The Thrill of the Last Minute

All your Christmas shopping done yet? Mine is. But last night I hadn’t even started and when a well meaning friend went into a full blown panic after she heard what to her was terrifying news I thought, “Well, no time like the present,” and I got online and it felt good to get a few presents in the queue onto Santa’s sleigh so to speak. And then I couldn’t stop. There were deals and free shipping deadlines and sales ending at midnight, and so I kept on until the wee hours of the morning. By mid-afternoon today I was done. And it feels good. It’s the way my Organic Freedom (NFP) type likes to do it. All at once and with a big rush of adrenaline and excitement.

It’s not like the holidays don’t stress me out. Me and the other types who don’t feel the need structure every minute of our days — Smart Freedom (NTPs) and Funs (SPs) — can also feel the enormity of all the tasks that need to be done, and sometimes we go into structured overkill to handle the pressure. There have been plenty of years when I had an Excel spread sheet to keep track of all the gifts I was giving and to who, whether they had been ordered, shipped or arrived. Frankly it’s the only list in my life that I’ve ever checked twice. But that’s only because there was too much on my plate.

One of the good things about the recession is that my gift giving has been scaled back to a place where I don’t really need a list anymore. It’s helped that my in-laws decided a few years ago that we shouldn’t exchange gifts, and I’ve gotten into an every other year rhythm for Christmas cards. And God Bless my sister, who has taken on the hosting duties for Christmas dinner. Short of going back in time and getting to celebrate Christmas in Cleveland in a more likely Winter Wonderland, she couldn’t have given me a better gift. I’m not surprised that my first year not hosting Christmas I did a last minute Christmas shopping binge. Because back in the day when Mom was in charge of Christmas I was the Queen of the Christmas Eve shopper and I loved every minute of it. It’s just the way I’m wired. Like Santa delivering presents to all the children, I work best when I get it done all at once.

Asking us last minute types to do it ahead of time, spread out over the year or starting on a specific certain day — ahem Black Friday — is like asking us to the dishes right after dinner just because. That’s what’s stressful about the holidays. If the time challenged Organic Freedoms and Smart Freedoms and Funs try to do holidays the way that planning and To Do listing Classics (SJs), Smart Structures (NTJs) and Organic Structures (NFJs) do it, they tend to go overboard into perfection and so give themselves way more time than they need, going a bit overboard the other way and get things done crazy early, or start using Excel spreadsheets to keep track of everything. Deadlines work best for these types and what better deadline than December 24th?

There are of course drawbacks to the last minute — paying extra for shipping, presents out of stock, not being able to enjoy the moment because you were up all night wrapping presents — but when you do find that perfect gift, get 80% off, or a special deal for last minute shoppers, there’s no better rush, and what’s amazing to me is that yesterday I hadn’t done any of my Christmas shopping. Today, I am done. Now, I know there are Classics out there who don’t consider themselves done with Christmas shopping until the gifts are wrapped and under the tree, but that’s for those get it done earlys. Santa doesn’t spend all year delivering presents, he gets it done all in one night, and so if Santa can do it, so can I. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the last minute if it works best for you.

For me, I’m sticking with Santa. There’s nothing more magical than going to sleep on Christmas eve with the tree lights all pretty and twinkling and then waking up in the morning with the smell of fresh brewed coffee intermingling with fresh pine, the tree engulfed in presents, stockings brimming with goods, the windows covered in frost and the trees and lawns covered in a thick blanket of sparkling snow, Mom and Dad and Grandparents in their robes and slippers, eyes reflecting the children’s, full of anticipation, excitement and joy.  

Give me Santa’s last minute rush any day.