What every woman wants from Santa Claus
Or, why I got an Apple Watch for Christmas

I love my iPhone; I really do, and it goes everywhere with me, most of the time. To the coffee shop, on a nature walk, and to lunch or dinner dates. I’ve had an iPhone since 2011 as it was a family Christmas present in that the four of us each got one.

I love the fact that my iPhone has added more functionality over the years. I can run my business on my phone when I’m on vacation. During summers at Cedar Point, I could check delivery times for customers while we were waiting in line for the Gatekeeper roller coaster.

That was until the iPhone got bigger and I could no longer slip it into one of the teeny, tiny pockets in my capri pants. Or I when I discovered that my new “must-have for summer” linen shorts had no pockets at all. iPhones and thrill-rides do not mix; an unsecured i-device could end up flying into the no-go zone under a high-velocity ride. That exact thing happened at Cedar Point in 2015 when an Ohio teacher lost his iPhone on the Raptor. His attempt to retrieve it ended in tragedy.

After a time, I no longer had my iPhone with me on thrill rides. My kids would put my iPhone in one of their button-up cargo pockets and there it would stay for the rest of the day. I would go get a soda and would not have my iPhone, which was with one of my sons elsewhere in the park. There was not a pocket in anything that I packed that could accommodate my iPhone 11 and its protective case. Then this past summer my younger son got an Apple Watch and he sync’d it to his iPhone. “Look, Mom,” he said. “I can text you even if my iPhone is in the car.” I immediately thought of the last time we were at Cedar Point, when I was finally able to retrieve my iPhone after dinner.

I was really impressed with my son’s watch. He had text and phone and photos. He had maps. He was also keeping tabs on a summer project with friends. And yes, he had a watch.

Last week I went out to get coffee with a friend and forgot to put my iPhone in my purse before I left the house. I had no pants pockets, as women’s clothing is sorely lacking in that department, so I made a note to myself to put it in my handbag. I got busy doing something else so it was left behind. It was okay, though, as I had my Apple Watch on. I make it a point to put my Apple Watch on my wrist first thing every morning. I have an Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) (GPS + Cellular). It was $299 on Amazon and Apple Care was $49.99 for two years of coverage. The monthly fee for Cellular is $10 added to my iPhone bill. I can’t surf the ‘net on my wrist but I can quickly email a customer when I’m notified that her order has shipped.

The Apple Watch is the best early Christmas present I have ever gotten. I can text and call and send emails regardless of where my iPhone is. My watch even tells me when I’ve left it behind.

We are all going back to Cedar Point next summer so we can ride Gatekeeper and Iron Dragon again. Most of my summer clothing still doesn’t have pockets but I have a few things with mini-pockets where I can safely stow my Apple Watch. I can leave my iPhone in a CP locker all day and still be connected. And, I’m getting an iPad for even more functionality during the road trip to get there.

What every woman really wants for Christmas are not just lots of new i-gadgets, but plenty of functional and fashionable pockets. An Apple Watch with cellular will do nicely, though. Reasonable pockets in women’s clothing will not come anytime soon, but Santa has made connected, useful watches available until they do. Santa really delivered this year.

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