11/14/97

Catalog Heaven

My overstuffed mailbox tells me the holiday shopping season has arrived. Is there nothing we can't buy from catalogs? Apparently not. For just under $5000 you can order a handpenned note from Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis or a first edition copy of Alcoholics' Anonymous. Another company features a snap-together couch for under $1000, which arrives on the doorstep in several large cartons and takes less than five minutes to assemble.

From the exotic to the mundane, you can buy it from home. Leaf through the pages, call the 800 number, charge it, arrange for shipment to the recipient's front door, and your shopping's done. Feeling a twinge of guilt that you didn't pack 'n wrap it yourself? Picture the sea of cars in the mall parking lot, store tables piled high with a bewildering array of merchandise, long lines of impatient shoppers at each cash register, and even longer lines at the post office - and those guilty feelings will evaporate. Not only have you avoided the crowds, you have also found Unique Gifts in a fraction of the time it would take in the stores, leaving you plenty of time for other pursuits. Quality play with children, for example, rarely occurs in malls.

Last week's mail also brought a friend's annual Christmas letter, two months earlier than usual. "That's odd," I thought, but the contents made the reasons clear. Now that their children have left the nest, mom and dad are planning to move into smaller quarters. "Please, no presents!" their letter begs. "Donate to a charity or volunteer at the soup kitchen in our names, but don't send us any more stuff! In fact, why not come for a visit and take some of it away?"

Other friends, soon to remarry, expressed a similar thought. Their wedding invitation requested that guests, in lieu of gifts, make charitable donations in the newlyweds' names. What a generous and thoughtful way to celebrate their nuptials! I sent our wedding donation, explanatory note attached, to the local YWCA's "rainy day" fund to buy eyeglasses or driver education books or children's shoes. The director assured me that every dollar goes directly to someone who needs it.

My friends' letters remind me that our society does not bestow its riches on everyone equally. We are still a nation of haves and have-nots. Even though we can buy almost anything from catalogs, some of the things we can't buy, like hugs, kisses and a helping hand, are often the best gifts of all. I can think of no better way to capture the true spirit of this holiday season than to fill a poor family's mailbox with gifts from the heart.

Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.