Just a few seasonal stories for you!
Yesterday during lunch break I sent an unknown number to voicemail (as one does) and they left a message saying they were a delivery I was expecting and would be there in 20 minutes. It was something big and I wanted to be outside for the delivery.
Not too long after, someone pulled down the driveway. It was Amazon.
Then the driveway sensor went off again. It was UPS.
Then a Penske truck came down the driveway. This could be them! I opened the garage door and went outside. The driver handed me a small package.
Ha, then the delivery I was expecting came. It’s kind of nuts we had three deliveries since they left a message.
Why so many deliveries? Steven’s family decided to mail everyone’s gifts (we won’t be seeing each other) unwrapped, straight from the source. So lots of packages are coming this way, and we’re sending items their way too. And everyone is going to wrap each other’s gifts.
I’ve probably mentioned this before but I absolutely hate wrapping gifts. I’m probably going to wrap half and gift bag half. Here’s something I wrapped this week:
Surprise! It’s chocolate covered cherries!
I was trying to be efficient last night and went into Meier so I could go to the bank and buy gift cards at Starbucks (and get myself a chai, duh) – both of which are inside the store.
The bank went fine and I went to Starbucks and noticed the gift cards were all picked over. I grabbed two holiday-ish ones and went to the counter.
I was greeted with “um, we have a problem.”
Okay… I asked what was up. Turns out someone came and “bought” 35 gift cards with $5 on each which took forever to ring each up individually (understandable)… but then the person left without paying (*edited to add or taking the gift cards) but Starbucks was keeping the transaction open. They didn’t want to close it because it took so long.
That’s understandable, but this person had been gone for 20 minutes and was killing all potential business. Like what in the AF. I bet they never came back. I left because I couldn’t buy gift cards. They said I could go order a drink with cash or card (but not my app) at a store register then bring them the receipt and they’d make it for me. Um nope.
So much for being efficient.
Oh my gosh! I am surprised they wouldn’t just make you a drink for free because of their BS. It sounds like what happened when they chased me out the door. That person OBVIOUSLY did not realize they didn’t pay, and now they are going to give out 35 SB gift cards (probably to their employees) that are worth $0. What a disaster!
Right? I am kind of surprised by that too but you know how the in-store Starbucks are.
I was not clear in my story – Starbucks still had all 35 of them and showed me the big stack! I wonder if she ever went back!
OK that Starbucks thing would have irritated me to no end. I get that it was a PITA to ring up so many cards but in the meantime turning away customers?? Stupid.
I send some gifts directly to my son’s house and asked his girlfriend to wrap them, which she very sweetly did. Then I also sent a box of the rest of his (and her) gifts via UPS, hoooo boy, that was expensive. Regarding the multiple deliveries, I am in the same boat and have a list going of what’s been ordered so at least I can cross things off and know what I’m still waiting on…but when I have something coming from UPS, USPS, Fedex, and LoneStar Overnight, it’s really confusing. I want a couple of things just for general purposes, not gifts, but will wait until January to order them because I’m sure all the carriers are overwhelmed right now.
Right? How long were they gonna wait?!
Oh gosh, yes! It’s expensive to mail them unless it’s something small and light! Steven is sending a bunch out for me today and I bet it was $$$.
The list is a good idea! It gets to be too much. I have a good idea in my head of what I’ve ordered but now we are getting gifts from them and it’s just too overwhelming. It’s actually making me really cranky 🙁 Good call on waiting to order those other things! I feel so bad for the carriers. This year is just such a mess!
I also made a list of all the deliveries we were expecting this year, so I could cross them off as they arrived, otherwise I was afraid I was going to forget something and not realize that it didn’t come. So far we are waiting on just one package…
Nice wrapping job, Kim! 😉
WTF with Starbucks? And what was the deal with that customer, was that a mean prank or what?
Right! It’s so easy to forget! It’s just too much. How do you organize them once they come? I take over the guest bedroom, putting everything in piles on the bed. Last year that bit me in the butt since Steven’s fam was here for xmas and we only have one guest bedroom!
Thanks! 😉 Ha!
I really really hope it was not a prank because exactly, WTF.
Oh my gosh, that Starbucks story is CRAZY! I wonder how many people they ended up turning away due to that mess. And how did the person not realize they left without their whole big stack of gift cards?!?!? That’s nutso.
Bahahaha on the gift wrapping. I don’t mind gift wrapping but I really wish I was better at the sharp corners. I feel like I need to take a gift wrapping class to learn how to wrap better!
I wonder too! Tbh, I was surprised there was no line there… now I know why. Sigh. I really hope the person went back and paid.
Yes! I do too! In person though… virtual might not cut it 😉
What the… that SB story is nuts! How frustrating for you. I also hate gift wrapping… my talents are not in accurately estimating the amount of paper and then neatly applying it to a package. Thank goodness I’ve never had to volunteer as a gift wrapper. 😉
Mine are not either! I measure it and cut it and it’s way too big or way too small. It’s so weird! Ha! That would be the worst volunteer job for us!
Every year at Christmas I am reminded of how very much I loathe wrapping. I’ve taken a couple days off this month to burn through my remaining PTO, and on one of them I was like, “I’ll get all of my wrapping done today!” I had I believe five presents to wrap, and it took me two hours hahaha. I just hate it so. much. that I would keep taking breaks, finding reasons to do literally anything else, try to wrap like half of one side of a box and get distracted by how much I hated what I was doing. It was not impressive. And neither are my wrapping jobs! It’s such a mess every time. Gift bags all the way – though frankly I feel like I’m not very good at assembling those, either haha.
LOL. I feel your pain 100%. I love that you had to take breaks. I feel like I sometimes have to walk away from the table so I don’t scream or punch something because I am so annoyed with it.
And yes! Why do my gift bags look like shit too?!?!?!!?
I love wrapping gift and hate that I can’t buy and wrap presents myself, but often just order and send them online.
Can i come wrap your gifts?
Yes please do! One year my mom was visiting in November and I had a bunch of things purchased already and she wrapped them for me and it was so fabulous!
I’m also shipping most of my gifts unwrapped to the recipients (mostly family). I gave them a heads-up that the package would be to “Mica c/o ” so they’d know not to open it. I just couldn’t be bothered with wrapping paper this year, even though I generally like wrapping gifts. Maybe one year, I’ll get artsy and decorate my own paper with homemade stamps.
On Sunday, we went to Starbucks. I waited outside while Harrison went in to get a single iced coffee, and he was inside for what felt like forever. As it turns out, a woman in front of him had a really difficult time figuring out the giftcard flow and the barista was barely concealing his frustration. I told him the saga of your Sbux experience on the way home.
Plus, if you wrapped it at home and shipped it, it may not have gotten there in time! I can totally see you doing that in the future! That sounds fun 🙂 Do you have any stamps now?
Ha! What was gong on with her giftcard flow? LOL. I am glad he eventually got his coffee 😉