Cowgirl Sass & Savvy

Catalog Shopping For Cowboys

by Julie Carter

The number of shopping days until Christmas is on the countdown and is followed shortly by the season to file your income taxes.

Right after you had your Thanksgiving dinner recovery nap, you should have noticed the first day of December was looming and with it, a landslide of ideas, lists, projects, events, commitments and deadlines. And catalogs. Tons and tons of catalogs filling your mail box.

I've had my eye out for clever Christmas gifts all year, but like most years, I either forgot about it if I thought of it in March or I bought it, hid it and don't remember where. I’m still looking for some gift cards I stashed last year.

Early gift buying has its disadvantages. While spreading the cost of the holiday throughout the year, it also increases the odds of you paying more for the same thing that will be on sale later. Or, in my case, you find out that perfect gift is no longer perfect because the recipient proudly bought it for himself about the same time you did.

Useful gifts never go out of style and every year they take on a facet that makes them a little different from last year, but still very utilitarian.

Fad colors, embroidered phrases and rhinestones turn a regular cap into something that makes a fashion statement. While the market for "gimme" caps from feed, seed and implement dealers is still quite viable, nothing says cutting edge like a cap that announces, "Jesus ropes here."

Spur straps, once just a piece of leather with a function, now come in colors, animal print and of course, more bling. Some of them are so fashionable that the livestock will need sunglasses to stop the glare.

A favorite gift among the working cowboy set is the thoughtful offering of the cowboys' favorite beverage, usually in aluminum cans but sometimes upgraded to a glass bottle. The ropers refer to it as "aiming fluid," and have determined that the proper amount not only improves their roping but makes pastures greener and girls prettier.

Then there is the never-ending list of "new" ideas for gifts designed to entice the giver to give to the guy that already has everything.

My first choice is a giant beach-type umbrella with a base that attaches over the gooseneck trailer ball in the bed of the pickup. This allows spectators to sit in the shade next to the beverage cooler, and watch the roping from the back of the truck.

This is followed by the still popular “cooler dummy” which is not to be confused with the dummy that hangs around the beer cooler at the ropings. Hitting the scene a few years ago, the cooler dummy for roping practice is a plastic steer head with horns that hooks directly to a cooler. It is still available through the company website at www.coolerdummy.com.

The versatility of such a gift will be touted by all those that wish to keep their roping arm warmed up and tuned up. Now don’t you wish you’d thought of that first?

Julie, once a cooler queen, can be reached for comment at jcarternm@gmail.com.