's motd Wed Dec 17, 2008

[Guest guest]

SHOPPING IN THE CRESCENT CITY

Wednesday, 17 December 2008

By the time I was seven years old, I was ready to walk around the French Quarter in New Orleans all by myself. In the years before that, I had to go Christmas shopping with my parents and my brother, Lenny. Lenny and I would always have to hold hands so that we wouldn't get lost. I always wondered how we could get lost though. The French Quarter was only just a handful of streets.

At the beginning of each year, my father set up a Christmas Club account for Lenny and I at our bank. My mother would add a little money to our Christmas Club accounts each week when she got her paycheck. And by the end of the year, I'd be presented with an envelope full of cash. Oh, boy!I remember that first year I ventured out shopping for my family during the Christmas season all by myself. There were so many interesting shops to visit in the French Quarter. I mean I loved the big department stores along Canal Street, don't get me wrong. But I really loved shopping in all of the little boutique stores in the Quarter. There was this one store on Bourbon Street that sold candles. My parents loved having candles lit in different rooms of our house. This store sold very pretty homemade candles. They were all so fancy and smelled so good and I'd choose a really nice-smelling one for my folks.

There was also a toy store in the French Quarter that I loved to visit. I would go there every year to find something for Lenny. See, unlike me, Lenny loved math and science. So I would always try to find him a present that fit into one of those subjects he was so interested in. My mother loved to read and going to the movies. So I'd buy her a good book and take her to see a movie she wanted to see during the holidays. There was another store in the French Quarter and its specialty was purses. My mother loved big purses, too. So I'd look for one she could get just about everything in, including me! LOL.

My father was a big fan of a fragrance called Vetiver and he also really loved initialed handkerchiefs. So I'd get both because I wanted him to be as happy on Christmas morning as I was.After I was done shopping, I'd take all of my gifts to Lois in the gift wrapping department at Maison-Blanche. Lois and I were thick. For a few extra pennies, she would make the bows on my gift selections especially huge for me. (I liked that.) When she was all done. I'd bring all of my presents home and place them beneath the tree.You know, sometimes I just want to hop on a plane and go home to New Orleans to do all of my Christmas shopping in the French Quarter one more time. And who knows, maybe next year I'll do just that!

I'm sure you all have some fond memories of shopping from when you were kids. And to tell you the truth, we're all still kids. For many of us, it's still so much fun to find that perfect gift for the ones we love.So who and what are you shopping for this year?Love,