It all started with a sparkly pink, karate t-shirt. Savannah and I were 9. The moment I saw the t-shirt, I knew Savannah had to have it. For the whole month of December, I lay awake picturing Savannah’s face of delight when she opened her present. However, when the big moment came, her face was a mixture of shock and dread. When I opened my present from her, I understood why. Staring up at me through the bright red tissue paper was a sparkly karate t-shirt. We had gotten each other the same thing.

This unfortunate Christmas mix-up repeated next year, too. Back in the awkward elementary school days when Webkinz were considered the “coolest” toys, we both got each other the beagle for Christmas. One does not know true disappointment until they unwrap a present they already gave to the giver. I admit there were some secretive tears shed behind the Christmas tree on my part, but to be fair I was only 10, and had not yet experienced any form of real pain like my 89.48 B in AP World.

I wouldn’t call this unfortunate situation telepathy. Usually, when we were shopping together one of us would see something and say “oh, I really want that!” while the other one excitedly agreed. Then, two weeks later, the thing the one sister “really wanted” appeared in two boxes under the tree. Thankfully, after the Webkinz episode, we learned to shop individually.
Although this usually solves the problem, extra measures have been taken to avoid present doubles. Sophomore year, I asked my secret Santa for the movie Titanic. Little did I know, Savannah had previously bought me the movie. She ended up emailing my teacher just to tell my secret Santa not to get me Titanic. The year before, I saw her put the same Bath & Body Works lotion that I had gotten her in her bag so, I had to spend an hour sneaking behind her until I finally removed the gift.

All in all, I love giving presents to Savannah. However, thinking alike definitely comes with its struggles. Here’s hoping she doesn’t get the “brilliant” idea to get me a certain romantic comedy for Christmas. If she does, I hope she kept the receipt.