A relatively stress-free holiday

When Debbie Bailey used to the be general manager of Peachtree Mall, she'd see me on Dec. 24 and just laugh.

She knew my routine.

I'd wait until the very last minute and then run through the mall, pushing and shoving people out of the way to buy stuff.

This year is different.

My siblings and I are all older and we decided that instead of buying stuff for each other, we'd do something different.

Actually, it was my sister Dorothy's idea.

We each buy two gift cards. We through them in a bag and then we draw them.

Isn't that great?

We decided on the value of each card, and that's what we'll do.

Of course, we have a great-niece and great-nephew who are still small, so we'll buy them gifts. And I'll buy something for Jessica, who's 20 now. She's my brother's daughter.

We'll probably stress out over what we'll be cooking instead.

Since Jess is a vegan, we have to be careful to cook some veggies separately for her. You know, no butter or bacon. I can't imagine a world without butter or bacon.

I'll be on vacation next week, so I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and an even better 2008.