You know, I was only joking in the last post when I suggested that readers might send me birthday presents at any time of year. However, one AAUGH Blog reader – John – sent me a present just the other day: these two Peanuts coloring books. And I was flipping through them, trying to decide whether to put them in the AAUGH.com Reference Library or to just whip out my crayons and go to town when I saw this page:

Now, I’m pretty good at anagrams, but I’ve looked at it and looked at it and simply cannot rearrange those letters to spell “REAL ESTATE”.

Anyway, Christmas is almost upon us, and it’s too late to be ordering gifts from Amazon and expect them to get there on time. You might have noticed that this year I did not do my usual bit of suggesting interesting gifts along the way, which, were I a good businessman, I would’ve done; it just never hit my mood this year. But I cannot help but suggest my favorite it’s-too-late-too-get-a-gift gift idea, one that you can even do on the holiday itself, when all the stores are closed: a pre-order. That’s right, find something that isn’t out yet, preorder it (shipped directly to the recipient) such as the penultimate volume of The Complete Peanuts, print out a card with a picture of the item and its release month:

Put that in a nice envelope, give that as a gift.

Think of all the advantages of doing this:

1. You’ve covered yourself for not having gotten your shopping done in time.
2. You’ll be credited for a gift twice – once when they get the card, and another time when the gift arrives.
3. On arrival, your gift will be more appreciated, as it won’t be lost in a pile of other gifts gotten on the big day.
4. You lock in lowest price for the book – if Amazon lowers the price any time between when you order and when it ships, you get that lower price.
5. You can use the cheapest shipping, as there’s not a specific day you have to get it by.

It’s a good way to turn your forgetfulness into a victory!

(Yes, I am full of schemes!)

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