Just to be blunt about it: I really like Christmas, but I don’t like Christmas shopping.
I know I am not alone in this, but I figured it best to get it out of the way. In my estimation, the female portion of the population doesn’t have much of an idea how the male of the species stresses over the whole Christmas gift search. I know that may be a terrible, sexist thing to say, but there it is.
Under full disclosure here, I will admit the last-minute search for Christmas presents (is there any other way to do it?) does interfere with several hunting seasons and activities. The week or two before Christmas (traditionally when I do all of my shopping) is rife with several hunting opportunities.
The fall turkey season is going on in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and a certain brown dog keeps reminding me of this. The bear season is going in both of the Virginias. Also, now is really the time for squirrel hunting if you are following a squirrel dog through the hardwoods (I don’t have a cur right now, but I am looking). And let us not forget we will have some doe days after Christmas to stock up on venison.
So if you are an avid sportsman, this time of year can be busy. The added stress of shopping for presents (when most of the time we don’t have a clue what we are looking for) doesn’t help.