I love this time of year. It’s not about the money, although that certainly helps. I’s about a little bit of lying to children, underhanded shopping and a frantic throwing of presents under the counter.
I’m not talking about horrible lies to children. I’m talking about Santa lies. “Maybe Santa will bring you that” is a phrase I hear many times a day now. It’s a distract-and-delay strategy that works well this time of year. The lying comes in (not about Santa, I’m not getting into the whole Santa thing here) with the “maybe.” There’s no maybe about. My role as a bookseller is to remember these present idea for children when the parents come back alone to shop, or to have them thrown at me to bag and label for a later date.
This year, for the first time, I’ve noticed more adults than ever looking at me pointedly and saying, “I really want that new Sondheim book.”  So, not only do I need to remember the kids’ books, now the adults are entrusting me with their holiday wishes. This year, I’m keeping an adult Christmas wish list in the back of my special order book, so adults can get their favorite holiday books, too. And, just like children, the adults visibly relax when they see me write down their wish list titles.
Normally, I prefer it if customers don’t throw things at me, but this time of year I love it. The realization that the perfect is right here, right now, and has to be saved, charms me and I’m happy to be a part of making that happen. I’ve done it today for grown-ups (one actually asked her partner to leave the store) and for a child securing something for her Mommy she probably can’t afford, for when she comes in with her dad later in the week. And I’ll do it straight through Christmas Eve.
The real subterfuge comes in when families do all their holiday shopping together. Then I’ve got Mom throwing things at me to get separately bagged and rung up, while the kids are colluding in the corner about Mom’s gifts. Siblings working together fill me with hope. Quickly wrapping presents makes me nervous because I’m afraid I’ll label them wrong and ruin everyone’s first night of Hanukkah.
I know it’s the holiday season by how many books on my special order shelves are in bags. Some of these bags have little toys, games or stuffed animals in them. Every day brings new shopping challenges and another chance to catch a thrown gift.