The alternate title I considered for this post was: Tales of a Retail Christmas Widow, but I thought this one was a bit less depressing. I chose it because around Christmas - the time when most people are able to spend more and more time with their loved ones - I lose my husband.
He works at an electronics store and leading up to Christmas he works tons of hours. When he is home, he tends to be stressed and tired. Some of this is just a reality of being in any kind of retail. But this post is a plea to the masses to consider a slight change to make retail families' lives just a tiny bit better.
Here's the deal - you love boxing day shopping. For some godforsaken reason, you like getting up the day after Christmas at 5am to go shopping for crap you don't really need in stores that are so full of people you can barely move. I repeat - you like getting up at 5am?! In general, this is to get a door crasher sale on some TVs that are most likely last year's terrible models that they couldn't sell at full price. Other than the door crashers, every sale item you buy could be picked up at their online store in the comfort of your pajamas. Oh, and the sales online start way before 6am on boxing day.
Because of boxing day sales, here is how the 3 days of Christmas look to the families of the retail workers (especially management):
Christmas Eve: Husband heads into work in the morning knowing that today is the day they have to set up for boxing day. Wife and kid putter around home, then head to hang out with extended family for the day, with thoughts constantly thinking about the husband and when he might be able to join them. The day passes, Christmas Eve dinner is prepped and eaten, with a plate of leftovers set aside for the husband. Should we put it in the fridge? How much longer could he be? The kids need to go to bed soon, Husband arrives at 8:30, stressed, exhausted and hungry. Head home, go to sleep.
In our house, every year I've known him has had has my husband staying a bit later. This is the first year with a baby, who generally goes to bed around 7:30. My husband will, in all likelihood, be unable to tuck his kid into bed on Christmas Eve. I'm not sure I can find the words to express how much this saddens me.
Christmas Day: Wake up and we have a great Christmas morning. The day rolls on with plenty of family visits and little rest time, Eat dinner and cut short family time to come home early, as husband needs to be up at 4am in order to open the store for all the ridiculous people trying to buy things at 6am.
Can I stress that you are likely not making good purchasing decisions this early in the morning? Anyway, in our house the shadow of boxing day tends to loom over the day. I'd say it's close to impossible for a person to be relaxed in between 2 insane workdays like that.
Boxing Day/Week (Because it has now become a week): Does husband still exist? Working off adrenaline and pizza, the husband powers through a crazy busy week (which is not actually all that profitable for the store because everyone is buying things at such discounted prices).
I don't get a holiday with my husband, really. Mostly he's at work and I visit with any family that might be in town. Extended family is amazing, but it never feels complete without him there.
Maybe this sounds like I'm complaining about how the capitalist overlords have ruined the true meaning of Christmas. But that's not my point. Buy your loved one presents! Gifts are rad. But why are we still caring so much about Boxing Day Shopping? I'm all on board with us switching to Black Friday instead. No, it's not a holiday here, but if you can wake up at 5am on a day off to shop, then maybe you do it on a weekday, or take time off work if $100 off a tv means that much to you. You can get your presents for people on the cheap in plenty of time for Christmas. You want to stress out my husband in November instead of on Christmas? I'll take it. (OMG, PLEASE DO NOT DO BOTH).
My dream for retail workers is that Christmas could become a calm breath of air, knowing that the craziness has ended. That is, instead of the current situation of 24 hours trying to relax with family but actually stressing about all the work that you just finished and all that is to come.
Boxing Day is just filling up your credit card even more with crap you didn't need, but bought anyway because your judgement was impaired due to waking up so early. Spend those freshly minted gift cards in online stores and nab the sales. Wait until the malls are less insane and find stuff you actually want.
I get that some people find the sales fun. I do. But maybe just have that fun a month earlier? So before you plan which store you line up at this year, just think about the people who are sacrificing their Christmases just to sell you Season 3 of Lost for $10. And maybe think about going skating instead.
No comments:
Post a Comment