Holiday Shopping On Time: One Reason Why You Should

No later than the third week of November, and my holiday shopping list is already placed in a shopping e-cart. After a nice detective investigation, first with my kids, then with my nephews, an comparing what other relatives will give all of them to avoid repeating the gifts, etc... I just wait quietly for the ordered items to parade home during the first week of December; the second week, at the latest. I live in Dominican Republic, so my things ordered in the U.S. will take three more days to reach me from my special address in U.S.

No, I am not a perfect model of "on-time-shopping-to-do's". I wish I was, so then this thing will come out naturally to me. I wouldn't need to painfully and completely focus without delay on this time-sensitive matter. Specially while having a lot of other things in mind just at that same moment. But then how can I do that? Well, experience teaches us hundreds of things that can happen. The bad things are the ones which generally teach us quickly. Ugh!!

From my personal experience, the following is one of the bad things that can happen if you don't do your holiday shopping on time:

Two years ago I prepared my shopping list, and, just to keep cool with some in-laws (including my mother-in-law...), I offered to order some of their holliday gifts for them. I ordered my things right in the middle of December, and many items arrived on time. Want to guess which items where not even on their way, and apparently not even close to be? Right...

Well, days got closer, and closer to Christmas Eve... and a special dinner at my mother-in-law that every year takes place there. All the family gathers there, plus many friends and all the children. Even Santa appears magically at 9:30 p.m. Some daddies will help him like crazy before going up the stairs, to stuff his bag will all the presents previously hidden under the landing. Can you picture my disgrace already?

Ok, then you can see that as the days came closer, and the rest of the ordered items started to ship lazily, I had big reasons to bite my nails down to the bones. The days where no longer enough to be called that, and instead became hours... Some items arrived, but the less important ones, of course. Christmas Eve finally came, and I already knew all the names of the clerks at the Main Office of my company for bringing my stuff to my country. I even knew those at the U.S. offices! They had terrible delays in all shipments coming to Dominican Republic.

It was noon, and the items where since the day before held at Customs in the airport. Three o'clock, and no news... Five o'clock, and dinner at 8:30 p.m. sharp! All the in-laws would be there... All the children too, waiting for their gifts... Perversely, only my children's stuff where all complete, beautifully wrapped in their Christmas shining paper.

At 6 o'clock, the carrier didn't have a thing to help me with. But what really blew up my top was when the sweet, nice cleck with whom I had dealt mostly about my issue, disappeared, and another one told me flatly and dryly that at 7 o'clock the offices where going to close. It was a Monday, and she said I will have to wait until wednesday to retrieve my things. I was going to die right there, but she made a mistake: she told me the truck from the airport just arrived.

I stopped being a worried pleading mother, and became a dark, horrifying witch that said to the second clerk I don't remember what. Whatever it was, I had my original clerk back on the phone. At that point, I didn't care anymore for anything. I just pictured the rest of my life living in exile, to avoid the fury of my angry relatives in-law. That just triggered something more powerful in me. After a conversation that I don't remember, I was grabbing the car keys, ready to storm the place and generally break chaos loose in that office. Just then, the phone rang, and the clerk told my husband (I was almost inside the car already) that she would stay in the office past 7 p.m., she and some clerks, just to open, against all their rules, the recently arrived truck... just to get my things for me out. She also told my husband that it would stress me less if he would go, instead of me, to pick up the things. Je je... she was scared, poor woman! What did I tell her?

Well, I had the kids to get ready, plus myself, so I accepted. Of course, I told her that if by the slightest change of the universe, my husband didn't come back with all my things, I would visit her and the whole Main Office next wednesday first thing... I was polite enough when saying that, and I remember because I was more calm. Probably our earlier conversations where still having some effect, because all the items came home...

Everything went well at my in-laws dinner... No one found out. If they do now, well, I hope they are not resentful... It was two years ago, and I was a bit careless with timing for holliday shopping.

Did I thank that clerk for what she did? Yes. I went to her next wednesday, and identified myself to her. After testifying how round and big like saucers her eyes turned, I smiled in the most reassuring way, apologized about my crazy behavior and gave her a huge, healthy pinneaple I just bought at the supermarket for her. It was a special fruit, gigantic as I have never seen before, and since I know how strict some offices politics are, I knew she wouldn't have trouble accepting this present. She was amazed, and then very happy. I see her from time to time when visiting that office, and I always thank her for the heroic help she gave me that night.

After a terrible experience like that, this was not so bad for an ending, eh? But it was close!