{"id":1048,"date":"2009-12-14T09:02:24","date_gmt":"2009-12-14T14:02:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/?p=1048"},"modified":"2009-12-14T14:41:22","modified_gmt":"2009-12-14T19:41:22","slug":"abigail-mailbag-holiday-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/abigail-mailbag-holiday-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"Abigail Mailbag: Holiday Shopping Edition!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Many of you have written me for holiday advice, so let&#8217;s take care of the most difficult part of the holidays first&#8230; the shopping!<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1053\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1053\" style=\"width: 290px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/IMG_1465.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1053\" title=\"IMG_1465\" src=\"http:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/IMG_1465-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/IMG_1465-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/IMG_1465.jpeg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1053\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carts are crucial, people! Get one!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Ebenezer writes, &#8220;Abigail, I never know what to buy and the mall crowds frighten me. Can&#8217;t we just call the whole thing off?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Deep breaths, Ebenezer. All you&#8217;re missing is a combination of proper tools and sound technique. First, get yourself a shopping cart. Having a cart will allow you to easily wheel my gifts to the checkout line, and it will provide a safe, tortoise shell shelter if the crowds close in on you too much. I don&#8217;t know how I survived a year without one of these things! How can you baby shop effectively when you&#8217;re limited to what you can hold in your two little hands!? Start with a cart; from there it&#8217;s just baby steps to becoming a competent consumer.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Goneril writes, &#8220;sometimes I doubt myself and secretly fear, &#8216;what if Abby already has this pastel plastic Hasbro kitchen set?.&#8217; It&#8217;s embarrassing. How can I get passed this phobia.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Two tiny words, my friend: gift receipt. Don&#8217;t fight your nature; use its own weight against it!<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1052\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1052\" style=\"width: 290px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/IMG-1471.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1052\" title=\"IMG 1471\" src=\"http:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/IMG-1471-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/IMG-1471-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/IMG-1471.jpeg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1052\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">You can&#39;t go wrong with condiments!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Midas writes, &#8220;do you like white gold or yellow gold?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I like the way you think, buddy! Nothing says happy holidays like jewelry, but honestly, I tend to wear more food these days than precious metals. The real question should be, &#8220;ketchup or mustard?&#8221; The real answer is, &#8220;depends what I&#8217;m <del datetime=\"2009-12-14T15:01:07+00:00\">eating<\/del> wearing!&#8221; Ketchup matches my eyes and complexion better, but mustard can look damn good when I&#8217;m wearing Navy blue or black velvet. To be safe, you&#8217;d better get both&#8230; and pickle relish makes a good stocking stuffer! Now ask me what color chocolate I like!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Officer O&#8217;Malley writes, &#8220;since you have no apparent job, no money, and no allowance yet, isn&#8217;t it true, Abigail (if that is your real name), that what you&#8217;re doing is more properly termed shoplifting than shopping? Maybe you should be fitted for a baby ankle monitor rather than that mink shawl you&#8217;re pawing.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Nothing gets by you, O&#8217;Malley&#8230; except maybe a good time.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1050\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1050\" style=\"width: 290px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/IMG-1469.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1050\" title=\"IMG 1469\" src=\"http:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/IMG-1469-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/IMG-1469-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/IMG-1469.jpeg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1050\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wha! Don&#39;t touch me! Predator! Predator!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Seriously though&#8230; we should touch on this for safety. If you&#8217;re small and under-financed, you must be prepared for such a situation. You need to learn how to react appropriately if a tall person accuses you of pesky offenses like petty larceny and grand theft tricycle. As a short person, you need to master the extremely effective, &#8220;tall person has scared me and I&#8217;m going to throw a public temper tantrum like you&#8217;ve never seen before&#8221; look.<\/p>\n<p>This can get you out of practically any situation, and 9 times out of 10, they&#8217;ll be so frazzled that they&#8217;ll just let you keep whatever you&#8217;ve collected in your cart. Extra points if you get a rent-a-cop so scared that he tasers himself.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1049\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1049\" style=\"width: 290px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/IMG-1467.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1049\" title=\"IMG 1467\" src=\"http:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/IMG-1467-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/IMG-1467-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/IMG-1467.jpeg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1049\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Giddy up, brown pony! Meet me at the food court!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Forbes writes, &#8220;as a plastic toy shopping cart consumer and advocate, what happens when whatever you want to buy won&#8217;t fit in your tiny cart? Doesn&#8217;t cart size matter?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It honestly hasn&#8217;t been much of an issue yet. Ponies, my friend, carry themselves and I can&#8217;t imagine any present bigger than a pony!<\/p>\n<p>Happy holidays, everyone! If you&#8217;re reading, Santa, I&#8217;m a size 12 to 18 months!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many of you have written me for holiday advice, so let&#8217;s take care of the most difficult part of the holidays first&#8230; the shopping! Ebenezer writes, &#8220;Abigail, I never know what to buy and the mall crowds frighten me. Can&#8217;t we just call the whole thing off?&#8221; Deep breaths, Ebenezer. All you&#8217;re missing is a &#8230; <a title=\"Abigail Mailbag: Holiday Shopping Edition!\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/abigail-mailbag-holiday-edition\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Abigail Mailbag: Holiday Shopping Edition!\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abigail"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1048"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1073,"href":"https:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1048\/revisions\/1073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moorezilla.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}