It never fails. I always have to go Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve, and it’s going to happen again. The good news is, I am further ahead of where I was last year, which was not even started. I’m close to halfway done, but I am under the gun again.

The one thing about this year is my list of people to buy for has gotten longer. That’s really a good thing. This year, I am going to do my best to make sure that all of my immediate and extended families are taken care of. For me, that’s a long list.

I have my mom, dad and two siblings. Then, my sister and her husband have two kids. Then, my dad’s mother is still living. He also has two siblings and their families that I will see on Christmas Day.

That is definitely a long list. I can understand what my parents went through all of those years when I was growing up. When you have such a long list of people to buy for, Christmas can be stressful.

First of all, you wonder whether you will have enough money to spread around to everybody. Then, you want to give them a gift that they will like. You don’t want to get a gift that they will want to take back to the store. Finally, you have to get it wrapped and then not forget it on Christmas Day. Fortunately for my parents, it wasn’t that big of a deal if you left it because they only lived a couple of minutes away.

So, it’s going to be a very long day today, but I am ready for it. I’ve got a lot to do. I’ve procrastinated long enough. Instead of pulling an all-nighter, I’ve got to pull an all-Christmas-Eve-er.

I know I’m not the only one doing it. My dad usually does it, and millions of others do it, too. The key is not to waste too much time. You have to know precisely what you are going to get each person on your list.

If you’re a procrastinator like me, you still have a chance to get Christmas shopping done, but you’ve only got until 6 tonight.

Good luck to us all!

– Brent Maze is the managing editor for The Clanton Advertiser. His column appears each Wednesday. He can be reached at brent.maze@clantonadvertiser.com.