In praise of Wisteria & shopping online

I love shopping online. It's 10:30 and I just made a major dent in my Christmas list. Times must be hard. It's a little more than a week before Christmas and the sales are incredible. You must go check out http://www.wisteria.com/. Their holiday clearance sale is amazing. And I didn't even come close to buying all the things I wanted. Here's a peak at what I couldn't pass up:

First I fell in love with these charming little ornaments, handmade with antique silver beads. I wanted them for myself, but since this is the season for giving, I refrained. I also think they would be beautiful stitched to a stocking.

Earlier in the week I wondered what to get our godchild, Kyra, for Christmas. What could I get her that would have a lasting impact and not just clutter up her house (like mine)? An ornament seemed a thoughtful, yet easy gift. Since she's only one year old, by the time she leaves the nest she'll have a nice start on her very own tree. Fabulous. I could start a tradition and ease the pain of thinking up an idea for the next 20 years. These days I am all about streamlining.

Then I had a brainstorm: why not start and carry out this same tradition with my nieces! And then what about my daughters? I can't leave them out in the cold. My two nephews are on their own. One day they'll have wives and you know how women are. I can just hear it: "Some old aunt is going to tell me what ornaments to put on my tree....." I'll spare them the drama.

Anyway, that's how much of my Christmas list was conquered in about 30 minutes. Starting this year, I plan to get each kiddo something fun, like the Hannah Montana wig I got Aschlen last year. She clutched it to her chest and with all the emotion of an Academy Award winning actress, almost whispered, "I needed this." Obviously I was filled with joy because I had nailed the perfect gift.

The kids won't care about the ornaments, or understand their significance, at least not now. But after their mothers do a good job raising them, hopefully one day they will appreciate my crazy aunt Christmas legacy. I think I am getting old and nostalgic.

Originally I thought I would get a range of ornaments because there were so many beautiful contenders on sale. These beautiful glass ornaments in green were in my shopping cart for a while:

Although they are stunning, the lightbulb went off that everyone should get the same ornaments. That way, when I'm long gone, having worn out my broken down earthly body, there will be similarities among all my girls' trees. One Christmas, many years from now, won't it be cool when my niece Aschlen passes by little Piper's tree and remembers "the year crazy old Aunt Sami gave us these ornaments?" That will make me very very happy from my afterworld perch.

Having snatched up at least 8 sets of four ornaments for just $7.60 a set, (what a bargain!!!!), I couldn't pass up this handy contraption designed to contain all those Christmas cards currently in a pile on our buffet. Several lucky families are getting this:

At $14.50, and 41 inches tall, I think this Christmas card holder is amazing. Can you tell none of my family members read this blog? I'm giving away all my secrets.

And check out this wreath! At $14.50, I mean who could pass this up? It's made from birch wood. I must say, however, that this bow is ghastly. What the heck?

I don't know who is getting this wreath. I decided to buy it for that "just-in-case-I-forgot-someone" present and if that never comes up, I can keep it for myself.