efficient, but I sorely miss reading my sons' hand-written letters to Santa Claus. I miss seeing my boys' faces on Christmas morning when they dashed into the living room to see what Santa left for them.

                But maybe all is not lost. Surely I've missed a few gifts on the list and hopefully I'm not as efficient as I think. After all, there's nothing wrong with having a few surprises underneath the tree.

                I might have to browse the packed aisles of our hometown stores while listening to those familiar holiday tunes play overhead and let the spirit of Christmas wash over me.

                I'll still sit down the first weekend in December and make my Christmas list. But this year, I'll use my iPhone and key in what everybody wants so I'll have that list at my fingertips. We old-timers have to keep up with the changing times but some holiday traditions need to stay put.

          This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.