Spools of ribbon in every color

Cardboard boxes; big and small

Rolls of wrapping paper; short and tall

And Christmas cards.

Tissue paper by the ounce

Yuletide bulletins in the pews

Holiday letters with the news

And more Christmas cards.

Paper sacks full of Christmas canes

Crisp currency in paper envelopes bright

Warm cider in paper cups to delight

And still more Christmas cards.

It’s beginning to look a lot like a paper product filled Christmas, once again. Wrapping paper, tissue paper, greeting cards and cardboard boxes, paper, paper everywhere all of it lined up, piled up and stacked up with holiday purpose. But at Christmas time there is no paper product more important, more essential, more appreciated than that which is coveted most in our household these days. I reference, of course, the ultimate holiday accessory, the paper shopping bag.

What is the perfect Christmas gift if you can’t get it where it needs to go?

Cue the shopping bag.

At this very moment there is a motley line-up of shopping bags positioned at our front door. Some of the bags are full, some are still empty. But each bag has a purpose and a destination and each bag fits into an intricate gift delivery system.

Our paper bag collection is a rotating one. Bags rip and bags tear and burst and bust. You just can’t afford to get too fond of any one particular shopping bag. They’re there to be used, abused and reused.

Our shopping bag collection suggests we do more shopping than we actually do. And the veritable “who’s who” of shopping bags we tote suggest an affluent purchasing style that couldn’t be further from reality.

The truth is, I’m a shopping bag scavenger. I’ve pulled Tiffany bags from the trash and rescued more than a few Abercrombie’s from the refuse. I consider the premium bags ones with a reinforced cardboard bottom. My wife, on the other hand, admires an unusual handle. Both of us figure the sturdier, the better.

But we are not shopping bag snobs. Give me a good Sears shopping bag any day. Give me Sears, give me Acme, just don’t give me plastic. If the bag doesn’t stand up on its own, it’s simply not a shopping bag and not worthy of much besides lining the garbage can.

The other day I spotted a gorgeous shopping bag in a public parking garage. The bag was wedged between the wall and a commercial sized ash tray. Abandoned it was, a big shopping bag from Urban Outfitters with cloth handles and a reinforced bottom. This was the Cadillac of shopping bags and when I brought it home it was received as though it was a gift all on its own.

I know it’s said that Santa makes his rounds with a big red sack thrown over his back. But I wonder if he’s ever tried shopping bags. I suspect they’re easier to balance than the old sack, and a lot more refined looking too. Then again, given the size of his operation, Santa could put a major crimp on the overall supply of shopping bags if he ever went that route. I should be more careful of what I wish. And, come to think of it, I don’t think the bags would work with the whole “down the chimney” thing.

Merry Christmas to all our readers.