The Christmas Gift Saga


2013 Christmas day was an eventful one for me for a couple of reasons...  Firstly, we didn't have the traditional turkey meal - much to the disappointment of my eight year old daughter.  We had a traditional Nigerian meal which she enjoyed so much and I hope I have been forgiven for breaking the tradition!

The second reason and the real story here is about the little chaos over Christmas gifts with my neighbours.

Here is the story...
I had received a gift with a greeting card two days before Christmas and it had the names of the senders and the address of number 4.  The names made no sense to me because although, I am very friendly with my neighbours, I have no idea what their names are.  Anyway, the confusion really is because I wasn't sure if the card and gift came from the actual number 4 address of the street or the flat 4 in a block of flat on the same street.

The Brain storm
This leaves me trying to figure out who the culprit is???  Hmmm, the street number 4 neighbours...   In the past, we had exchanged cards and the address seemed to be theirs - as their was no flat written on the card...  On the other hand, I am a little more friendly with the neighbours in the flat 4 address but we've never exchanged cards and the address isn't quite right.  This logical thinking made me to conclude that the gift must have come from my neighbours on street number 4.  So I sent them a gift using the exact names in the card I received...

The Embarrassment!
Well, you can guess what happened next... Yes!  The gift and card didn't come from the street number 4 neighbours!   Because they brought in a gift on Christmas day, with a card showing a completely different name! To my dismay and embarrassment!

Righting the wrong
We (my 2 daughters and I) therefore decided to write another card for the street number 4 neighbours and explained that there was a mix up with the cards (a little lie won't kill anyone).  Then, we wrapped up a present with a card for the flat number 4 neighbours.  What a confusion!  Thankfully, I had spare cards and gifts at home or the embarrassment would have been too unbearable.

A happy ending
We had a good laugh over the incidence and quite glad that we were able to sort things out.  And I have kept the 2 Christmas cards in a safe place so I can have a record of my neighbours' names!  That was an important lesson learned - for those who are familiar with corrective actions.

Phew!


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