[dropcap]F[/dropcap]or some it is Black Friday that kicks off the holiday shopping and for others it is a mad dash the night before Christmas. However, whether you are shopping a month or a day before the big day there are always other shoppers out to make your experience even more difficult.

Leaving your house you think good, happy thoughts about your shopping experience. Maybe everything you need will be in one store. You will not have to spend hours looking around and you will instantly know what to purchase for every family member the instant you see it.

If your lucky these happy thoughts last until you pull into the parking lot. Around the holidays it seems as if every one suddenly thinks parking spots magically appear if you drive around the parking lot a few times. People who aimlessly drive around after they already know they are never going to find a parking space close to the store. It is the holiday season and there are many others out shopping. The best decision is to take the first parking spot you see, safely fits your car, and is not making anyone else’s life more difficult.

So your driving around the parking lot searching for a space and you think you have finally found one. You go to pull in and inconveniently some other inconsiderate person has left their cart there. It’s cold so getting out the car would not normally be an option, but it’s unlikely you will find another parking spot, so you do it anyways.

You finally have your parking spot and you can quickly enter the store purchase your items and go home. Right?

Well that is high unlikely because when you enter the store the experience is most likely going to get worse. Prices always seem to be lower when you look in the magazine. But, hey! You should feel lucky if what you see in the magazine is in the store. Around the holiday season phrases like “sold out”, “out of stock”, and “check back in a few days” can easily upset even the friendliest shopper.

So now you have driven through the parking lot, gotten out of your car to move a cart, heard the item you wanted is out of stock, and then you hear something. The noise is loud and repetitive followed by a yelling voice. That is correct! It is the sound of a child crying because mommy will not buy their precious angel exactly what they wanted. And mommy only has one solution to the problem and that is to tell their child, “Santa is watching!”

Obviously the kid does not care who is watching because you are in public and I am sure people are already staring. The parent begins to get nervous and embarrassed and the kid reads into this. Their lovely child starts yelling louder and you quickly have to leave the store because you cannot take it anymore.

You begin to feel rushed, like you have to get out, so you quickly leave the store. You go to the next store, but you are already stressed and the day is not going like you planned. The solution to this problem is to buy anything. Whatever will satisfy the need of people to open a gift on Christmas Day.

After shopping for what seems to be a life time and thoughtlessly grabbing each gift you are finally standing in line. You plan on quickly checking out, making an escape to your car, arriving at home, and settling in, to perhaps watch a Hallmark movie with a nice cup of hot chocolate. You get toward the front of the line, only one person in front of you, and you begin to think finally I can get home!

Then you hear it. The one line you never want to hear when holiday shopping.”Oh no I’m sorry let me run and get that!”

Whether the person in front you picked up something without a tag or “forgot” a very important item, you never want to hear these words. After a few moments pass the customer in front of you finally comes back and you mistakingly think you will shortly be on your way home.

But, then you realize the person in front of you has pulled out their change purchase. The total might be $31.97and rather than making it simple and giving the cashier $32.00, they want to count out the $0.99. Now you just want to get home and watch your movie, but now you have to wait for the customer to dig out the change, like they have all the time in the world.

Finally they pull out their three quarters, a dime, two nickels, and two pennies and you make your way to the cashier. Once you are at the front of the line the cashier asks, “How you are?” So you answer, “Good and you,” hoping to quickly be on your way. But, then you realize you have picked the line with the cashier who makes it seem like you are bothering them simply by being polite. You just pray this lovely person will quickly ring up your items and you can make your way home.

You pay for the gifts, which you do not even like or think are suitable. But, you felt rushed and you had no other choice. You are throughly annoyed and cannot wait to get home. You feel although the only thing you to be thankful for is the fact that Christmas Shopping is done. That is until you remember… you get to do it all over again next year.