Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
DEAR JORY:
There are always people on my list, like my father, who I have no idea what to get. They are all older than me, have more money, so if they want something, then they can just get whatever it is for themselves. Also, my father is not the sentimental type that will cry if I make him a special ornament, you know? Help!
Hannah: My grandpa is the same way. Like when we used to give him those ornaments we made in class, he’d hold it like he was handling plutonium and be all, oh how nice, and then ditch it somewhere. It’s not that he doesn’t love us; he’s just not all that sentimental. Ditto for my uncle Dane. Ditto again for my uncle Aaron, and getting them ties or scarves or gloves just won’t cut it. And my uncle Dane loathes coffee mugs, and my uncle Aaron finds them vile (their words), so I feel your pain. I finally figured out different things to do for the difficult men in my life.
For my uncle Dane who is very socially conscious, I donate a month of my allowance to a charity in his name and then I give him the confirmation letter for Christmas. He really loves it. For my grandpa, I give him a certificate for a day out that I create an itinerary for, and I make it and give it to him every year. He actually has all the old certificates. He doesn’t like to plan, so I do it for him, and we normally go in, like, April or May. We start with breakfast at this place he likes downtown that is tiny where everyone knows him and you can still smoke in the back. Ugh. But then we walk around or we fish or we go see the Cubbies play or we golf. He likes to golf, and I’m not awful at it. But it’s the whole day, and we have fun, and it’s just ours, and everybody knows that. It’s the same for my uncle Aaron, but I don’t plan his day, I let him do it, and we do things like go to New York to see a show that he’d never fess up to liking. Anyway, Pa always says that your time is always the best gift, so I go with that. Your father might want it to just be you and him for a whole day with nobody else. You just have to make sure you clear your plate so there are no distractions. I even leave my phone at home.
DEAR JORY:
Normally my friends and I go out on New Year’s, but I would really love to have a party instead where people could come and relax and not have to worry about getting home at the end of the night (I have lots of room), or putting on fancy party clothes or having to shop for the perfect outfit. My issue is that for some people, being out is easier because if they don’t have a date, then they can just be outside for a smoke or in the bathroom when the ball drops. If I’m having a party, what do I do about those folks?
Kola: My sister wanted me to take this one because I will have no date this year. We were together, but then she wanted to date other people, but then when she decided that she wanted me back, I didn’t think that was such––
Hannah: Not about you.
Kola: Fine. So every year me and my folks and my sister go to a party at my uncle Aaron’s house, and we stay until the ball drops and everybody just kisses everybody and I have never seen anyone not get kissed and it’s never a big deal. I also think it depends on the people. Don’t assume that all your friends want a veg-out game night for New Year’s. Some people love getting all dressed up and going out and drinking champagne at midnight. I know this because my uncle Aaron used to be the guy that had to find the wildest party ever and go to that. Now, being with my uncle Duncan is what he likes best. And then there are people like my grandparents who always go out on New Year’s to a huge party and dance until the early morning hours. I think you send out invitations, tell people it’s going to be chill, and if they’d rather not, then that’s cool, but for sure don’t not show up because there’s no one to kiss. Make sure they know that you’ve got them all covered.
Hannah: That wasn’t horrible.
Kola: Shut it, B.
DEAR JORY:
My husband and I can’t afford to get our kids much this year because of changing finances, and we’re worried that they’ll think that Santa shortchanged them. What should we do?