Christmas Eve, 2011, and my nine year old grandson meets me at the door looking a bit anxious as he asks “Granny, are we going to do Yard Sale Santa?” “Of course!” I exclaim feeling delighted that this decade old tradition has become an anchor for our Holiday festivities.
And so it goes. We gather around the tree after a light meal and before the children’s bedtime, and I get to be “Yard Sale Santa”.
It’s the culmination of a years worth of “hunting and gathering” at Thrift Shops and Yard Sales with treasures galore for all (including the other grandparents).
My daughter has become fond of the designer purses, and I can usually pull off something Ex-Officio or Mountain Hardware for my son in law. One year my grandson got a vintage Mickey Mouse bowling ball, and I can never go wrong with something from Hollister for my adolescent granddaughter.
Some gifts are silly while others are met with the refrain, “I can’t believe you found that at a Yard Sale!”
And it feels good to be recycling rather than being stuck in the consumer driven big box store madness that seems to take the joy out of giving. Don’t get me wrong, we still have a traditional Christmas morning gift exchange, but we try to curb the excesses.
So, dear “Rosebuds”, I invite you to share in this tradition, and I challenge you to host your own family Yard Sale Santa gathering.
The Second Hand Rosies “Yard Sale Santa Rag Shakin’” on Saturday, November 17, 2012 will be the perfect place to start your shopping. Yes, we will have the traditional clothing swap, but we are also encouraging you to bring other “stuff” that can be re-gifted, (art, kitchen tools, books, and oddities).
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