MADE IN CHINA

 This years brings a whole new meaning to the phrase, "Made In China".  Wasn't it just a few years ago that there was a huge push in the US to "BuyAmerican !".  If you saw a label that said, "made in China" you weren't supposed to purchase it. 

Well this year our entire Christmas is revolving around the "Made in China" virus . . . Good old Covid 19 came to us straight out of China and it is changing our lives forever.  But not necessarily in a bad way.

Yesterday I went out to get my mail I found THREE Christmas cards mixed in among the forty two catalogues that were stuffed into the mailbox. Yesterday was December first . . .  that means that the senders of these cards had to have sent their greetings mailed out on the day after Thanksgiving. Two of the three cards were photo cards which further means that the senders had to have taken the pictures and ordered the printed cards well before the beginning of November. 

WHO DOES THAT ?  

Normally NO ONE does that because we are all running around like idiots who are focused on Thanksgiving for the entire month of November.  We haven't given any thought to Thanksgiving before November first because we were decorating and buying costumes for Halloween. We weren't thinking about Halloween before the first of October because we were too focused on getting the kids back to school September.  And so on and so on. 

How in Heaven's name are these people getting their Christmas cards printed, written and sent before the first of December ? 

 What has changed in our lives from last year?  It is the China Virus, thank you very much, that is giving us so much time at home so we have nothing better to do than to prepare for holidays. Added to the fact that Amazon and Walmart have made shopping on line WAY too easy with their next day deliveries so all we have to do is open the computer, "google" what we want and press that one little button. VOILA ! Christmas is on its way to our homes.  

This thought got me wondering about what other changes we will see for the Christmas holidays. Given all this extra free time to do stuff here's some other things we may notice.

I think we will see record numbers of Christmas cards arriving at our homes this year.  People have been "locked" down for almost a year and by now are desperate for ways to keep busy. Why not start writing the Christmas cards in August?  We can't go on vacation because of Covid so we might as well sit at home and get those cards written.   Normally we would not be able to find Christmas cards in the stores until at least the end of October but all that is taken care of thanks to our on line shopping sites. 

We are also so starved for social contact that the thought of getting connected with our old friends has become much more important. What better way to keep in touch than to send a card to someone we are thinking of.  Taking this a step further we may also see an increase in new books being written by those people who like to express themselves in the written word but are always too busy to sit and write that great American novel.  (Or, as in my case, the silly daily blog.).  I think you all better get on line and order larger mailboxes immediately !

Next on the list of Covid Christmas changes I am thinking there will be a spike in decorations on peoples houses. I'm envisioning a Chevy Chase type Christmas where Clark Griswold goes totally nuts with his outside Christmas decorations.  (If you have never seen this movie stop reading this and go on Netflix to watch this totally hilarious film.) I don't know where Clark found the time to do all his decorating but I do know there are going to be a LOT more people putting up decorations this year. We all need something to make us happy after all our sacrifices with this stupid virus. What better way to bring happiness to ourselves and our neighbors than to spend a small fortune on Christmas lights and decorations ? Hello Amazon . . .  one push of a button and the twelve foot Santa and reindeer can be on your front lawn in a matter of hours. 

Next we will move indoors and think about the forty seven pounds we will all gain this season from the twelve billion Christmas cookies that will be baked. I have seen this in my family already . . . spending a lot more time in the kitchen baking goodies that make us feel good.  It's an activity to keep us busy, it produces wonderful smells which trigger wonderful memories of happier times and cookies are YUMMY! Baking is a family project that brings people together in a warm and cozy environment. It builds wonderful memories for years to come. It gives us a reason to stuff our faces with goodies all in the name of staying sane in these troubling times. 

I bet there will also be a lot less traffic accidents from the harried shoppers racing around doing last minute Christmas shopping.  We have all had plenty of time to make lists and shop on line ahead of time. Or if you are like me you don't even need the lists.  When I think of something I want/need I just head to the computer and order it. (The fact that I now have a pile of Amazon boxes that would rival the Berlin Wall is of no concern. ) 

The other day my kids were asking me what I would like for Christmas. Naturally I immediately said I wanted world peace . . .  No, not really . . .  (I do want world peace but that wasn't what I told them.) Their observation is that I buy anything I want so they don't know what to get me.  DUH !!  They can buy me an Amazon gift card of course !!  

I'm sure you are all thinking that all of the above observations regarding this season are going to cost us a small fortune at a time when people are loosing jobs. Just consider that by doing your part you are actually providing new jobs for those who are currently unemployed.  Your shopping is increasing the need for stores to hire extra personal. We need more Amazon delivery persons. UPS is hiring drivers which increases the need for new vehicles which provides work for the auto industry.  The Post Office is definitely in need of hiring about twenty gazillion new workers to handle the load of Christmas cards and packages being sent this year. We need more farmers to milk more cows so we have enough butter and milk for those Christmas cookies.  

On and on it goes . . .   I wonder what other fun changes Covid will bring us ?