Christmas Shopping for the Guy with Cancer

It's a tricky thing, cancer.

Perhaps it's been around for a while and you already know how to work with it, in tandem like a magical ice skating duo. Or perhaps it's a new diagnosis just before the holidays and it's thrown a wrench in all your plans for the season.

The holidays are already often stressful, especially when it comes to shopping and getting everything done in time. This year is even harder because of this pandemic we're in the midst of. So for those of you who have a loved one struggling with cancer while you ponder over what in the world you can do for them for Christmas, this one's for you.

My uncle received a terminal double diagnosis about two months ago. We usually give him clothing, like a dress shirt, for Christmas but this year it feels wrong, in a sense, to give him something he may not even ever be able to use. It also feels wrong to switch things up after literally a decade (if not more!) of the same old thing for Christmas every single year. So we tried to compromise in the middle.

My parents got him a cozy hooded sweatshirt to wear when he gets cold, so he can stay comfy, along with a nicer comfy cozy shirt he can wear out for his chemo treatments.

I got him a warm and cozy fleece blanket from Old Navy with a little bucket of peppermints that he likes from Cost Plus World Market. I heard that mint can help with nausea, so I'm hoping that that little thought will be enough.

Shopping for my uncle has always been hard enough as it is, but cancer has just completely overturned everything. I decided to add The Bourne trilogy DVD set as well because I learned someone else was gifting him a new DVD player and I remember him always having those movies playing when I went to visit him as a kid. I found it on Mercari for cheaper than Amazon was charging, even though Mercari charged shipping. But at least it should be here before Christmas, unlike eBay which guaranteed nothing before December 28.

I figured if he's got nothing better to do all day and he's in and out of sleep, an exciting action movie (that he's already seen) would be the perfect idea. My parents followed suit and are giving him a comedy movie set from Amazon that I found as well, so at the very least he'll have a whole seven movies to watch now.

As for my cousin, though. She's young, she's in college, her family is spread out around one of the bigger US states, she has a lot going on. How do you gift something in celebration to a person whose dad is essentially dying?

I started with a stuffed animal. Sure, she's in college. But who doesn't love having something to just hold onto and hug when they're stressed out or sad? And sloths seem to be quite the fashion for the youth these days, so why not?

I added funny pickle socks because she loves pickles and we'd just recently had a conversation about how she never gets enough pickles. Now she'll have socks to add to her pickle collection!

I also added a funny family themed Mad Libs book, because who doesn't love Mad Libs and what better theme for a relative who shares the same screwed up family than "My Bleeping Family"? It should give both my cousin and my uncle a couple of good chuckles at the very least. I'm sure they both could use something lighthearted and silly to lift their spirits every so often.

I am that person who thrives on finding good deals and discounts for gifts so while I did splurge a little (ok, maybe a lot) more than I would normally have for my uncle and his daughter this year, I'm still pretty proud of almost everything I bought for them.

Fleece blanket: $6, Old Navy (like this, but a different pattern)

Old Fashioned Peppermint Puffs: $6.99, Cost Plus World Market

Bourne Trilogy DVD set (new): $5 + $4.99 shipping, Mercari

Comedy Greats Spotlight Collection DVD set of four (new): $9.99, Amazon

Sloth stuffed animal: $11.99, Amazon

"I'm Kind of a Big Dill" pickle ankle socks, 2 pack: $12.99, Amazon

My Bleeping Family Mad Libs: $4.99, Amazon

Homemade snickerdoodle cookies from this recipe: priceless

And this precious puppy filled pop up snow globe Christmas card:

I'd like to think I'm good at Christmas shopping, and at finding good deals, so although I definitely could have done better (ahem, I'm looking at you peppermint candy bucket from another store for only like $3) I'm still pretty happy with the outcome. Hopefully they both are too!

If anything in this post lit up that mental light bulb for you in any way, please consider leaving me a tip - it would be greatly appreciated!