2015 Holiday Memo!

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If you’d like to download the 2015 Holiday Memo for easy viewing on your device, click into the viewer above and click the button in the lower right hand corner (the first one that has the outline of a box with an arrow coming out of it)  and click ‘Download.’  If you’re on a smartphone, the button appears in the upper right-hand corner once you’ve clicked into the guide. 

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Today, I’m SO excited to finally share the 2015 Holiday Memo with you! The holiday season is officially here and with Black Friday (AGH!) just around the corner, it’s time to get serious.

Due to my perpetual tendency to work too much and plan ahead too little, I am the (self-proclaimed) QUEEN of panicked last-minute shopping. As such, let me give you a little insight into my holiday shopping process:

November 26 – December 22:  In search of gift inspiration, I’ll occasionally peruse lame online holiday gift guides during lunch breaks, and/or when desperate for an excuse to not clean my apartment. This generally results in a complete lack of inspiration and the hopeless utterance of expletives under my breath every time one of these guides offers the ground-breaking suggestion that I buy the men in my life a (*drumroll*) TIE.

December 23, 1:45 AM:  I wake up in the middle of the night, realize I still haven’t found any good gifts, and frantically attempt to order random, awful things online. The expletives are now growing louder.

December 23, 1:56 AM:  After settling on a slew of relatively terrible gifts, I quickly realize that next-day shipping is no longer available. It’s officially too late. Expletives are now hurled at the ceiling of my bedroom with noteworthy volume and vigor.

December 23, 1:58 AM:  I call customer service and begin fruitless attempts at bribing the unfortunate customer service representative to help me. He/she reminds me that he/she does not, in fact, control UPS shipping capabilities. We exchange pleasantries and hang up.  So many expletives.

December 23, 2:01 AM:  I begin the age-old debate of whether to fake my own death, or try to shop in-store (GASP!) the next day.  %$*#&*@#*&^%$#!!!!!!

December 23, 10:00 AM:  I do the Christmas Walk of Shame, which constitutes being seen on December 23rd and/or 24th entering brick-and-mortar stores (apparently these still exist?) and picking Christmas gifts from among the deplorable dregs still available in store (a.k.a. the products that all of humanity has heretofore rejected).  Getting increasingly creative with expletives as standard-issue expletives are growing insufficient.

December 25, 8:30 AM:  I’m voted out of the family.  In true A Christmas Story-style, I weave a tapestry of obscenities that as far as we know is still hanging in space over Lake Michigan.  My mother is in a fit of abhorrence and starts calling mothers of childhood friends asking who taught me such language while my brothers heave me out the back door and into a snow bank.

DIAGNOSIS:  Chronic procrastination and borderline personality disorder.

In an attempt to get a bit more rest on the night of December 23rd, avoid the total dissolution of my vocabulary, and prevent being ejected from my family’s home on Christmas Day, I decided to approach the holiday season differently this year.  I came to the conclusion that this would first mandate the abandonment of unhelpful online holiday guides. (No, random shopping guide, I’m not getting my mom a spatula. Killer idea.)

Instead, months ago, I started putting together the 2015 Holiday Memo.  I knew I couldn’t be alone in my holiday shopping frustrations, and that perhaps many of you faced the same challenges when searching for the right gifts.  I was determined to put together a holiday shopping guide that was a true resource for the working girl—a concise list of gift suggestions that are vetted and thoroughly endorsed.  Whether you’re buying for her, for him, for the new working girl, the hostess or the travel junkie, there’s something in there for you.  In addition to all of my very best gift ideas for everyone on your list, it also contains some of my favorite holiday outfits and a few special Christmas traditions from my family as well!  Heck, there are even a couple recipes in there.  Things got a little crazy.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be updating products and links in the Holiday Memo as things sell out, so the guide can continue to be a helpful, relevant resource as you work through your shopping list. For ease of access, you’ll see the 2015 Holiday Memo graphic and link on the top right hand sidebar on Memorandum’s homepage through Christmas.  Anytime you’re looking to reference the Holiday Memo, you can just click right up there and it will take you back to the guide!  Also, if you prefer not to view it in the embedded viewer above, see the instructions at the top of this post to download the full guide to your desktop, tablet or smartphone—it looks great and works perfectly in iBooks, if that’s an easier option for you.

I hope you enjoy the 2015 Holiday Memo!  Happy Monday and Happy Holidays!!