No, I’m not finished with my holiday shopping yet either. My husband keeps forgetting what day Christmas falls on and I burned the last batch of cookies.
I know there are others out there who’ve only made it through two-thirds of your list and are standing poised and frustrated, trying to find that one-of-a-kind gift for that ever-present person who just seems to have everything.
If you live in North County, you are in luck. This may be the year to forgo the sequined sweater and bad ties that only address the outer self. In this northern portion of our fair county, we tend to eschew the gathering of tawdry possessions.
Here we focus on feeding the inner self, and the inner self is in for a heck of a holiday.
Consider these few suggestions that can be had right in our neighborhood and, I suspect, absolutely nowhere else in the U.S. east of Mission Valley.
Some of these will be hard to wrap, but I can pretty much guarantee that you won’t find a duplicate under the tree.
After the last couple of years we’ve had, and masks going back on, we probably are feeling frazzled, burned out, befuddled or just cranky.
No Chia Pet or box of chocolates is going to set that right. They need something to “soothe the savage breast” and knock out some road rage.
First, somewhere in Encinitas, you can order up a gong bath. If that doesn’t work, you can try singing crystal bowls in Solana Beach.
Both specialties suggest you will soon be awash in cleansing, healing sound waves that will take what you shouldn’t have and give you what you haven’t got. It beats having to argue with your HMO.
Nearby, in the same neck of the woods, you can order up a session of brain gyms. These don’t make you sweat. These kick open the pathways to the mind.
While they remain firmly convinced that they already know everything, this may be all teenagers need to get in their stockings this year.
Or for just $145, you can send your sweetie to a special seminar that promises to show you how to gather your resources and get your life back on track.
While it sounds just lovely, if I had $145 to spend on a single present, I might actually have resources and considered my life nicely on track.
For others of you who subscribe to the F.A.O Schwartz catalog and tend to consider buying the his-and-hers, gold-embossed foot warmers, you might consider the discovery of beauty and spiritual nourishment promised by an “off the beaten path” trip to France.
It offers quality time in small, mountain villages and close interaction with French natives. If they will cook for me, I’m in.
Consider a wine-and-paint class or a healing Ki massage. The recipient may not really like it, but I bet she’ll be too relaxed to complain.
Jean Gillette is a freelance writer considering a three-day bubble bath. Contact her at [email protected].
