I'm giving you the same thing I gave you last year, only in blue

This The Good Little Robot comic appeared in the December 2005 issue of Zoinks! magazine. Zoinks! has gone on hiatus for a couple of issues, so the TGLR comics that would have been published in Zoinks! will be published here in the coming months. Keep your eyes peeled!

So, the “holidays” are coming up. It’s a bit of a misnomer, really, considering the amount of work that goes into it. Things can get pretty hectic this time of year, so try not to freak out. Take some time for yourself, enjoy friends and family. Eat well. But don’t eat your friends and family, because that’s messed up.

I don’t give gifts to everyone I know, just a few people. I refuse to participate in work related gift exchanges, or “Secret Santa” situations. There seems to be some lie circulating that gifts only come in fancy coloured boxes with ribbons and little tags. Time is much more valuable to me than a fancy box, and sharing time with friends and family, telling stories, eating food, and drinking drinks is much more enduring. Your mileage may vary.

There is a saying about doing things well, or not doing them at all. I think this is more important at Christmas than ever. There is so much pressure and expectation about giving and receiving this time of year, I think the care goes out of the gift selection. Are you giving that person a gift because you really think they will enjoy and benefit from the thing you purchased? Or are you giving that person a gift because you feel obliged to give them one? In the very least, if you must give someone a gift, try and put some thought into it. And that goes year round. If you can’t find anything that you think they’ll like, maybe you shouldn’t give them anything at all. Maybe you’d both benefit by spending some time getting to know each other better.

I’m sure I’ll be writing more about the holidays as we get closer to lift off. For example, the few gifts I do buy each year have yet to be bought. I sense impending drama. I’m thinking t-shirts for everybody.

Good luck out there.