THE THORNTON INSTITUTE CHRISTMAS WHITE PAPER 2010

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THE THORNTON INSTITUTE CHRISTMAS WHITE PAPER 2010

Welcome ot the 2010 edition of the Thornton Institute Christmas White Paper.

We know that every year, the White Paper has some first-time readers. In fact, our surveys indicate that the audience for each successive White Paper consists entirely of first-time readers. By "first time", of course, we mean readers who are experiencing the White Paper for the first time, not those who are reading for the first time (they only constitute about 45% of our audience.) We currently have a research team investigating the lack of repeat readership, and the results will be published right after their paper on self-esteem issues.

Anyway, for the new folks: the Thornton Institute is non-profit think tank that continually studies the phenomenon of the holiday season in American culture. Every year, in 12 month intervals, the Institute publishes its annual Holiday White Paper, which annually reports on a yearly basis the results of that year's study of some aspect of the once-a-year holiday season. All proceeds are donated to the Center for the Remedy and Cure of Redundancy and Reiteration.

Retail stores must generate megawatts of Christmas spirit, judging by the multitudes who continue to brave traffic, weather, crowds, and lines in order to bask in commercial holiday glow. Though shopping isn't mentioned conspicuously in the four Gospels, we're sure it's in there someplace, and the Thornton Institute currently has a crack team of researchers combing the Dead Sea Scrolls for as yet undiscovered references to revolving credit and layaway. Until we hear from them, we have a report from TI's resident retail analyst, who calls upon his many years in the industry to give you a behind-the-sales-counter perspective on the Christmas.

Then we'll switch to the domestic front, as we hear from an embedded TI correspondent about how his average American family handles the holiday season at home.

We'll warn you in advance that the Thornton Institute and its correspondents cannot ignore the opportunity that the Christmas holiday affords to mention that it's a time set aside to honor You-Know-Who. And if you-DON'T-know-Who, there's a short message from my church at the bottom

Merry Christmas from everyone here at the Thornton Institute.

THE THORNTON INSTITUTE CHRISTMAS WHITE PAPER 2010

Behind The Register

Almost everybody in America experiences Christmas as a consumer. But not all of us make our living on the other side of the counter in a retail establishment. For those of you who don't, or have only been employed in the industry on a seasonal basis to pick up a few bucks, I've been asked to share a few observations, secrets, and little-known facts about what goes on behind the scenes at a store on Christmas.

I've received this assignment because I'm the Thornton Institute's resident expert on retail (translated: I'm the only Institute member with retail experience). In the interest of full disclosure, I haven't worked in the retail field for well over a decade. When I did, though, my resume included grocery stores, a furniture store, a drug store, a music store, and a "big box" retailer that sells everything (and I mean everything... after seeing a delivery of rhino chow, I avoided the exotic pet aisle). If you're wondering why the Institute didn't commission this report with someone who has a more current grasp of the industry, I can only tell you that the Institute adheres to a strict policy of YW3YG (You Work With What You Got).

Besides, at age 57, I've achieved my Old Coot credentials, which mandate that I share the benefits of my experience with a new generation, no matter how outdated or irrelevant that experience may be. So here's a few things to keep in mind when you make the inevitable visit to a store this Christmas season.

-Christmas is not a holiday for retail folks. Instead, it's the busiest time of the year, translating into long work hours, massive preparation, intense customer service pressure, intimidating sales goals, and a general environment that the American Heart Association has deemed the #1 cause of hearts that are two sizes too small. On a store's calendar, it's a big black circle, casting a shadow like the Eye of Mordor over the months leading up to it and the week or so after. When I was a retail manager, six-day work weeks and 12 to 14 hour days were mandatory during the Christmas season.

The more pragmatic of non-retail folks think this situation can be somewhat alleviated by a time-shift. Sure, they say, for retailers, there's no quality Christmas time to be had; that's the nature of the job. But they can shift their holiday celebration to the day or days immediately following Christmas, during the post-holiday breather. Which brings us to the next point:

-There is no post-holiday breather. A store that ordinarily stays open till 9 pm might shut down a little early on Christmas Eve... say at 6 or 7. It's up to an hour later before all the last-minute shoppers are cleared out. After that, the receipts are accounted for; the cash is shoveled into the safe; and the manager has fielded the calls from his regional manager, who's at home reviewing his kid's college fund and wants to know the sales figures for the day. So Christmas Eve with the family doesn't really get started till the visions of sugar plums are well under way. Of course, there's always Christmas day... unless the store's actually open on Christmas (mine was). Open or not, the work day after Christmas starts very early, like at 3 or 4 am, because the post-Christmas clean-up has to be addressed promptly. Decorations taken down; debris swept; after-Christmas sale material posted; bodies removed from the aisles; the return-counter liquor cabinet restocked; in short, a retailer has to hit the ground running after Christmas day. A week later, Valentine's Day material and merchandise comes out. So for a retailer during the Christmas season, family-time-management is the Kobayashi-Maru of scheduling. Most managers check in with their families in the early spring to see if any of the kids have hit puberty.

-For retail employees, the workplace challenges can make it difficult to maintain the optimum level of Christmas cheer. Customer expectations aren't geared to this reality; they want the store personnel to exhibit the same increase in holiday spirit and good will toward men that they're feeling... actually, sometimes they expect more from the personnel, who, after all, are at least getting paid to be there instead of being forced to fight crowds and traffic to get a gift for your husband's boss that you don't even like. Stores are aware of this dynamic; that sticker on the cash register with the acronym BNEIIKY is there to remind the checkout person to Be Nice Even If It Kills You. So in the final days before Christmas, if you start to think that the smiles you see at stores look a little less than genuine and a little more like rigor mortis is setting in, keep in mind that they've been plastered on for a few weeks (and in some cases, botox-assisted), and it's going to take rigorous post-Christmas massage therapy to regain a full range of expression.

This is why retailers have their own reminder-acronym-stickers plastered on their dashboards and refrigerators: YKTJWDWYTI (You Knew The Job Was Dangerous When You Took It)... words of wisdom from Super-Chicken.

-As you've no doubt heard, for many stores it's the Christmas season that makes them profitable. That's why stores would just as soon start the Christmas shopping season as early as possible. Right after the Fourth of July would be nice. And that probably would be the custom if the Christmas trees sold during that time didn't spontaneously combust by the time December rolled around.

-There is no "in the back".  All of you have inevitably experienced this Christmas shopping scenario: You look in vain on the shelves for some item that's advertised or is on your shopping list, so you trip a sales associate who's sprinting by (and who's smiling!) and ask him if he'd check to see if there are any more of the items "in the back". He smiles, and says sure, and disappears for a few minutes before coming back empty-handed and apologizing, promising that there'll be some more arriving right after Christmas.

Of course, it's all for appearances; it's Christmas time, for goodness' sake... there's nothing in the back. The only way the clerk is going to come across what you're looking for is if a delivery truck rolls up as he walks into the storeroom and the truck driver tosses one out and hits him in the head. Barring that, the clerk is going to go to the back, spend a plausible amount of time bouncing a few echoes off the walls, then walk back to the sales floor with the bad news.

Why the charade, you ask? Because if the clerk just said, "Sorry, if it's not on the shelf, we don't have it," the customer would probably ask that he check anyway. Even if the customer is aware that there's a better chance that the clerk will bring back a unicorn than the desired item, (s)he's going to make the request anyway... such is the desperation of Christmas shopping.

-All merchandise is Christmas-related. Retailers want as little inventory as possible after Christmas. We're not just talking Christmas items like ornaments, lights, Chia Pets and the Clapper. In the retailer's perfect world, all shelves would be empty the day after Christmas, and he could afford to burn the store down and erect a new one every year. It's an impossible dream, of course, but it's still something to shoot for. Consequently, almost every item in the store gets a Christmas tie-in.

I used to work for what is commonly referred to as a drug store, but which was really a general merchandise store that contained a pharmacy. We sold liquor (for medicinal purposes only, of course), toys, film, cleaning products, groceries, make-up, seasonal merchandise, and probably a partridge in a pear tree.  We made sure everything in the store was presented as Christmas-related. In the gift-wrap section, there were displays of adhesive tape, ball-point pens (for filling out the gift tags), boxes of thank-you cards, and trash bags (for disposing of the paper after the unwrapping frenzy).  What to do with some slow-moving cans of sardines or tuna? Stick them with the cat toys as an extra-special Tabby stocking stuffer. Aspirin or Pepto-Bismol accompanied every liquor display. We once had some holiday cheese logs that looked especially binding, so we tied them in with some laxative, toilet paper, and Drano. The stuff flew off the shelves and we won the district award for most tasteless display.

-The public is ambivalent about the sanctity of Christmas. Ask your average man-on-the-street if he thinks a store should be open on Christmas,  and he'll sincerely say that Christmas is a time for family, and employees should have the day off. But, as I mentioned, I worked for a store that was open on Christmas from 9 am to 7 pm, and that same man was pressing his nose up against our front window at 8:30, begging to be let in to purchase film for his camera, batteries for his kids' new toys, and perfume to replace the Thighmaster he had wrapped up for his wife. We were always extremely busy on Christmas, and everyone going through the checkout line said a) what a shame it was that we had to work on Christmas; and b) how glad they were we were working on Christmas. The cognitive dissonance was so dizzying that all the employees wore Dramamine patches.

-Working in retail can make one cynical about Christmas. Justified or not, I have to admit that my years in retail made me somewhat jaded about Christmas, and even now I'm not entirely over it. I'm sure that, on an individual basis, the folks that ran the corporation loved Christmas and family and singing carols and building bicycles in the middle of the night. But the corporate culture was clear: Christmas was the opportunity to move goods and make money, and that opportunity was not to be missed. The Christmas card from the company to its managers always included a gift certificate for a holiday turkey with a 12/26 effective date.

And on the other side of the counter, customers seemed to be stressed rather than joyful. It was as if Christmas brought obligations to buy gifts; to see family; to entertain friends; to cook big meals... rather than the opportunity to do all those things. I wanted to post a sticker at each checkout stand that read, simply, RELAX. But I was afraid my employees might take it to heart instead of the customers.

I wasn't exactly Charlie Brown, waiting for Linus to say "Lights, please" and tell him that the true meaning of Christmas is the arrival of Christ on Earth, and the reason He came here (my Bible and my church had clued me in before Charles M. Schulz). But I seemed surrounded by a culture that either:
-saw the holiday as a way to take commercial advantage of the Christmas trappings; or
-saw the holiday as a time of year celebrated by more "Christian" behavior... it was as if the general populace temporarily shifted to a better mood, or, at worst, felt pressured to act as if they were in a better mood.

So a degree of cynicism set in. If the true meaning of Christmas is really the true meaning of the nature of our very existence... then I felt that the tendency to compartmentalize and sentimentalize the holiday was a disservice to the Lord whose birthday we were recognizing. And consequently, I resisted the sentiment and, as much as possible, downplayed the idea of Christmas as a truly special time of year.

-Working in retail doesn't have to make one cynical about Christmas. I'll probably never shake my Christmas cynicism completely... there's too much "good" behavior that seems to start and stop with the season... but I've come to see that in my own way I succumbed to the holiday pressure as much as the folks I observed. I won't say that I threw the baby out with the bath water; that would be an unfortunate expression considering it's Christmas we're talking about. But in spite of all the shallowness on display, as long as we keep spelling Christmas with the same five letters at the beginning, the opportunity to focus on its true meaning will always be there. For a variety of self-absorbed  and self-righteous reasons, I was concentrating on the negative; looking down on Christmas as defined by our culture instead of finding a way to celebrate Christmas as defined by the word itself.

Of course, this is easy for me to say now that I'm safely nestled years away from my retail career. And easier yet, when all the profound things about Christmas have already been said long before I waxed philosophical here. Still....

-An old ex-retailer can carefully lower himself off his soapbox and sincerely say Merry Christmas.

 

THE THORNTON INSTITUTE CHRISTMAS WHITE PAPER 2010

Random Acts of Christmas

I've been asked to give you an idea of how a typical Christmas goes down here at the Thornton household. No matter how you approach the word "typical" here, I'm not sure this is a topic that warrants examination... judging by the traffic on the website, America's not exactly clamoring to see what trends we're setting, and I doubt if we qualify as the "typical" American family.

Still, it's not my money, so here's sort of how the Thornton Christmas season unfolds. I don't anticipate offers for an animated Christmas special or a Lifetime movie.

Traditionally, the Christmas tree goes up the day after Thanksgiving. Why? I don't know. Here's some possible reasons:
- It's the traditional start of the Christmas season (at least that's what the every commercial is telling us).
- We have the day off, so it's a good opportunity to drag all the stuff out without feeling like it's digging into your weekend. Meal preparation doesn't interfere, since we've got leftovers lined up for the next few days anyway.
-Because we can... we have an artificial tree, so we can put that puppy up anytime we want. In fact, we could leave it up all year round if we wanted to, and don't think that hasn't been suggested.

Our son Sam likes the looks of a Christmas tree, so he's usually the one that pushes for a prompt post-Thanksgiving tree assembly. In fact, this year he achieved a new personal best in whining, and we actually put the tree up about a week before Christmas. We got all our friends and family to agree to consider it eccentric rather than flat-out crazy. And it was fun when a UPS deliveryman showed up at the door that first week, saw the tree, and thought he was having one of those dreams like where you find yourself in school and there's a final you didn't know about. He even looked down to make sure he had his pants on.

Once the tree is up, Sam also starts campaigning for decorations on the house, but he never wins that battle. Every Christmas, our neighborhood looks like downtown Vegas... except for the black hole that is the Thornton manor. I've got no principled objection against lighting up my house. I'm just not handy when it comes to things like that, and I doubt if drivers-by admiring the neighborhood decorations would like the aesthetic broken by the sight of my corpse tangled in light strings and hanging from the eaves. I've told Sam that he has my blessing to take the initiative and use our house as his Christmas canvas, but he says that the point is doing it together. He's probably right, but I'd rather the father-son project be something that has a greater chance of a successful outcome... something like seeing how many Christmas cookies we can fit in our mouth at one time.

The main challenge of every Christmas is the gifts.

I like giving gifts, but I'm not that great at coming up with gift ideas. Consequently, throughout the year, as gifting opportunities come to my attention, I'll take advantage of them. For instance, one year my son Ben's computer started doing crazy things and had to be put down (never name a computer "Old Yeller"). So I told him I'd spring for a new one as a gift. Likewise, there was a summer where Sam had an opportunity to go to New York to participate in a show there, so I told him I'd make a gift of the hotel and airfare.

I don't do this kind of thing because I'm generous... I do it because I'm lazy. It's an easy way to give a gift that I know the recipient actually wants and will use. And, more importantly, I want it to be credited for Christmas.  When Christmas rolls around, and my wife Sue says, "What are we going to get the boys for Christmas?" rather than racking our brains, I just want to wrap up little boxes containing a note that says, "Remember those tires you needed back in March? Merry Christmas."

So far this strategy hasn't worked. For some reason, Sue doesn't see retroactive gift-giving as a shining example of holiday spirit. So, especially where my sons are concerned, it's tough coming up with something to give them for Christmas... they've outgrown all the toys and stuff that I still want to play with. I'm having to resort to sneaking into their rooms and breaking something of theirs so I can replace it as a gift.

It's just as difficult a situation for them... I'm a hard guy to shop for. I have this irritating habit of buying something I like when I see it, and keeping pretty current on the manufacture and release of everything I like. It's forced my sons to resort to the stuff they think is lame, and which I think is the best: a part of themselves. Ben comes up with art; Sam promises to watch movies with me. Time and talent are sometimes tough to wrap and stick under a tree, but hey, that's their problem. I always receive better than I give.

It's a different story when it comes to exchanging gifts with my wife. We always agree to not exchange gifts, and then we always break that agreement. Sue gets me something nice, and I usually wrap up some T-shirts with a licensed movie, television, or cartoon character emblazoned on the front. It keeps Sam and Ben from thinking that Sue and I are only staying together for them.

Actually, it's a Christmas tradition for something major to go wrong with the house or car every year around December, and Sue and I usually agree to chalk up the repairs as a Christmas gift. One year it was copper re-piping for the house; another year it was repairing the fireplace. This year (and also back in 2001) it was a new water heater. Everybody talks about how important Home is to the holidays... we put our money where our mouth is. That's the kind of sentimental folks we are.

I have a few personal Christmas traditions. For instance, every year at Christmas, I go to the local See's Candy outlet. My purpose is to pick up some of their lollypops to have around the house and to bring to households that we visit. Unfortunately, See's has a policy of giving a free sample to every customer, so I usually end up buying a couple of pounds of chocolate that I generously dole out to myself during the holidays. It's tough on the See's personnel... I don't like buying the pre-packaged mixed chocolates and then playing that game of trying to find the one that's solid chocolate, so I just order a box full of those solid chocolates, and the See's clerk has to hand-pack those, so between the bags of lollypops and the custom box of chocolates, I'm a labor-intensive customer for the See's people. I have to hand it to them, though... they do their best to remain cheerful when I tell them I'm getting the box of chocolates for myself, but I still want it gift-wrapped.

Also every year, our family will try to get out and tour the neighborhoods with the most impressive Christmas decorations. It probably seems funny that we want to go out and see what other people do with lots of money, an insane amount of time, and an appreciation of wattage as art, considering the fact that we do nothing with our own house.  But it's really not that out of line. After all, is it wrong that I enjoy watching Jackie Chan movies without learning and practicing Kung-Fu clownery myself?

Since Sue's folks have moved back here to California from Florida, the number of family-Christmas-light-viewing participants has increased from four to six, which is just a little bit more than any of our vehicles can carry. So we have to go in two cars, with Sam and Ben tailing our Camry as we tour the neighborhoods. Cell phones are okay, but I'm thinking about springing for CBs this year, so we can still share the experience.
"Breaker one-nine, this is LookyLoo One, check out that house on the left with the green lights. Over."
"Roger that, LookyLoo, but don't miss the Nativity Scene on the roof to your right. Over"
"Ooooooo. Over."

Sometime the week before Christmas, we always go over to my friend Ken's house for a Christmas celebration. We have a great time because Ken is my oldest friend that still talks to me. Also the dinner's tax-deductible because I also work for Ken. Getting together with friends and family is always special at Christmas, but there's an added glow when you feel like you're getting away with something.

We usually spend Christmas Day with Sue's brother and his family down in Orange County, and that's become even more special now that Sue's folks can be there. My two nieces and my nephew are also there, so I get to reinforce my reputation as the crazy old uncle.  Unfortunately, Ben had to break it to me that I'm not the fun crazy old uncle; I'm the scary crazy old uncle. I'm thinking I better bring more lollypops this year.

When we get back home that evening, there's another annual Christmas tree controversy, only this time in reverse. Sue would like to tear down the tree as soon as possible; Sam would like to leave it up for another month or so. A compromise is usually reached... Sue agrees to wait until the first time Sam leaves the house following Christmas, then quickly tears it down before he can get back; and Sam agrees to be totally surprised and crestfallen when he returns.

And that's pretty much our typical Christmas. I won't go into how we celebrate the New Year, because frankly, I can't remember the last time we were able to keep our eyes open to see in the New Year. We've got Martinelli's Sparkling Cider that's actually fermented to real wine while waiting for us to pop the cork at midnight.

All in all, I've made it a policy not to count my blessings at Christmas... if I did, Christmas time would be over before I finished. So I try to focus on just one: the birth of Jesus Christ my savior. Granted, I'm easily distracted, but it helps that the word Christmas can be used as a mnemonic device.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

 

THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS

Being a Christian is more than identifying yourself with a particular religion or affirming a certain value system. Being a Christian means you have embraced what the Bible says about God, mankind, and salvation. Consider the following truths found in the Bible.

God Is Sovereign Creator. Contemporary thinking says man is the product of evolution. But the Bible says we were created by a personal God to love, serve, and enjoy endless fellowship with Him. The New Testament reveals it was Jesus Himself who created everything (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16). Therefore, He also owns and rules everything (Psalm 103: 19). That means He has authority over our lives and we owe Him absolute allegiance, obedience, and worship.

God Is Holy. God is absolutely and perfectly holy (Isaiah 6:3); therefore He cannot commit or approve of evil (James 1:13). God requires holiness of us as well. First Peter 1:16 says, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

Mankind Is Sinful. According to Scripture, everyone is guilty of sin: “There is no man who does not sin" (1 Kings 8:46). That doesn't mean we're incapable of performing acts of human kindness. But we're utterly incapable of under­standing, loving, or pleasing God on our own (Romans 3: 10-12).

Sin Demands a Penalty. God's holiness and justice demand that all sin be punished by death (Ezekiel 1:18:4) . That's why simply changing our patterns of behavior can't solve our sin problem or eliminate its consequences.

Jesus Is Lord and Savior. Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved." Even though God's justice demands death for sin, His love has provided a Savior who paid the penalty and died for sinners (I Peter 3:18). Christ's death satisfied the demands of God's justice, and Christ's perfect life satisfied the demands of God's holiness (2 Corinthians 5:21), thereby enabling Him to forgive and save those who place their faith in Him (Romans 3:26).

The Character of Saving Faith. True faith is always accompanied by repentance from sin. Repentance is agreeing with God that you are sinful, confessing your sins to Him, and making a conscious choice to turn from sin (Luke 13:3,5; 1 Thessalonians 1:9) and pursue Christ (Matthew 11: 28-30; John 17:3) and obedience to Him (l John 2:3). It isn’t enough to believe certain facts about Christ. Even Satan and his demons believe in the true God (James 2:19), but they don't love and obey Him. True saving faith always responds in obedience (Ephesians 2:10).

www.gracechurch.org
Grace Community Church
13248 Roscoe Blvd.
Sun Valley, CA 91352
818-909-5500