#608 When strangers wish you happy holidays

Neil Pasricha

Holidays are stressful.

Gift shopping, mall hopping, money dropping, and through it all you’re planning in-law sleepovers, giant family dinners, and complicated travel plans.

It’s nice in these roaring revved-up moments when a complete stranger catches your eye and wishes you a heartfelt happy holidays.

Whether it’s the cashier at the grocery store, the receptionist at your gym, or the lady getting a perm beside you at the salon, it’s nice scoring that warm little season’s greetings to remind us we’re all chasing the same ol’ thing.

That’s right: Love, big hugs, family time, and cozy company right when we need it most.

AWESOME!

Photo from: here

43 thoughts to “#608 When strangers wish you happy holidays”

  1. I love this blog. And the holidays.

    To all the people reading this blog whom I do not know (about 99.9% of you):

    Happy Holidays!

  5. couldn’t disagree more. but, then, i have a lot of bitterness associated with this holiday.

  6. Strangers being friendly in general.

    For about 8 years I lived in a really small village (in the UK, which is quite a different kettle of fish to what seems to be referred to as a village in the US) and just got in the habit of acknowledging people if I was walking to the post box or the pub or whatever even if I didn’t really know who they were. It’s good.

  8. I agree this is wonderful. And reminds me of the feeling on my school campus towards the end of exams. Hardly anyone is left, so those people still around have a bond. Everyone I pass asks how you are, when you get to go home, and wishes you a Merry Christmas.

    Its a good feeling :)

    Merry Christmas, everyone! Hope you all have a great one.

  15. unless you’re one of those people who has a fit because they didn’t say Merry Christmas to you instead. How very dare they. *cough*

  16. Also awesome: when near-strangers give you small gifts for Christmas without expecting anything in return and vice versa.

  18. I have to say I usually appreciate “Merry Christmas” more… but it’s the spirit of the thought that counts. ;)

  19. Merry Merry Christmas Neil and all my fellow 1000 Awesome Things followers!! Have a Happy and Healthy New Year too!! xoxoxo

  20. Happy Holidays everyone!
    Don’t you just love it when you are the one that initiates it, especially to someone that looks a bit holiday stressed, you smile and just say something nice and the stress disappears from their face and they tell you the same back.

  22. It’s never really the greeting that warms me. It’s the sincere smiles. :)

  24. Wanna hear the best AWESOME – sitting in a long Tim’s drive through line on Christmas Eve morning, on my way to work (hoping not to be late) – thinking about how I no longer enjoy Christmas – I have to do all the shopping,baking wrapping and decorating and my 2 useless teenage boys(whom I LOVE) are no help at all. I finally place my order and pull up to the window and the girl tells me my order has been paid for by the person in front of me!!! I pay anyway and tell her to keep it going…..she chuckles and says this has been going on for 7 cars now. Warm and fuzzies. Christmas spirit is the little things people can do to make your day great. AWESOME!!!!

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  27. I don’t find this awesome… But probably because no one ever wishes me a happy holiday unless I know who they are

  28. I love it when people do that I do it to the people I know all the time but I never thought to say it to someone els! Well I know what I have to do next christmas

  33. Strangers are so sweet these days! Who does want a warm “Happy Holidays?”

  36. Wow, I’m catching up to quite a few people, people, people…oops, sorry, that word is fun to type!
    Christmas 2009~the highlight this~
    phoning around and finding one “Santa helper” left in Vancouver to take my 3 year old grand-daughter to see. Being the 3rd. to last to enter “the pole” before the gate was closed. Standing in line making closer stranger-friends… who made it! ***WOW***
    Grand-daughter standing straight and tall asks for a picture, says, “I am a Christmas tree”…she is pure light.
    Mrs. Clause approaches first, then escorts her by the hand to Santa.
    This is the first time she’s made it this far; keeping about a 2′ distance, Santa is respectful. He chats it up; the whole while they’ve approved we take pictures- her eyes, the stages of her facial expressions, body language and steps to trust.
    Finally she’s on his knee and she is beaming-shining-smiling…pricelessly magically, spiritually divine! Afterward, they even hugged really tight and he even had a real beard!
    Pretty sure we knew and felt “awesome” then…
    Merry Christmas;)

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  42. I really hate the holidays they make me need to fart cause you know farting is awesome and holidays are not .barfing is fun toomwahahahahahahaha

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