T'was the week before Christmas and all through our space,
Our staff was preparing to meet clients face to face.
Pictures of stockings were hung above the "fire" with care,
In hopes that guests would arrive, and they'd stop, and they'd stare.
And they'd notice how much time and attention it took,
For us to decorate every cranny and nook.
We chopped, and we sawed, and we cut, and we pasted,
We really hoped all this work wasn't time wasted.
There was last minute prep, and we worked and we scurried,
We set off the fire alarm, and got firemen there in a hurry.
Was it worth it, this work? This Primp and this prep?
We'd soon see as off the elevator guests stepped.
They came and they ate, and they drank and we chatted,
They had a good time, they didn't leave empty handed.
After hours of fun, food, beer and wine,
Everyone left feeling warm, welcome and fine.
There's something to be said for getting together with friends,
During this holiday season, the fun never ends.
So thank you to all of you who came,
And for those who didn't, thanks all the same,
For making this year, one of the best ones yet,
Here's to the New Year, and making it better than best.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!

(sorry for the bad poem)

I'll start off by saying that I'm as far from organized religion as you can get (I'm still spiritual). Almost everyone I know celebrates Christmas and it's pretty hard to avoid the commercialism in general, what with Scotiabank in Winnipeg Square putting it's tree up in September, for example. I truly want to believe that Christmas is a time to come together, to decorate with blinking lights, and Irish coffee season, but today's news out of America regarding Black Friday "Christmas" shopping is just ridiculous. Here's a small overview: someone pepper sprayed 20 other shoppers at Walmart in numerous departments, 2 people have been shot and 3 people have been robbed. This gives "Macy's" a whole new connotation. There's also been reports of crippled websites, with one person commenting on a forum "screw them. I'm not ordering jack if they can't get their system to work properly. Sent off a nasty email which I'm sure they'll ignore." EARTH TO AMERICA: I'm pretty sure you're doing this Christmas thing wrong. I'd be incredibly embarrassed about this international news, just as I was for Canada with the Vancouver riots. I'm well aware Christmas has nothing to do with it's roots anymore—that's not the point of this post. The point is that in an overly-communicated society, this behaviour becomes more common place and sets an example for younger people. Christmas now dominates 3 months of the year and cheap plastic crap will ALWAYS be available on store shelves. At the very least, could we try to be nicer to each other? It really doesn't take much, nowhere near as much as it does to premeditate a pepper-spray attack; it actually feels kind of good. Forgive me for skipping gifts this year. I'll be with my family, in my house-coat enjoying Irish coffee.

It seems ironic that this past weekend I entered a conversation regarding the status of Zellers. In a roundabout conversation a group of us wondered aloud when Target would make their move on Canada. It seemed almost surprising that in 2011 the shopping giant had yet to knock on our door. Well, it seems as though a polite knock was too Canadian of an expectation. This morning our door was officially kicked in with the announcement that Target will begin their takeover in 2013, with the intent to phase Zellers out in the years that follow. For some reason I can't yet put my finger on, this news pulls at my heartstrings. Corporate takeovers are nothing new in this day and age, so I shouldn't be surprised. I can't place the blame on American culture, because Canadians share just as much guilt in the consumption department (located next to the pantyhose). They say tens of thousands of jobs are going to be created – so we should accept this and be thankful. No, I believe it's the realization that it's not really Zellers I will miss, but my youth. A rose-coloured time when Woolco, Kmart and Zellers were the players, before even bigger dollars started rolling in and we began losing our self-identity to our neighbours to the South. A time when mass consumerism had not yet fully arrived, and family shopping trips were a matter of necessity, not gluttony. Target, I offer you an icy Canadian welcome, because that is what is expected. Zellers, I bid thee farewell, you will always have a fond place in my heart.