About Ashleigh McKenna
After first subscribing to sweetspot.ca to get to know her new city, Ashleigh McKenna now gets to help find the sweet stuff worth sharing as Editor and General Manager. Go behind the scenes from favourite manicure spots to product sneak peeks and more.
Packing, Presents and Planning
girl about t.o. canada
(Dec.09.09)
Do I pack my presents to take home for the holidays?
Or save suitcase space and brave the last-minute retail rush?
After nine years of living away from home (and only spending one Christmas away from my family), I recognize I should have this sorted already. But I haven't and every year I'm left wondering -- and would love some advice.
This year I'm really lucky to have saved some vacation days (and work for a company that allows us all a sweet holiday break) and will be flying away a full six days before Christmas. And with new luggage restrictions (particularly for the holidays), it's not as easy as just taking more stuff.
Sure, sure, I could pack less (even though I've already mentioned my love of options) to create more space for presents but then, am I trapped to buy people lightweight, small-sized stuff only? (I don't think dubbing this the year of the gift cards will work...)
Then again, it's not like there aren't stores back home. But are the few days before Christmas a realistic time for retail? Last year I decided on a great coffee table book for my mother (which certainly weighed me down) without really considering the bookstores outside of Toronto. (Same with the cookbook portion of my dad's present!)
So, what would you do:
- Buy what you think people would like and work around the packing?
- Purchase everything on arrival?
- Or tweak my list to suitcase-friendly finds?
Or maybe it's just time my family started a Secret Santa system.
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