My grandpa had a rule about Christmas presents. He always said a Christmas present should be something you’d never buy for yourself. He also bought gifts that would last. He bought me my first shotgun, a craftsman toolbox, tools and stuff like that. I’ve tried to sort of abide by his rule when I buy Christmas presents. I don’t like buying junk that doesn’t last. I work hard for my money and I don’t like seeing it wasted on junky gifts.
This year I started Christmas shopping in July. I ordered a bit and headstall from a guy in Texas, Rusty Wilson. He’s an old calf roper like me and he knows what sort of bit a calf roping horse needs. My son has always wanted a bit like the one I had made.
I also bought my son a huge toolbox from Harbor Freight. It’s kind of been bothering me that my dad’s tool box isn’t something I really want. I took my son on Black Friday to Harbor Freight and let him pick out the color of box he wanted. I told him I was buying this for him to inherit one day.
I also began ordering stuff online. I found a couple of good deals on used spurs for my daughter. I was lucky enough to get her a set of Crockett spurs. I’ve never had a set of Crocketts, like my grandpa, she’d never spend the money on herself for something like that. Crockett spurs ain’t cheap. I also got her a good used set of Roy spurs, I gave those to her early.
I couldn’t decide what to get my wife. She mentioned going to a concert type thing, but I wasn’t sure which one she had in mind. So, I got to sort of eyeballing what she needed, but wouldn’t buy for herself. The hairdryer she uses is a cheapy, it takes forever and a day for her to dry her hair. A couple of years ago she drug me along to a place that sells beauty supplies. So, one day I stopped in there and asked if they had any really good hair dryers, turns out they did. So I got her a professional grade hair dryer.
My wife drives our one ton four wheel drive Dodge flatbed to school every day. She’s barely five feet tall and that truck doesn’t have running boards. I’ve actually felt sorry for her watching her struggle to get in that big truck. So, I ordered some running boards for her truck.
They came in the mail one day. It was like a spy game getting those things off the front porch without her catching on to what I was doing. My son distracted her while I toted them out to the shop. Christmas Eve he snuck out to the shop and tried to mount them on the truck. He texted me at two am saying he couldn’t do it. So, the next morning she had to wait for me to get them put on.
I suppose a normal family that lives in town buys clothes, video games and so forth. We’re more of a farm family, so I guess our gifts are a little different. We had good food, watched our annual Christmas movies and laughed a lot. I hope everyone enjoyed it like we did. Family, that’s what it’s all about.
James Lockhart lives near the Kiamichi mountains in southeast Oklahoma. He writes cowboy stories and fools with cows and horses.
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