For the past several years, I have done my Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve. I get up very early, have breakfast and spend the day shopping. This "tradition" started partially because work leading up to the holiday had kept me extremely busy, but I quickly learned that I enjoyed it.
That's right. I enjoy doing all of my Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve. Why? Well, for the majority of my list, there aren't specific items to search for. Those with specific items are very rarely "high-demand" items that are likely sold out the day prior to Christmas.
So, I love to wander the stores and the mall, watching people.
But this year, I broke tradition. Just a little bit, but I did break it.
My older nephew, who's nine, wanted a specific Wii game. Last weekend, Best Buy had a sale where if you bought two regular-priced Wii games, you got a $30 gift gard instantly. So I took care of the nine-year-old nephew's request, and I got a little something for myself at the same time.
So I had one person off my list. I talked with my brother yesterday about ideas for the three-year-old nephew. Later in the day, I received an e-mail from my sister-in-law that the three-year-old wanted a stick horse.
"A stick horse?" I replied.
"Yes." She responded.
"As in a stick with a stuffed horse head on it?" I responded.
"Yes." She responded.
I couldn't recall ever seeing one of these in a store in recent history, not that I go shopping that much. OK, I don't go shopping at all except for birthdays and Christmas. But that's not the point.
I checked the website for Toys 'R Us. They had stick horses available online, and it said there was "limited availability" at stores. I feared that "limited availability" would mean "NONE" for our local store. With Toys 'R Us open 24 hours a day, I decided to see if I could find a stick horse. If not, I would know that the search was on for Friday.
I was not about to battle an early-evening fiasco at Toys 'R Us. So the best preparation for a trip to the toy store? Why, a visit to Hooters, of course.
At 10:45 p.m., there were far more people at Toys 'R Us than I would have expected. I wandered about, finding no sign of stick horses. It wasn't looking good. A store employee clearly saw the hopelessness on my face and asked, "Sir, may I help you find something?"
"My three-year-old nephew wants a stick horse, and I don't even know if y'all carry those," I said. I fully expected her to say they didn't. I was pleasantly surprised when she turned and pointed back down the aisle I had walked. There they were, in a big wire bin. If they had been snakes, they would have bitten me.
But it was success. Time to take my stick horse and get out of there. The rest could wait until my usual Christmas Eve visit.
Strangely enough, on my way to check out, a couple I passed said, "Oh, she would love one of those," pointing to the stick horse.
I'm not kidding.
The lady asked where they were and if there were more. I provided the location, and her husband was on his way. I let him know that the $14.99 ones made noise.
Because, of course, I always get things for the nephews that make noise.
I'll have a Christmas Eve excursion 2010 wrap-up over the weekend.
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R, I can remember getting my first stick horse. I was Roy Rogers for the rest of the week and Trigger was my ever hand companion. It was so much more real than a broom.
ReplyDeleteCoffeypot, I had one when I was little. I didn't know they still made them.
ReplyDeleteYou rock Sir.
ReplyDeleteI recall them being called "hobby" horses, and I didn't have one when I was the age for it. However, my little sister came along and she got one.
Fortunately, that was the year I got my Big Wheel, so some of the kid-jealousy was ameliorated.
Called Hobby horses here in Australia. In Richmond, Tasmania not far from where we live they even have a 'hobby horse derby'! I trust the little one loved the horse!
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