Christmas shopping can add up

Okay, so this week I bit the bullet and decided to start shopping for Christmas. Usually I start shopping toward the end of November, but this year I did it on a whim. Infact, most of it I did last night online waiting for my girlfriend to get home. This afternoon I am going through my reciepts to see just how much I decided to fork over. Already I am over what I allocated to spend this year and I still have three more people to shop for.
Since when did Christmas shopping become so expensive?
I remember the days when my brother, sister and I would shop at the local store a few weeks before Christmas. Because we were too young to have jobs, mom and dad would give us our allowance ($20 for the month), and we would have to figure out how to spend $20 on four people. That was never too hard -- an action figure for my brother, a diary for my sister, a video for mom and dad.
Now, Christmas shopping is a lot like a chore. You are expected to get a gift for everyone and their mom and your list grows expotentially larger every year. And of those on your list, half of them say, "Don't get me anything; I don't need anything this year." All that does is make my job A LOT harder.
This year I decided to do 95 percent of my shopping online. Amazon.com had virtually everything I was looking for (and at a good price). Within 40 minutes I had gifts purchased for seven out of 10 people.
The catch is, I am still shopping for the three HARDEST people in the universe. My mom, grandma and girlfriend must sit around the kitchen table together and plot new ways to make my life more stressful. None of the " Christmas trifector," as I call them, will give me a hint of an idea for Christmas gifts.
Luckly, Bon Jovi is going on tour in March. And since the GF very much enjoys Bon Jovi, her name can be scratched off the list (thank you Ticketmaster).
The rest are probably going to gift cards. Yes its less personable, but for someone who has no patience when it comes to shopping, it's the best option. After walking around Meijer and Target for a combined two and a half hours last night browsing for gifts, I'm done.
At least, as they say, Christmas comes but once a year.

D.L.