This Christmas it's pajamas for everyone

Pajamas. I need pajamas.

My mission this week is to buy little-girl pajamas. I have a list in my head of presents that I want to obtain before Christmas. I am trying to buy one or two things per week to ease the blow to the budget of the all-out shopping spree of the few weeks after Thanksgiving.

I already have a pair of pajamas put back for baby grandson, Jacob. They have dinosaurs on them because his sister, Emma, likes him in dinosaurs. Jacob is too little to tell us what he prefers. If he is like most babies, he prefers to wear nothing at all.

I could do what my brother-in-law Joe did one year. I could get the same present for everyone on my list. His choice was a clock for everyone. I think I'll stick with pajamas. Let's see . . . dinosaurs for Jacob, princesses for Emma, skulls for the thirteen-year-old nephew, nylon for Mom . . . yeah, pajamas for everyone is doable.

You know you have been married a while when your husband buys flannel pajamas for you because you are always cold. That is true love. Last year he bought two pair for me.

Gone are the days when a flimsy bit of nothing was worn to bed in hopes of stirring desire. We have seen each other at our worst and realize that flannel is a lot warmer than lace and that desire involves more than a bit of cloth.

My daughter buys pajamas for me, also. I remember the first pair she bought. I was scheduled for my first thyroid operation. She sent me a care package containing purple pajamas, lotion and a few other things. When I put those purple pajamas on I could feel her with me. It was almost as reassuring as knowing that my husband was sitting across the room from me.

Shopping for pajamas for my Mom is more difficult than finding princess nighties for Emma. Mom prefers anything that hasn't been manufactured for at least 20 years or longer. She firmly believes that if someone made it once, then somewhere there is a warehouse full of it just waiting for me to find it for her. "It" is not limited to pajamas but is indicative of almost anything she wants.

The only hard part of finding pajamas for Emma will be deciding which princess will adorn the night wear. Will it be Ariel or Cinderella? Snow White or Sleeping Beauty? Should I go with a particular princess or the whole group? Should I abandon the princess idea all together and pick up whatever cartoon character is the most popular? Or should I just go with anything except SpongeBob even though she loves SpongeBob?

Pajamas are something that grandparents buy. They are practical. Christmas is a time for frivolous giving and for making dreams come true. Giving pajamas to a child is a bit like giving them any other type of clothing. They appreciate it but they prefer toys.

We all prefer toys but sometimes we have to forsake the purchase of toys for more practical matters like pajamas. Toys don't keep us warm. Pajamas do.

It is impossible to wrap a toy around us and feel the love of the giver. Pajamas carry the scent of the giver's affection even after they have been laundered hundreds of times.

I am in search of pajamas this week.[[In-content Ad]]