Boxing Day

I've always wanted to go Boxing Day shopping. This year was not the year to start.

I did, however, hit up a few stores… in a small town neighboring my home town. With a small town comes a small crowd.

Skip forward a day, the day after boxing day, should be safe to do some returns/shopping right? Wrong.

It wasn't as bad as Boxing Day likely is… but it might have been close.

While buying something in a video game store (don’t judge me) the sales guy was trying to sell me a few additional things… only to find out, he couldn't sell them, he was sold out. In fact, it looked like a tornado had gone through most stores.

Shelves were barren, whole isles torn apart at the seams by shoppers getting next year’s Christmas gifts (hmmm… maybe I should have done that)

Moral of the story. Boxing Week shopping is fun… but it’s also not something to do in a rush… especially if it involves Customer Service. 15 minute lines are a little crazy.

                                                                                            

Group Therapy Thursday - December 8, 2011

Tonight on Group Therapy Thursday we were helping Joey. He works at a department store that will let him say "Season's Greetings" but saying "Merry Christmas" is a no go. What should he do?

Time for Christmas shopping

I have a love/hate relationship with Christmas shopping.

On the love side:

A. I get to think of creative gifts that the recipients will never guess

B. I get to give people stuff

C. I get to mindlessly wonder around stores and usually wind-up getting myself a Christmas present (don't judge me... you've done it to!!!)

On the dislike side:

A. I become trapped in a mall surrounded by thousands of people for hours on end with nothing but my instincts to survive the lights, smells and prices

B. Having to find interesting gifts by the 25th

C. Hiding the gifts from the recipients

I like to be done my shopping by December 1st, ya I know, unrealistic and early. The method behind the madness is simply this -- the sooner I get the shopping done, the sooner I can start to focus on the real reason for the season.

It also has something to do with the year I didn't start Christmas Shopping until the 20th of December... that was stressful.