Scenes of Christmas

Jingle bells-ells-ells, jungle bells-ells-ells, jingle all the way-ay-ay-ay! A slightly modified version of the classic song plays in the air above the many customers bustling around two days before Christmas, scurrying to find last-minute gifts. From the ceiling hang aluminum red balls coiled in plastic green wreaths, now iconic signs of the season.

Sales clerks hurry around the store, jumping from customer to customer. Can I help you with something? Hold on a minute, I have to take care of someone over here first. Yes, we do have that in another color. Oh, I’m sorry, we’re all out of that size. In the moments out of the public’s view, looking for shoes in the back room, she balls up her fists and closes her eyes and lets out the exasperated sigh that’s been pent up since the last trip back here. Calm down, she tells herself. It’s these short moments, away from the chaos of grumpy Christmastime shoppers, that keep her sane. In these moments, she reminds herself of the wonderful food her mother will make, and the look on her best friend’s face when he sees the present she got for him. After a couple seconds, she opens her eyes, grabs a box of shoes from a shelf, and takes one last deep breath before pushing open the door, her cheerful smile already back on her face.

He’s been standing behind the coffee bar since 7:30. The line of customers never seems to end; on the contrary, it seems to be growing by the minute. It seems like it will be a rather glum morning, but he reminds himself of the better things to come after he gets off at 12. Lunch with a friend, and then off to go look for his own last-minute presents. Something nice for each of his parents, that cute girl at work (he turns his head to watch her give change to a customer), maybe a little something for his dog. He’d appreciate something to chew on.

The twelve year old boy is sprawled over two large chairs in the fancy boutique. His mother is somewhere behind him, talking to a salesgirl. He lazily stares at his cellphone, wondering what game to play next. It seems like they’ve been here forever, even if it has only been 14 and a half minutes. (He knows, he’s been watching the clock ever since they came in.) Tired of cutting ropes and catapulting birds, he shoves his phone in his pocket and stares at the ceiling, praying to Santa Claus to speed up the time and fast-forward to Tuesday morning, when he’d wake up to a beautifully lit Christmas tree with even more beautiful Christmas presents under it. He glances back at his mother, who, miraculously, is finally at the cash register. Maybe now they can head over to the Godiva store! Or meet up with his little brother, who is waiting in line to take pictures with Santa.

A couple days from now, most people will be with their families and friends, perhaps celebrating Christmas, perhaps simply enjoying a day off and thanking everyone else for celebrating Christmas. Little kids run around in their pajamas, gleefully playing with new toys. Parents finally get to watch them peacefully from the couch. Despite the commercialism and stressful, chaotic days leading up to it, Christmas still manages to be a time of relaxing and celebrating with loved ones.