Finished your Thanksgiving meal? OK, the countdown to Christmas has now officially begun. So what if the turkey isn’t quite cold yet and the thought of another big meal doesn’t sit too well right now. Like it or not, the preparations have begun.

Friday is the day when most people are hitting the stores, catching all the after-Thanksgiving sales. These are the people who fall into the middle category of the three Christmas shopping groups.

The first group is comprised of people who began their shopping immediately after opening their Christmas gifts last year. I have no patience with people such as these. They are organized, always ahead of the game, completely unruffled by the impending holiday and are usually right about everything.

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They have checked and double checked all their Christmas lights, knowing each and every bulb intimately. Their outdoor decorations are stacked by the side of the house, ready to be strategically placed as soon as the leftover Thanksgiving turkey has been wrapped and put away.

Their greeting cards are all written, with stamps licked — no, moistened with a damp sponge — and ready for the mailbox.

Their menus for the holiday meals are taped to the refrigerator door, the ingredients having been purchased weeks ago.

Guest lists for their dinner parties and other holiday events have been made, the invitations sent, with replies noted accordingly. But, last minute guests are never a problem. No matter who, what or where, these people can always accommodate another guest with the unruffled graciousness only they can portray.

These people are not normal.

The second group, those getting down to serious shopping today, are not quite as organized. But they do have lists, probably from the last five years, which can tell them what they bought Great Aunt Minnie for Christmas in 2003.

They pride themselves are doing all their holiday shopping after Thanksgiving, but before the last minute rush. They have taken their Christmas lights down from the attic, but have not yet checked them. In fact, this group usually just buys another set on sale, just in case.

Greeting cards have been bought, but probably not yet written.

Although they like to entertain, they do so much less formally than group one. They plan an all-day open house with buffets, which provide for any unexpected guests. A casual attitude with a little planning is usually the true mark of people in this second category.

Then there are people like me.

We actually enjoy gift shopping on Christmas Eve.

We always intend to check out the lights before they are strung, but somehow this chore gets away from us. Good thing we have friends in the second category, who always have spare strings of lights on hand.

We never know who’s coming for dinner, and more often than not, our greeting cards end up being sent in time for New Year’s Day.

But, whatever category you’re in, the fact remains — Thanksgiving is now over and Christmas is on its way.

Ladies and Gentlemen, let the shopping begin.

Jennifer E.  May  is Teche Life editor of The Daily Iberian.