Broken Guitar Strings

Chapter 26

(ALLIE'S POV)

Yes!!! There are three days until Christmas and I am simply exploding with excitement. Both of my parents are going to be in Chicago for these whole entire week of Christmas. I've already written holiday cards to my friends in California and mailed them. I've also bought everyone's Christmas presents, and I can't wait to deliver them straight to their door.

Here's what I ended up with after countless hours of shopping in two different malls and plenty of stores:

Mom - These emerald earrings and a matching ring and bracelet. Overall they costed about $700, but that's a pretty good price...right? I don't know, I think she'll like them. She's been in talks to costar in the movie "Envy Green," so maybe something green would help. (Although the wardrobe department chooses all of the outfits down to the jewelry, I tried. Anyway, the jewelry will be a nice vibrant touch to her conference outfits.)

Dad - I thought for a while about what to get him, but I decided on giving him a pocket calendar bound in leather, a whole collection of assorted ballpoint pens, a huge "NO" button that yells "NO" in various voices and tones, and lastly, three different Giorgio Armani ties. I thought it would be necessary to get him stuff to help him with issues in the office because he spends the majority of his time in there. Total cost: Around $550

Me - Starbucks and various knick-knacks I found when shopping. These knick-knacks may or may not include a snow globe, boots, and the new Revlon Perfect Heat Pro curling iron. Total cost: $40

IU - IU seems to like animals and anything that's cute, so I bought her a pink scarf, a knit beanie, and an enormous, fluffy stuffed panda animal. Total cost: $53

Chanyeol - Chanyeol frequently likes to play basketball with his friends, so I wanted to give him shoes and socks. It was risky to go Nike, because they're Adidas' rival for life, but I simply couldn't help buying three pairs of Hyper Elites and Nike Air Jordans. Maybe I'll save the Adidas Adizero Crazy Light basketball shoes for his birthday or something. I really want Chanyeol to like my present, so I also got him an official NBA basketball. Plus, Adidas is more for soccer players, not ballers like him. Don't tell my dad (I think he indirectly knows this), but in my opinion, basketball and running is for Nike. Adidas owns soccer, though. Total cost: $168

Lay - Chanyeol is buying Lay's new guitar, so I don't have to worry about that. What I was thinking about though, was custom-made guitar picks. I ordered guitar picks from online that have various colors, sizes, and designs. I think he'll like them very much, but you never know. In all I got Lay fifteen assorted guitar picks, a set of the highest quality guitar strings in case any of his strings break in the future, and a set of Beats headphones. Total cost: $216

Now, I know that I didn't spend that much on IU and that I spent way more money on Lay than Chanyeol, but frankly, it's what fits the person and not the cost that matters. It just turned out this way. I spent about $1727, and that's a lot for a personal budget because I don't think I've ever spent over 1.5k for Christmas presents. However, this year it's different and I've met more people. I'm sure my parents won't mind, but I still feel a tiny bit bad.