Process Essay Re-write

As Christmas keeps getting closer and closer, I find myself getting ready to start some shopping. I do not take the “normal” approach to my shopping. Instead of fighting traffic on Stillwater Avenue, being shoved in the crowded isles, and waiting in mile-long checkout lines, I have discovered that shopping online is the most stress-free and physically safe process of getting my gifts. There are three simple steps to shopping online for the holidays. The first thing I do is to make a list of items I want to buy and who I want to buy for. I call this the “Wish List”. The next step, which is my absolute favorite, is to find a Web site that sells a variety of these items and start browsing and adding gifts to my cart. The last thing I have to do, which is the worst part of my Christmas shopping experience, is to weed through all of the items I have put into my cart, and choose the items that are what I really want to purchase, not what I have put in the cart on a whim.


Before I even get on the Internet, I devise a list of everyone I want to buy for and what I want to get them. I write down everyone I intend to buy gifts for on one side of the paper. For my kids and four nephews, I usually have to get an itemized list of Lego sets, Bratz dolls, Barbies, board games, Video games, and books. For my husband and my dad, I usually have to list many items from Craftsman and VIP. My mom and sister are the easiest to itemize for; they love to read. My brother is a tech geek so any computer games, or software are perfect for him. I try to write down a few things for everyone, so that I will have a variety to choose from once I start shopping.



After the Wish List is done, I get to start looking for the perfect Web site to do my holiday shopping. I try to make the site I choose a popular site that people know. This way I feel safer when giving my personal information during the checkout process. My two absolute favorite places to shop are Amazon.com and Overstock.com. While Amazon has more of a variety of toys, games, books, and computer software, Overstock has great prices. The actual shopping is my favorite part of the Christmas gift buying process. I love to spend hours browsing and adding items to my cart. I guess I'm still a kid at heart because I can spend an eternity in the toy section finding just what I think the kids will love. I also have a great time in the book section. I am a total book worm and it can take me literaly days to find just a few books for my mom and sister because I get so caught up in reading the excerpts and writing books down for myself in the future. I find it hardest to get through the tool buying experience. I hate tools. I don't understand the difference between mm. and in. and I never know which brand is best. What I usually end up doing is getting gift cards from Sears or Home Depot that way I can spend more time shopping for what I enjoy.



When I have finally finished adding all my items to my bag, I go to the checkout. Here is where I have to spend more than a few minutes organizing my items that I have piled into my cart. I get so caught up in the shopping that I don't pay much attention to the quantity and price of the items I have selected. I tend to go way overboard with the Add Item To Cart button. I get so excited thinking about how much my daughter is going to love all those baby dolls or how my sons will go nuts when they get the $90 Lego set that when I get to the checkout, I need to take a deep breath and think about the effect their joy will put on my wallet. It is not unusual for me to have over $1000 worth of items in my cart by the time I am finished shopping. I hate going through and removing so much, but by the time I am finished, my head is a little clearer and I am more sensible about my purchases. All I have to do now is push the check out button and my Christmas shopping is done.


Christmas shopping used to be an event I dreaded and put off until last minute. Now I just make my list, go online, and shop until my heart is content. My shopping is usually done by November, but sometimes there is the occasional spontaneous buy that I just have to get for someone. I usually have all my gifts and wrapping done before the beginning of December. I just love that I can sit back and relax next to my Christmas tree with a nice cup of hot cocoa with my husband and my children singing Christmas carols as I wait for UPS to deliver my packages. I smile when I think of all the other people who are sitting in traffic or shoving each other around the packed aisles, and waiting in the horrendous checkout lines to buy their gifts. I can’t wait to start my shopping for this year.