48 hours to go...

Per usual, the day after the Holiday Spectacular my body decided it had had enough of full work days followed by long commutes and even longer rehearsals.  So with just a few days of holiday shopping left and only a few measly gifts on their way from Amazon via 2-day shipping, I found myself laid up on the couch in a generalized “blah” mood.  I’d finally used up all the lingering adrenaline fumes from the weekend’s whirlwind performance schedule.

But alas, luxuriating in my underwear and clearing out the DVR would have to wait until 2012.  On Thursday night, Trish’s friend Josh and his husband, Mike, paid a house call - though more to check out our Astoria digs (and visit Trish) than to see how I was faring.  No matter, they came bearing soup so I didn’t care about their motivation. 

Josh is on hiatus from the national tour of My Fair Lady (check it out and say "hi" if he's stopping near you).   He and hubby were making their rounds visiting friends before Josh had to return to the land of one-nighters.  They stayed just long enough to describe their new high protein/low carb diet while I noshed on some carb-licious dinner rolls, nodding in agreement even though I was actually thinking about how I could convince someone to run out and get me a piece of chocolate cake.



from thesun.co.u

By Friday, I was feeling much better.  But since Trish and I had to be in Jersey that same night to meet up with our parents, we had precious few hours to try and cross off the rest of our extensive Christmas lists.  Strategy is the key to shopping success, so we planned our route according to the “distance versus present-size” algorithm - small items at stores farthest from the subway first followed by larger items at stores closest to the subway last.  It works, try it.

I dashed out of the office early Friday afternoon, met Trish and made a beeline for Forever 21’s Times Square super store.  Yes, Forever 21.  And it’s not just for anorexic tweeners and ghetto Latinas with junk in their trunk.  Well, not only.  They actually have a men’s section and a plus-size section, thank you very much.  

After wrestling some jewelry away from some wholesome, Midwest tourist type in an “I heart Justin Bieber” jacket - you gotta’ do what you gotta’ do - we headed to the Bryant Park Holiday Shops for the next wave of consumer excess. 

Jewelry for mom, check.

 

Watch for Juan, check. 

Hat and scarf for mom, check.

Then we dashed off to the Eighth Avenue street fair, Godiva, Baked by Melissa and finally the Columbus Circle Market (more jewelry for mom, of course).  In just under three hours, we made Christmas our bitch!  Well, almost. 

Between the day’s marathon shopping session and Amazon purchases, I managed to cover all of our immediate family.  But I had forgotten that several family friends would be stopping by throughout the weekend.  We couldn’t let them leave the Pineda household empty handed.

Though exhausted and “shopped out,” we decided to make a few stops on our drive to Juan and Val’s house.  Even though technically we had one more shopping day left, there was no way in hell I was going to venture into the retail jungle on Christmas Eve.  Nearing the Clark exit on the Garden State Parkway, I started frantically researching store hours on my iPhone and mentally plotting our plan of attack based upon store closing times (we’re hardcore, baby!) - Marshalls first (closing at 10 PM), then Target (closing at 11 PM) and finally ShopRite (open 24 hours). 

I spent an inordinate amount of time at Marshalls looking for the right sized shirt for one of our students, Zach, who was stopping by on Christmas with his family.  He’s your typical straight, teenage boy, so we decided he needed the style counseling of a New York gay.  I picked out a smart blue button down and a couple of fabulous ties.  Also on our shopping list was William, a former conservatory student now at Lehigh University.  He’d have to make due with an iPad stylus. 

We closed down Marshalls and headed across the parking lot to Target.  With less than an hour to closing, we decided to divide and concur to increase our shopping efficiency.  Trish headed into the “ladies” department and “housewares” to complete the gift list for the rest of Zach’s family while I high tailed it to “books” and “electronics” for some added bonus gifts for our family.  

We shut Target down as well and then headed across the highway to the 24-hour ShopRite.  At least now we didn’t have a time limit.  We leisurely browsed the aisles for chips and dips and assorted cold appetizers, our assigned course for the holiday festivities.  Val, mom and BJ’s would be responsible for the rest.

Finally, after midnight, we pulled into Juan and Val’s driveway.  I’m sure we woke the neighborhood as the back end of the car scraped bottom with all the Christmas booty we had piled in the back seat.  Val groggily answered the door.  What was she doing in bed at midnight, anyway?  They must be shivering in hell.