Shopping for Things You (Think You) Know About

Unicorns are everywhere. You see them on tee shirts, as stuffies, alongside model horses, in movies and TV shows, as Halloween costumes, as cake toppers and cookie decorations, and so on ad nauseam.

So, when the annual community **Jubilee Christmas approached and our church signed up to sponsor six families' Christmases, I looked through what was needed and decided to purchase the unicorn items that the children of those families were asking for. I may not care for unicorns, but I know where to find them.

I started by ordering one of Breyer's Kids' Holiday Grab Bags. As many unicorns as Breyer puts out, surely there would be some in there plus some extra things that I could use for the Pony Pals and Cowpokes for gifts or for donations to shows.

This was all I got in the way of unicorns. (Although the other things in the box were really good items - I was pleased with the value I got for my money.)

Time to head to Meijer and see what they had in the way of unicorns. I took a deep breath and prepared to go into unicorn overload.

Except...

Where were they? I found a few horses and one unicorn and doll that were priced way over what I was supposed to spend. Why is it that, when I don't want to find them, there are unicorns everywhere, and when I am looking for them, I can only find the one?

A coloring book and crayons were on one of the unicorn-loving girl's lists, so I bought those and a Barbie (also on her list) and hoped that that would make her smile Christmas morning.

I finished the two older girls' gifts, then began working on the baby girl's list. Easy peasy - this mom of six is a diaper EXPERT and that's all that was on her list. 

Except...

Boy, howdy the choices! The brands! The liners and the crawlers! Those that soothe and those that keep baby extra dry! The snugglers!  The environmentally sound! Is it any wonder that at this point that I texted Craig and said I had a migraine coming on?

I used Google to make my choice, tossed in a box of wipes, and called it a day.

Who'd have thought that unicorns would be so hard to find? Or that I would have difficulty buying diapers? 

I tell you, I am shook! 

**Jubilee Christmas is a lovely tradition in Lafayette and West Lafayette and sponsored through Lafayette Urban Ministries (LUM). LUM invites families who are in need to sign up for help, and then 45 local churches sponsor those families, do their Christmas shopping for them, and provide a Christmas meal. It's a real coming together for the entire community - all are welcome who are in need or who want to serve.