As my (Nicole’s) first Christmas at Southgate Coins approaches, this past Wednesday (November 25th) I was able to experience the excitement and fun of decorating the store with many holiday-themed decorations. However, this experience was a little more special to me than it would’ve normally been to any other first-time Christmas participant. Read on to learn more about how the other Southgate girls and I prepared for the upcoming holiday season.
I was hired by Southgate Coins in late December 2008, and I didn’t begin working until early January 2009. My first week here I got the opportunity to help the other girls take down all the Christmas and holiday decorations. This year, as I was helping Crystal, Cara, and Maya put up these decorations, it was kinda like déjà vu. To me, this process is more significant because it ties back to one of my first memories of working here, and marks my upcoming anniversary with the store. At least this time I’ll actually get to enjoy all the fun activities that go along with the decorations, and not just have to take it all down!
Christmas at the Coin Shop...
Crystal and I started first thing in the morning, because she and Maya knew from previous years that there are a lot of decorations! The most important thing, the Christmas tree, was first on our list of projects. It took Crystal and I quite some time to take it out of its boxes, arrange the segments, and connect the pre-strung lights properly. It took us a few tries to get all the lights connected to the right plugs, but after we did, the tree looked great. Maya said that each year the tree is more lit-up as we find a newer, better plug-in strategy.
Holiday Prep at Southgate Coins!
Maya then helped us with the other decorations, including stockings, poinsettias, stuffed animals, window décor, and many other wonderful things (like 3-foot Santa!). Cara arrived for work right before 2 o’clock that day, and was able to help us finish everything up by topping off the tree with lighted ornaments, and by stringing up garland around the window frames.
With some finishing touches (like Rusty putting on some Christmas music over the loud speakers), our store morphed into the festive, Christmas-themed showroom that any smiling customer would love walking into.
We are all so excited about this holiday season and can’t wait for the many more fun memories to come at Southgate Coins! Until then, just remember that this December “LOVE weighs more than gold!” Haha!
-Nicole