Its that time of the year again where retail madness reigns supreme!
I caught a commercial for Walgreens on the t.v. where very little was said, but it showed the cattle-herding insanity of shopping at a big store during a peak time. I had to laugh- brings back many memories of elbows in the back and the strollers blocking any conceivable walking path (and, yes, I've even been one of those women wielding my stroller as a personal space preserver!) Shuffling down an aisle, climbing over people thinking to yourself in your best Captain James T. Kirk voice, "If..... I could only get past.....this......woman....maybe I can save...the ship!" Yes, I can shop without fighting over a sweater with some little old lady who looks like a seasoned pro at caning to death competing bargain hunters while listening to my toddler scream "DOWN! DOWN!" to the tune of Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer. It seems like retailers have caught onto the unpleasantness of the trend in "Christmas-kamikaze-road-rage" style shopping and extended their hours so the nutters can get their list done without the involvement of the police.
I myself have only gone out on one Christmas shopping excursion since Thanksgiving, and they can be fun when you are in the mood and most of the people around you look sane. Gorgeous Christmas tree displays and lots of things to drool over that I could never possibly afford. Kind of like pressing your face into the glass of the toy store like Ralphie in the beginning of "A Christmas Story." This in and of itself can be torturous, so give me good 'ol online shopping! Give me my jammies, cup of Joe and specs, and I'm ready to play Santa on Etsy!
In addition to the higher physical safety factor of shopping at home (unless you fall off your chair and dump your coffee down your lap,) there is the wonderful feeling of potentially helping along another small business. Being a small business owner concerned over every sale, I can appreciate the challenge of remaining afloat with your unique goods while the big guys raffle off Kindles. I have found some amazingly wonderful things from Etsy this year, my favorite being vintage wooden painted tree ornaments that we had back in the 60s-70s when I was little. Most of my mom's collection has disappeared over the years so I was delighted to get a full collection of them again! They were kind of a paint by number wooden kit, so they looked exactly the same as the ones of my youth. Mom and I looked through them all noted the ones we remembered the best. Hey, you can't get that at the mall!
So, please support your favorite small businesses this season, both on-line and in your town. We are chock full of wonderful goodies and guarantee to be safer and kinder than Walmart- we promise!
P.S. GET FREE U.S. SHIPPING AND GIFT WRAP THRU 12/31 at my shop!
