Sometimes you just can’t think of a great gift to give a man who appears to have everything. I say appears to have everything, because we all know there’s always something a person needs or wants, but trying to get an idea from my Pops was like trying to pry gold from Fort Knox. Most of the time when I visited, he was sitting quietly listening to a game on television, or napping in his easy chair, waiting for my Mom to call him to dinner. He moved in with her after his wife died a few years ago. He is a beloved figure; the undisputed head of the family and we adore him to no end. When the holidays roll around, he’d say being with family and having a good meal was the best gift he could think of.
But one day, while browsing the Best Buy site for a new router, I saw something I knew would make a great gift. I went home and told my wife about my idea, and she did a quick search on Groupon. My wife is an avid Groupon shopper and always cautions me to search that site first, so we can take advantage of their great deals. I learned to follow her advice after overpaying for a lawnmower I could have saved lots of money on with a Groupon. Sure enough, we found a lot of codes for Best Buy.
Right now, there are deals that will save as much as 50% off computers, tablets, HDTV’s and more. And there are other codes for clearance items that will take even more off the price of popular items like electronics, games, music. But we were so excited to find a turntable that will allow him to record his old vinyl LP’s to a disc or flash drive, we couldn’t wait to show it to him. Within minutes, we hooked it up, and music he hadn’t heard in 15 years came pouring out of the speakers. We spent hours listening to his huge collection of classics, and singing along with those great vocalists of yesterday. He came alive when he talked about the bands he and my grandmother saw in person at the old clubs in Chicago. It was truly a night to remember. By the time Christmas arrives, the only gift I’ll want is a good meal, too.