Harti Shannon Humphreys =| Contributing Writer DECEMBER 25 is still a long way off but already friends of mine are bragging about hav- ing all their Christmas shopping done. I don’t know how they do it. I’ve gied the carly approach to Christmas shopping, but I keep running into problems. First of all, kids are unpre- dictable. They may get excited about something they want for Christmas one weck, but the next week it’s different. [ have had to return more gifts in December that I bought in November because a kid has changed his mind. Not only that, my kids, like most kids I ‘know, are s oiled rotten. They don’t really need anything and the older they et, the more trouble they have coming up with a Christmas list. Recently I asked one of my boys what he wants for Christmas. “I don’t know Mom. You think of something for me,” was the reply. “Like what?” I asked. “Like something really good,” he said. _ I get the feeling he means something so special it cannot be defined by mere language. I do not know where to shop for this thing, but it is probably out of my price range anyway. I do know that if I wait long enough, he will come up with Friday, December 12, 1997 — North Shore News something reasonable for me to get him. This will likely be around the 22nd of December. Then there is the tricky job of hiding the gifts I buy carly. I believe that human chil- dren are programmed at birth to have a nose to detect where Christmas presents are hidden, just like Labrador retrievers instinctively retrieve. My kids are no exception. They start sniffing around just after Halloween. They seem to be able to sense when a gift enters the house, even if I disguise it. They engage in ruthless search parties when I am out, rooting clumsily through places like my bedroom closet and the laun- dry room. Obviously the longer a gift is around, the more likely it is that it ‘will be found. It serves no purpose to get mad at the lousy litle snoops. They cannot help themselves. [ve tried setting traps for these poachers. [ put old socks into boxes, wrap them and hide them. I don’t know if this works as a deterrent or not, north shore news CHRISTMAS because no one has contessed to finding the traps. However, T accidentally gave a “trap gift” to my mother-in-law one year. She was not amused. T have learned to be very clever with my real hiding places. Same of my secret stashes are so good that even I can’t find them. I know there are Christmas presents from years past hidden all over this house, but I keep this to myself. Sometimes when I buy things in November, by December I have already for- gotten them. One year I bought my hus- band the same snowboard lock twice. Fortunately, I realized what I had done, so I wrapped up the extra lock and hid it away for my son’s birthday. I haven't seen it since. One Christmas a couple of years ago I had some trouble with a video game I bought fur one Sr my kids. a ist aime I bought the game I hid it so well that I couldn’t find it. The second time I forgot 1 bought the game at ali. The third ame I bought the game it felt a fit- de familiar, but I wrapped it up and put it under the tree any- way. I found one of the games hidden in my barhing suit last spring. I found the secoad one a week later crammed behind the ironing board in the attic. ‘Three months ago I found a Care Bear from Christmas of "86, all wrapped up and stuffed in my suitcase. I don’t get away on holidays enough. This year our family has a new computer, I’ve been thinking this might be a way to organize carly Chzistmas shop- ping. I've begun to log all my Christmas purchases on the computer. fam tracking whom they are for, and where they were hidden. This list is safe from snooping eves, because I have “password protected” it. Now if only I can remem-§ ber my password, I too can fi ish my Christmas shopping carly. — Shannon Humpbhrevs is West Vancouver writer, | Bring Art And Nature Together. | I Indoors or outdoors.) For a truly unique gift, these attractive _ bird houses feature designs inspired by nature. These bird houses make a beautiful accent to any home and are fully functional for attracting nesting birds to your backyard. Our Certified Birdfeeding Specialists can show you our wide variety of decorative bird houses and birdfeeders. PildBirde Undine El Your Backyard Birdfeeding Sp Specialist Visit us at www.wbu 1190 Marine Drive (at Pemberton) 988-2121 BIRDSEED ¢© FEEDERS *© BIRDBATHS ® Optics © NATURE GIFTS Accessory Sale! 20% off all accessories til year end! Silk flowers, mirrors, ' lamps, . ; trees, neko etc. 4997 Chrisernas C20 pol sas NEWS photo Mike Wakefield Ginger J ar Interiors 1420 Fell Avenue, North Vancouver . 988-7328 Monday to Saturday 9:30 - 6, .... Sunday 11 - 5:30 Sce the North Shore's largest furniture collection including upholstery, leather, rattan and patio. Cool card RACHEL Aberle, joined by West Van Mayor Pat Boname, is the winner of the West Vancouver Mayor's Christmas card design for 1997. Rachel picked up a $100 cheque. The cards are available for purchase at the Ferry Building Gallery.