(I am a cashier at a department store where we sell a little bit of everything. I work over in the Home department which includes Garden. It’s around 10 pm and just a few days until Christmas when I have this man come through my line with a Christmas Tree.)

Me: “Hi! Did you find everything all right today?”

Customer: “Yeah. I bet this is something you’ve never seen before. A Jewish man buying a Christmas tree.”

Me: *I look at him, not realizing he is Jewish, and then look at the tree and shrug* “No one said you had to get the tree to celebrate Christmas. I read somewhere that in Europe, in a country where the sun doesn’t come up for months at a time, that they would bring the trees into their house and decorate them with ornaments and candles because they knew that they wouldn’t see the light or nature again for months. And that’s where the Christmas tree supposedly comes from.”

Customer: *he stared at me and then grinned* “Wow! That actually makes me feel a lot better! Thanks!”

(I am working on Boxing Day, and my coworkers are acting as goofy as ever.)

Coworker #1: *Singing Rocking around the Christmas Tree*

Coworker #2: “Stop singing that! You’re not allowed!”

Coworker #1: “I can sing whatever I want!”

Me: “Yeah, look out [Coworker #1]; you can’t keep her down!”

Coworker #1: “No! It’s not Christmas anymore! It’s Boxing Day! You need to sing Boxing Day carols!”

Me: “Rocking Around the Boxing Tree?”

Supervisor: “Yeah, or [Coworker #1] Got Run Over By a Shopper!”

This story is part of the Boxing Day roundup!

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(I’m doing some holiday shopping at the mall by myself when I wander into a popular bath and lotion store. I’m testing out some of the soft and flowery scents when this happens. Note: I am female.)

Employee: “Hi, can I help you find anything today?”

Me: “No, thanks. Just looking for some presents for my sweetie today.”

Employee: “Oh. The men’s section is actually over here.” *gestures toward the opposite wall, looking at me expectantly*

Me: “No, thank you, she actually likes things like lavender and vanilla.”

(This is a regular occurrence, but normally people catch on at this point. This lady, however…)

Employee: “Honey, no man likes girly scents. Come on over this way.”

Me: *awkwardly* “Uh… I’m fine over here.”

Employee: “But these are all girly and pretty. He won’t like them, trust me.”

Me: “She’s actually pretty fond of this one I’ve got here. I check out on that side of the store, right?”

Employee: “But he’s not going to—”

Other Customer: “Excuse me, miss? Can you tell me where…”

(I seized the opportunity to walk away and get in line at the register. I understand she was trying to be helpful, but no means no, lady! I guess sometimes people have a hard time understanding something that they’re not told outright.)

(My mother and I are in the toy section of a store known for particularly low prices, shopping for Christmas presents. We bump into a noteworthy fellow: he’s an older gentleman with a rather round figure and a bushy white beard. To top off the resemblance, he’s wearing a red sweater, and he’s pushing a cart full of toys. He looks at us. We look at his cart. He winks.)

Definitely Not Santa: “I won’t tell if you don’t.”

(It is near Christmas time. At about six pm this woman comes up with her daughter who is about five years old. As I am ringing up their items an older gentleman comes in. He’s overweight with a red nose from the cold, a thick white beard, half rimmed glasses, a really old Santa hat on his head, and a red and black plaid fleece coat on. As he walks by the little girl stares at him in awe.)

Little Girl: *whispering to her mother* “Was that Santa?”

Mother: *smiling* “Well, I don’t know. It could be!”

(The little girl then looks at me for confirmation and I shrug.)

Me: “Well, we DO have a landing strip on the roof for his sleigh. Where do you think we get all of our toys from?”

(She just looked so excited as I saw the magic fill her eyes. The mother smiled at me and as they left I heard the girl say.)

Little Girl: “Can we look for the sleigh?”

Mother: “Sure!”