Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 7

MILL CREEK STORIES
By MOLLY DUGGER BRENNAN

Safe Place
The

The secrets of hiding holiday gifts.

f all the things that go into making the holiday season what it is, I think I adore the food
the most. Yep, definitely the abundance of delicious food. But a close second place would
have to go to giving gifts to the people I love.
It gives me great pleasure to find a gift I
think the person will love. I keep an eye out
the whole year for things I think will tickle their fancy,
surprise them, or be well used by them. I give this a lot of
thought. I make an effort not to ever repeat a gift.
For example, I try not to give Aunt Cathy cardinalthemed gifts every year just because she mentioned once
in 1982 that she liked red birds. I try to be more observant
of my family's habits so the gift fits their preferences. My
apologies to my dear Aunt Cathy again, as I bought her a
lovely set of porcelain coffee mugs without realizing she
does not drink coffee. Honestly, maybe I should start taking notes or something.
So it is with great delight that I bring home absolutely
perfect gifts for family and friends during the year and
store them in a safe place. You've heard of "the safe place"
haven't you? It is a spot in the house where the rest of the
family won't stumble upon their ideal gifts until I present
them, beautifully wrapped, during the holidays. Ta da!
You have to have multiple safe places in your house
because everyone pokes about different areas. Gifts for
my husband can be safely tucked away
in my baking supplies since he never
bakes these days, but the rest of the
house is up for grabs. Gifts for my niece
cannot be anywhere near the computers, craft supplies, or kitchen since she's
all over that. Gifts for my dog-loving
friends can't be stored anywhere my
own dogs might get into.
Maybe you know the safe place by
its other name, the black hole of mystery, because once I hide a gift away, the
likelihood that I will find it again by December is slim. I was doing some spring
cleaning this year and on the top shelf,
shoved way back in a corner in the linen
closet, I found a treasure trove of old gifts,
still waiting for their moment to shine. I
don't think my niece, who is graduating
college next year, will really experience

the joy I imagined when I bought this set of Legos for her.
I have toys for children that are way too old to play
with them now. I have people's favorite movies on VHS
tape. I have clothing in sizes the recipient grew out of
ages ago. I have a little statuette of a dachshund I bought
for my friend when she got her Doxie puppy. That dog
passed away two years ago from old age. So help me, I
found jam that has turned a color that is just not natural. I cannot call it jam anymore since it seems to have
morphed into strawberry-rhubarb sludge.
Then there's the gorgeous monogrammed stationery
for a woman whose initials have changed due to a divorce
and remarriage. Twice. Life simply does not wait for me
to discover where I hid these gifts. Often, I don't even remember the specifics of what I've bought. It's all a vague
fog of did I already get something for Didi or not.
So my intentions are good. Really,
they are. Evidently, my ability to hide
gifts from everyone, including myself,
BEST WISHES
is spectacular, magical even. Like I am
TO EVERYONE
sending these presents to another diIN THE BLUE
RIDGE COUNTRY
mension. Unfortunately, I haven't masCOMMUNITY FOR
tered how to conjure their return at the
A LOVELY HOLIDAY
peak moment of usefulness.
SEASON AND A
Honestly, maybe I should start taking
FABULOUS NEW
YEAR.
notes or something.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018

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