The biggest challenge I face each year is far more daunting than a big dance competition, intimidating than preparing for finals week or exhausting than a tennis tournament. As the holidays roll around at the end of each year, my hopes for a relaxed break are crushed, as my mom and I prepare ourselves for the tiring task of finding the best fit gift for the personality of each person in our 20-member extended family.
As we entered the maze of shops at the Tanger Outlet nestled in Barstow, Calif., I let out a heavy breath as I braced myself for the annual shopping extravaganza, and the quest to find the gift to match the character of each person in our family began. The outlet’s directory attracted a large crowd trying to glance at the endless list of designer stores mapped out in color coded rows, and I politely squeezed myself between strangers until the directory loomed over me.
Everybody in my family is known to have their individual quirks and interests, which makes it very tough to pick out each person’s present. At the annual family holiday reunions, my mom and I are known to have the best taste, and we were determined to live up to the expectations.
My cousins range from 6 to 27 years old, so we decided to start with the basics: clothing. Running from Gymboree to Hollister to Calvin Klein, my mom and I rifled through dresses, sweaters, scarves and ties, mixing and matching an assortment of colors and patterns until we were satisfied. We also found Belle’s yellow ball gown, from Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” and Buzz Lightyear’s spacesuit, from Pixar’s “Toy Story,” for my youngest cousins.
After hitting a majority of the clothing stores, we began to look for offbeat items. I was convinced the moment I laid eyes on a gleaming pair of red moon shoes, strap-on shoes that simulate walking in an anti-gravity zone, that it would be treasured by one of my younger male cousins. We proceeded to discover a tomato launcher, singing toothbrush and gumball dispenser from various toy stores.
As we moved on to my cousins who are older and in college or graduated from college, we narrowed it down to things that they could use in their daily lives. I remembered that they are all athletes of some sort, and probably preferred athletic apparel and equipment. I browsed through the racks of multi-colored pairs of Nike’s new line of Flyknit Sneakers, and found a couple of Nike Elite socks to go with the shoes.
I also have a cousin who most likely loves food more than he likes me, so I bought him a donut maker.
My mom and I met back at the Dairy Queen for milkshakes to reward ourselves, and both of us collapsed into the booth. She showed me a robotic vacuum for my aunt, a digital photo album for my grandaunts and a cookbook for my uncle. Apparently there was a purse she had in mind for my other aunt, but an aggressive lady in the same store grabbed it from her like a preschooler grabs her classmate's Legos. Shopping at the outlet for presents can feel like a warzone.
The next weekend, the entire family gathered at one of my cousins’ homes in Los Angeles. We finished the big family dinner, but my mind was on the many presents under the Christmas tree that my mom and I spent hours wrapping before driving down to Los Angeles with my dad and sisters. I always get more excited to watch others open their presents from me than open my own.
My dad offered to distribute the presents, and as he called up each person’s name, my stomach filled with jitters of excitement, as I watched each person take theirs. When everyone had all of their presents, we began unwrapping.
The sound of tearing wrapping paper filled the room as everybody eagerly ripped open their gifts. Bows and ribbons littered the living room floor. Gasps and exclamations filled the room, just as I expected, as everybody marveled at their new gifts.
All of the cousins spent at least another hour trying out the new toys, gadgets and clothes, as the adults retired to the dining room for coffee.
As I sat on the carpet talking to my older cousins, my youngest cousin, who is 6, ran up to me in the midst of all of the commotion and threw his short arms around my neck, whispering in my ear that he "loved his new spacesuit berry much."
I’d say the Lin family did well this holiday season, and our gifts turned out to be unanimous hits! After all, we did go through a battle field to get them. The only thing I dread now: next year’s holidays.
