Oh, Christmas. I love it. Too much. Even worse, I like outdoing myself, topping whatever scheme I had going the previous year. I don’t think I fully accomplished outcrazying myself, yet, but I’ve found some fun stuff.

This Christmas, I have maybe stepped into one store to buy gifts. The rest have been lovingly sorted out through the interwebs. This brings me great joy, as I am not a mall girl, and tend to be sucked into a) impulse buys and b) buying stuff for myself when I go shopping for others.

As with last year, I’m going to do a mini gift-roundup of shops I’ve bought from for this Christmas:

Amazon.co.uk: Because the item I ordered was times a million cheaper there than on Amazon.com (not even available on Amazon.ca). I thought it was lost in the mail, so asked for, and received a refund. On cue, the item arrived in the mail yesterday. I feel good and bad all at once.

Amazon.ca: They have the key to my heart. And fast shipping.

eBay: I bought two presents this year from good ol’ eBay after a pretty long time spent avoiding auctions (there was an “incident” involving Paypal this summer that left a sour taste in my mouth).

The Sampler: Cute “stocking stuffer” esque presents such as prints, keychains, jewellry, and other baubles.

Bluefly.com: I cannot think of this store without hearing Tim Gunn’s voice. There is nothing wrong with that.

Yard Sales and Flea Markets: 80% books, 10% movies, 10% peanut brittle (om nom nom).

Etsy: My love for Etsy has no bounds. I like that it’s really easy to buy local, there.

Handmade: Really sad lookin’.

Next week (c’mon, payday) I am going to pick up some local stuff, at lovely places such as The Bookmark, the Farmer’s Market, Pretty Things Boutique, and Strange Adventures. I will no doubt die when trying to brave the crowds, but it is worth it to do my part and inject a bit of cash into Halishops. I also have a secret scheme that a local artist is helping me out with… I’m excited to see the results!

This weekend will see me bein’ awkward at the department Christmas party at Pier 21 (wearing this) and getting kicked off the stage at Retro Night at the Marquee—perhaps the LAST Retro Night ever! Bring your neon duds and fuzzy legwarmers and meet me there good and early… last time before it got crowded the DJ played bits of the Trainspotting soundtrack, which nearly killed me in its goodness. It’s worth it to go just see my stupid reaction to songs like “Under Pressure“. Trust me.