Boxing Day!!
Dec. 26th, 2006 03:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lordshipmayhemI recall now why they call it "Boxing Day". It's the day shoppers box each other in the grand Olympic sport known as "bargain hunting".
At one time, shopkeepers really did try to clear out all the poorly-selling and end-of-line stuff from their stock for the new year. Nowadays, with stock levels so computer controlled, the stores don't have quite the same crying need, but they are deviously aware that we consumers are preprogrammed by long years to expect that the prices on this day will be super-duper bargains. And so they advertise "50% off!" (of what, they cleverly don't say, except maybe "from our regular price!", which they actually never go by), and we go hog-wild on shit we really honestly neither need nor, when we haul our bargain goodies home, do we honestly want. It may be overpriced crap and clutter, but it's CHEAP overpriced crap and clutter!! Hooray for us!! And now they've extended it a FULL MONTH!!
But for those of us who aren't into shopping until you drop (my typical shopping trip is of the format a friend of mine refers to as "commando raid", you know what you want, you know where it hides in the store, you get it, and you get the hell out - I try to avoid shopping crowds) nor are working retail (sympathies to those of my friends in that industry), it is a day to recharge the batteries, get some things cleaned up around the house and generally get over the Tryptophan. For me, this evening I shall be adding to the Tryptophan load with one last grand Christmas feast, the annual Boxing Day meal for friends and family at two foodie friends of mine. I'll bring along a box of Peppermint Bark (WOOF!!) and a bottle of good red wine.
I hope your Christmas was good, that Santa was good to you and yours, and that this coming New Years is everything you want and more.
And remember: there's only 364 shopping days until Christmas!! :P
At one time, shopkeepers really did try to clear out all the poorly-selling and end-of-line stuff from their stock for the new year. Nowadays, with stock levels so computer controlled, the stores don't have quite the same crying need, but they are deviously aware that we consumers are preprogrammed by long years to expect that the prices on this day will be super-duper bargains. And so they advertise "50% off!" (of what, they cleverly don't say, except maybe "from our regular price!", which they actually never go by), and we go hog-wild on shit we really honestly neither need nor, when we haul our bargain goodies home, do we honestly want. It may be overpriced crap and clutter, but it's CHEAP overpriced crap and clutter!! Hooray for us!! And now they've extended it a FULL MONTH!!
But for those of us who aren't into shopping until you drop (my typical shopping trip is of the format a friend of mine refers to as "commando raid", you know what you want, you know where it hides in the store, you get it, and you get the hell out - I try to avoid shopping crowds) nor are working retail (sympathies to those of my friends in that industry), it is a day to recharge the batteries, get some things cleaned up around the house and generally get over the Tryptophan. For me, this evening I shall be adding to the Tryptophan load with one last grand Christmas feast, the annual Boxing Day meal for friends and family at two foodie friends of mine. I'll bring along a box of Peppermint Bark (WOOF!!) and a bottle of good red wine.
I hope your Christmas was good, that Santa was good to you and yours, and that this coming New Years is everything you want and more.
And remember: there's only 364 shopping days until Christmas!! :P
