Welcome to the weirdest Boxing Day ever? Certainly (in Canada) one of the most different Boxing Days in my lifetime. In most of Canada, most storefronts are only open for pickup. Will this somehow blunt the Frenzy that is Boxing Day? We shall see, but I suspect On-Line Boxing Day will be crazy. I feel for the delivery folks over the next few days.
When we first moved to Ottawa, Boxing Day was a day of rest. No stores were open, but that slowly started changing. I grew up in Montreal, and there, stores opened at Noon on Boxing Day, and then it was a bit of a madhouse. Up until this year, Ottawa would be a madhouse starting at 8 AM, with sales and huge lineups.
Is it all worth it?
Previous Boxing Days?
I have written on the topic of Boxing Day a few times.
- Boxing Day? Big Bloody Deal! was my first rant about the day. In 2006 there were sales, but were they that exciting?
- Let the Boxing Quarter Begin does sum up the entire concept of Boxing “day”, it just keeps going on.
- Just because it’s on sale, another classic rant about impulse buying the day after Christmas, 2008.
- Holiday Cheer Volume 4 got lazy in 2009 and just put out a list of posts from that year.
- Carnival of Money Stories: Happy Pseudo Boxing Day! Back in the day when Blogging Carnivals were all the rage (2009).
- Sales and What is the Price?!? started to figure out the connection between Black Friday and Boxing Day sales. Neither really saved you much, did they? Not really in 2010.
- Happy Pseudo Boxing Day was just really a best of kind of post, no real commentary on Boxing Day itself.
- Mayhem and Sunday’s Best (on Monday) it seems that Boxing Day was an excuse for me to post a best of posts list? This article seems to prove the point?
- Advice for the day in 2012? Don’t buy crap, which is good advice any time. If something you need is on sale, buy it, if not, don’t!
- One Thing You Can Buy on the day is to buy something you need.
- Mayhem is always present on Boxing Day, but remember just because it is on sale, doesn’t mean you have to buy it.
- The 12 Days of Christmas Debt is something to think about on Boxing Day? Maybe think about that at Thanksgiving?
- Weirdest Boxing Day Ever? What do you expect during a Pandemic, I suppose?
- Happy Boxing Day 2023! Will we return to the mayhem we are used to?
Hey Denis. Hope your dad is doing ok. My stepdad is 93 and falls more and more often.
And in November my dad had what we suspected was a mini stroke. Took him to emergency department and they wouldn’t let me in with him. The doctors had to phone me to get the whole story because of course my dad told them he was fine. He ended up being admitted and staying for 6 days. Thank goodness for the amazing nurses who took my calls and spent time reviewing with me what tests he had and results because I wasn’t able to “hang out†and be there when doctors came and went and my dad either didn’t grasp what was happening (not a mental problem but you know how those doctors are in and out so fast) or he refused to admit what was happening. They pulled his license pending further review which I don’t agree is required but again because no one was there he was not aware of the significance of some of the tests and was flippant or not cooperating.
Luckily my dad is fine (relatively speaking) but trying to help him manage these visits etc during the pandemic is almost impossible.
The state of the healthcare system is such that you need a family administrator but with the lockdowns unless the patient is obviously incompetent they don’t let you in. So many gaps happening as a result.
Make sure your dad understands this and make sure he is extra careful so he doesn’t have to go to the hospital. For my stepdad, I fear if he goes and my mom can’t go with him, it will not end well. I have to scare him with this every day so he doesn’t try doing things that he thinks he can still do-things as simple as picking up a napkin he dropped. The spirit of an independent man doesn’t want to accept these limitations but these days the consequences are dire.
Not sure if I posted this story before but in 2001 I worked for Telus and had just returned from maternity leave. While I was gone Clearnet had become Telus and I had a new boss that I had met even met. I didn’t actually know what my new job was. So I would hang out at the mall across the road. As a result I was very familiar with the sales and product offerings. On Boxing Day my husband wanted to go to the mall and check out the deals. Fine. Well of course there weren’t any, at least none worth lining up for. Things like 80% off at Ardene. Big whoop. I could save 80% of $6. Any of the big ticket items, the “sale†was the same it had been for most of December.
CTV news was there interviewing shoppers and I was interviewed. They put my name up under my image during the interview. I will heretofore be known as Susan Mladenovich-disappointed shopper.
We did not do anything for Boxing day. Never even looked at the sales flyers or websites. Nothing made me panic short of my elderly father falling today. Not hurt thankfully, but him having a catheter in and being almost 93 years old, sure made things scary! Looking forward to 2021 and more great content from you! Stay safe!