Final holiday countdown
The week before Christmas has such an expectant air — like the last day of school before a long, languid summer. Just colder.
I found it hard to concentrate this week, though I had plenty needing my attention. I went over my list and checked it twice, making sure I hadn’t overlooked anything crucial. I did the bulk of the planning, preparation and purchasing earlier this month, but I knew I’d left a few tasks — wrapping a handful of items; tracking down an address or two for cards — still undone.
Just to make myself crazy, I guess. There isn’t much of an excuse otherwise. I have a terrible habit of getting 80 percent of the way there, then quitting before I’ve completed the project. It’s just easier to say “I’ll finish it later” than to push to finish it now.
In my defense, rarely do I have more than a couple minutes to concentrate before I’m needed elsewhere. I usually wrap presents in the basement, away from prying eyes; the sounds of my two-year-old tearing across the kitchen floor prove very distracting.
The inevitable noise when Oliver flings a ball toward his baby sister or slips on an errant toy is frustrating enough that I go back up to help my husband with the fallout. I did spend a solid hour wrapping gifts a few weeks ago, and seeing the tidy stack of packages was very rewarding. Check, check and check.
If you haven’t finished all your holiday to-dos yet, you’re not alone. The Saturday before Christmas — dubbed “Super Saturday” by retailers — is one of the busiest shopping days of the year, and certainly popular with last-minute shoppers. I’ll cop to doing the majority of my purchasing online this year, but I’m sure I’ll think of something I forgot and rush out tomorrow to go elbow-to-elbow with friends and neighbors.
I actually loved this time of year working at the bookstore. Lines snaking around the registers meant the shift was going to fly by, and the buzz in the atmosphere was palpable. Christmas compilations from Michael Buble and Celine Dion blared through the ancient overhead system. Quiet coworkers unexpectedly arrived in Santa hats.
My gift wrap skills aren’t particularly impressive, but I do fine with square things. Books are pretty rectangular, as a rule. So it was that, during each of my shifts, I wound up being the designated wrapper — with a “W,” notably — at our long-shuttered Borders Books in Waldorf.
Complimentary gift-wrapping was an underutilized benefit to shopping at Borders. Behind the cash wrap in a dusty corner was a rotating assortment of colorful papers from which to choose: arguably my favorite place in the store. I loved whirling that thing around for customers, watching it slow like a roulette wheel when they spotted a pattern they liked.
Most folks were pleased with my gift wrapping — and if they weren’t, I rarely heard about it, so that’s practically the same thing. Once or twice I can remember registering disdain on a customer’s face when I handed back their purchase with silver or red paper that might not have been as smooth and crease-free as it could have. But free is free, right?
I think about wrapping books at Borders every holiday season, especially given that I’m still wrapping hardcovers. Someone gets a book each Christmas. It doesn’t feel right otherwise; new books and the holidays go hand in hand for me, even if I rarely make the time to read myself lately. It’s better to give than receive.
Working retail during the holidays is a rite of passage. It would be great if everyone had the experience of assisting the general public at least once in their lives — particularly when said public is exhausted, overwhelmed and possibly fighting off a cold virus. The days and weeks leading up to Christmas were always intense, but the all-hands-on-deck craziness of, say, Black Friday really turned us into a team. I loved the camaraderie.
Whether you’re behind a cash register or fighting oversized packages into gift bags today, I’m wishing everyone a very merry Christmas! It’s Hadley’s first and Oliver’s third, and I can’t wait.
Especially after hearing that Santa may be up for sharing his milk and cookies.
(Don’t worry, big guy: plenty to go around.)
Happy holidays, friends!