Shopping All Year

There seems to always be a reason to shop for a gift.  The holidays are always the busiest time for people to shop, but what about the remainder of the year?  Having a large family, I always have birthdays on my mind.  I am lucky, and unlucky to some extent that two of my brothers and my sister have birthdays in November.  The problem with that is it rolls right into the holidays without a chance to catch my breathe in terms of shopping.  Maybe that is why I enjoy January through June because I have more time to think about the gifts I want to give.  That could be the reason my dad seems to luck out and my wife and I always buy him something he seems to really like.  He is easy to shop for, he loves history, loves music, loves the outdoors, works out like a maniac, and loves spending time with his family and spoiling us all.  His birthday is in April and we are already thinking about what to get him this year.  Although, sometimes he likes going to the store and picking out his own books and music, so maybe a gift card this year.  We can personalize it with his name and a message and he can choose what he really wants to buy.  Gift cards are not seen as an unthoughtful gift anymore and I hope that trend continues because I run into many people who say they enjoy purchasing gift cards as well as receiving them.  I am not set on what I am going to be buying my dad this year, but I certainly will not be ruling gift cards out.