Daily Dirt: Waited until the last minute to buy your significant other’s Christmas gift? You’re not alone

Daily Dirt for Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022

“Disorganized, forgetful and … lazy.” Yep, that pretty much sums up my shopping skills, or lack thereof. Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 479 of The Daily Dirt.

1. When it comes to Christmas, there are three types of people, at least according to couponbirds.com. Those three are:

• The ones who did all their gift shopping months ago, have stocked the freezer with everything they need for the main meal, and, as the frantic run up to the big day continues apace, can smugly congratulate themselves they don’t need to panic about anything.
• Those in the middle, the ones who don’t give it much thought until well after Thanksgiving, but who then get their act together and head to the stores before things get too crazy.
• Then there’s the other extreme: those who are either so disorganized, forgetful, or, let’s admit it, lazy, that they leave everything until the last minute.

The couponbirds.com website surveyed 3,150 respondents to find out just how many people wait until the last minute (Christmas Eve) to buy their partners a gift for the next day. The results might be a bit surprising.

The survey found that 43 percent of men in Illinois wait until Christmas Eve to complete their purchases of gifts for their partners. On the other hand, 30 percent percent of women were guilty of the same festive panic buy.

The survey also foun:

• 54 percent of us admit that buying our partner’s Christmas gift causes anxiety.
• 1 in 3 admit they have secretly re-sold a gift their partner gave them for Christmas. (Which is either rather enterprising or surprising — but better to have the money to buy something you really want than pretend you like what you were given.)
• Over half of Illinoisans say they self-gift at Christmas. At least that way, you definitely know what you’re getting, you definitely know that you’ll love it, and, hey, it’s been a tough year — you’ve earned it! 
• 24 percent of couples say they keep a mental note of how much their partner spends on them at Christmas, compared to how much they spent on their partner. — — Couples say they spend on average $141 on their partner at Christmas.
• And finally, high inflation means 52 percent say they will be spending less on their partner this Christmas. 

2. Keeping with our holiday shopping theme, here are three great quotes that best describe holiday shopping:

• Gold medal: “One good thing about Christmas shopping is it toughens you for the January sales.” – writer Grace Kriley.
• Silver medal: “Three phrases that sum up Christmas are: Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men and Batteries not Included.” – English proverb.
• Bronze medal: “That’s the true spirit of Christmas; people being helped by people other than me.” — comedian Jerry Seinfeld.

3. Here’s some fodder for holiday trivia — five famous people who were born on Christmas Day and five famous people who died on Christmas Day:

Born

• Humphrey Bogart, the famous 1940s actor who stared in “Casablanca,” was born in 1899.
• Annie Lennox, the Scottish singer who first made waves with the Eurythmics, was born in 1954.
• Rod Serling, the renowned screenwriter and playwright, and narrator of the science-fiction anthology TV series, “The Twilight Zone,” was born in 1924.
• Jimmy Buffett, the singer of the famous “Cheeseburger In Paradise” and “Margaritaville” songs, was born in 1946.
• Barbara Mandrell, one of the most successful country music female vocalists during 1970-80, was born in 1948.

Died

• George Michael of Wham! fame whose pop hit “Last Christmas” recently inspired a film, died in 2016.
• Charlie Chaplin, the iconic actor and filmmaker, died in 1977.
• Dean Martin, who was part of the original Rat Pack alongside Frank Sinatra, died in 1995.
• James Brown, the “Godfather of Soul,” died in 2006.
• Billy Martin, the famed MLB infielder and manager, died in 1989.

Steve Thought O’ The Day

I have been told that every time someone plays Christmas music before Dec. 22, an elf kills a baby reindeer.