Christmas in July

On my refrigerator is a comic strip that ran in January many years ago featuring Sally and Charlie Brown from "Peanuts." Sally is all dressed up and, when Charlie Brown asks her where she's going, she tells him to see Santa Claus. You're either a few weeks too late or 11 months too early, he responds.

I take the Sally approach to Christmas by planning early for it. Yes, I love the holidays, but the nickname of "Stressmas" seems all too appropos these days. So to help reduce the inevitable pressures the season brings, and to save money, I start planning what I'm going to get family members and friends in July. It seems a little ridiculous, I know, but this way I'm on the lookout for sales throughout the fall. I also can space out my spending by purchasing a few items per month rather than all at once. And I have enough time to make homemade gifts -- after all, it's the thought, not the money, that counts in a present.

I started making my list the other day. No doubt I'll be checking it and making tweaks throughout the fall. But when the malls are filled with harried shoppers in the days before Christmas buying whatever is left on store shelves for their loved ones, I plan to sit at home with a cup of hot chocolate, take a deep breath and focus on what Christmas is really about. Hint: It's not shopping.