3 Reasons I May Go Into Hiding Till December 26th

"It's the most wonderful time of the year
With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you 'Be of good cheer'
It's the most wonderful time of the year"

Every time I hear that song--usually in a commercial jingle--I figure its original singer, Andy Williams, is facepalming. That woman who pepper sprayed folks in Walmart on Black Friday was just the tip of the iceberg for how the shopping frenzy around Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa has spiraled to new heights of out of controlness. 

Call me the Grinch if you must, but I've decided I need to hibernate till December 26th because of the following:

1. Traffic: I've lived in Los Angeles for 13 years so I'm used to bad traffic, but the past few nights people have been driving recklessly: Flagrantly running stoplights. Doing u-turns in the middle of busy streets. Flicking people off. Crashing into each other. Making hand signs like they're shooting a gun at me.

2. Insane Lines. I went to Barnes & Noble and the checkout line was 36 people deep--and that was with EVERY available cashier working. I felt sad putting the collection of O'Henry stories I wanted to buy back on the shelf, but there is nothing I want badly enough that I'll stand in a line like that, especially when I know it will still be there after December 26th.

3. Holiday Cheer is MIA: Maybe the cheer is out in the Valley, but tonight I saw two women get into a screaming match in Bath and Bodyworks over who was going to get the last of a particular gift basket. Sigh.

How many more days till Christmas? I am seriously waiting for this "most wonderful time of the year" to be over.

Photo via (cc) by Flickr user ashi 

Comments

Rosita said…
I hear you. I did almost all of my shopping on line because I don't want the atmosphere in the stores to ruin my holiday cheer. I love Christmas, it is my favorite holiday. However, we keep it very low key in the gift department in our family and focus more on the religious side of it in keeping with our faith.

You might want to stay in hiding until the 27th because honestly the stores are even worse the 26th as everyone returns the gifts that people gave them. Fewer, but better thought out, gifts could be the answer, but...

Traffic on this end of the country (metro DC) is crazy too (except for the commute into work because I think half the city is using use or lose days).
Sholeh said…
Hah! I hated working retail over Christmas, people got absolutely nuts. I am so glad that I don't do that anymore. Plus, I now I have a deep hatred of piped-in Christmas music at stores.
Liz Dwyer said…
Rosita,
GOOD advice about hiding till the 27th. I hadn't even thought about the madness of returns on the 26th.

What are use or lose days? A kind of vacation day?

And I think it's admirable that your family is resisting the commercialism and keeping the focus where it needs to be. It's hard to resist the commercialism so good for you.

Sholeh,
Girl, you must have some serious stories of the insanity you witnessed over the years. I can only imagine. I hate the Christmas music in stores, too, but to have to hear it for hours on end while folks are balls of frenzied shopping stress? There is a pair of angel wings waiting for you!
Aisha said…
I feel the same way. I actually hate being out on the road because I don't like how people are driving. I've been avoiding certain stores and streets since Thanksgiving. I just want this all to be over.
Rosita said…
Use or lose days are the vacation days you can't carry over to the new year. Since a lot of people around here are government workers who have been at their respective agencies for 10, 20, or more years, they have a lot of vacation time every year. Most places only allow you to carry over 5 days, and you lose the rest of them. So, a lot of people are out at the end of the year trying to not lose as many days.
Liz Dwyer said…
Aisha,
Hope you survived! I've seen some new lows in driving over the past week, even for LA. Maybe folks will return to normal after New Years.

Rosita,
That doesn't seem fair. It seems like with cutbacks it's harder for a lot of folks to take vacation. Can folks actually use all their days up?

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