Should all shops be closed on Boxing Day?

lincroft1710

I remember visiting Scotland over 45 years ago and was quite surprised that on the old Whitsun Bank Holiday Monday (now the Spring Bank Holiday) the banks were closed but all the shops were open

lincroft1710

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Boxing Day wasn't a bank holiday until 1974 so, presumably, many shops were open as usual until then.

I think you need to add the words "in Scotland"

Gloomendoom

lincroft1710 wrote: »

I think you need to add the words "in Scotland"

Actually easier to delete the whole post.

cazs

Having read through this entire thread (and having posted once in it) I really find some of the attitudes on here very odd.

Those posters who have made plain their derision of people who choose to go to the shops on Boxing Day, have yet to lay out (as far as I have noted) any activity that cannot be done on other day/s of the year. People have mentioned spending time with family, going out for walks and so on and so forth. I have yet to see one activity mentioned where it cannot be done on any of the other or some of the other 364 days of the year. Therefore, it sits alongside shopping, that is, it could either be done on Boxing Day or on other occasions. Most people are questionning people who go shopping and believe that that day should be at home with family. Why so? You can see or speak to family on any weekend even if not in the week. Gosh one might even consider going to the shops with said family if you wanted to you could still spend the day together. The two are not mutually exclusive.

I would also add that of all those people who are supposed to be spending the day at home and definitely not going shopping, heaven forbid, if I were a gambler, I would happily put a lot of the money on the fact that of those people at home for the day, a good number of them would be spending at least 15mins online, doing you guessed it, online shopping. Yet, those who choose to shop outside in the high street in the real shops, which need the business, are 'the baddies'.

I also find it very strange that people who frequent a forum on a website dedicated to saving money sneer at the concept of saving money on item. Someone mentioned a jumper earlier and just taking that as an example, if said jumper that I want to get is £50 on 20th Dec and £30 on Boxing Day, that's £20 saved. Now I appreciate that some people on this forum are very wealthy and the idea of going out to save money on an item is irrelevant or laughable but that does not apply to everyone. I consider myself to be doing fine financially but don't turn my nose up at the idea of £20 (or whatever amount) saved.

Having also worked Boxing Day for a few years myself I am not speaking off the top of my head. However, if I was working, I still had the evening to go home and do whatever activity it is you want to do. It is also my understanding that holiday entitlements/obligations are laid out as standard in employment contracts and as such, when you take the job you accept that there are certain constraints. There are in my job but I wanted the job and I accepted that that was a part of it. People are being paid (if not at special rates which I do think would be nice but is at the choice of the employer, not the general public, as is of course the choice to open the store and ask or force workers to come in that day) to work the day after all.

Some of the posters on here come across as really rather unpleasant on this thread, on the basis of their posts, and a lot of people seem to be arrogantly assuming it is their place to tell people which activities are and are not acceptable to be undertaken as their leisure pursuits, albeit on Boxing Day or otherwise. Given that they have made it clear that they intend to be spending the day at home with relatives on Boxing Day, I hope that these people are nicer in person that they indicate on here. Indeed, a trip to WH Smiths (after Boxing Day obviously) could be helpful for some, perhaps they can pick up a book on etiquette. I wonder how these people would react if some stranger told them, let's say, that because they didn't want to eat turkey at their house on Xmas Day, that they couldn't. It would be laughable. Swap Xmas Day for Boxing Day and food for activities, it's the same concept.

I shall be going shopping on Boxing Day. I can of course choose to spend part or all day at the shops and therefore could achieve both shopping and other supposed BD activities. To those shoppers who are working on BD, whether reluctantly or willingly, thank you and I hope you get another day off shortly to pursue the activities you want.

paye

shops should be open on Boxing day. I remember working boxing day when I use to work in retail during college years, I didn't mind the double pay. :beer:

catkins

poppycracker wrote: »

dont forget those of us who work in the restaurant/hotel trade. Luckily we close on christmas eve and reopen on the 28th, but this is very very unusual. Let people cook their own christmas dinner, and let us be at home with our families, we will have had a *very* busy December and already I'm sick of the sight of turkey and christmas pudding!

I don't see any reason for restaurants to be open. Why can't people cook their own Christmas dinner? It's nicer, fresher and cheaper

Mrs_Ryan wrote: »

Petrol may be essential for some people- for example hospital staff, if they have no petrol how do they get to work? Or police cars or home care workers who have to travel round their different clients?

Surely people that need to drive on Christmas Day and/or Boxing Day can make sure they fill their tanks beforehand?

LilElvis

catkins wrote: »

I don't see any reason for restaurants to be open. Why can't people cook their own Christmas dinner? It's nicer, fresher and cheaper





Surely people that need to drive on Christmas Day and/or Boxing Day can make sure they fill their tanks beforehand?

Not everyone is a good, or even competent, cook. Not everyone has room to seat all of an extended family for a meal. Not everyone wants to spend half their Christmas Day in the kitchen juggling pots and pans whilst the rest of the family relax in the front room.

Some people's journeys will require more than one tank of petrol over the two days.

Lily-Rose_3

Post 148; tl;dr

all I picked up from reading a couple of lines is the poster calling anyone who disagrees with them 'unpleasant.' Go figure!

catkins wrote: »

I don't see any reason for restaurants to be open. Why can't people cook their own Christmas dinner? It's nicer, fresher and cheaper

Surely people that need to drive on Christmas Day and/or Boxing Day can make sure they fill their tanks beforehand?

LilElvis wrote: »

Not everyone is a good, or even competent, cook. Not everyone has room to seat all of an extended family for a meal. Not everyone wants to spend half their Christmas Day in the kitchen juggling pots and pans whilst the rest of the family relax in the front room.

Some people's journeys will require more than one tank of petrol over the two days.

I agree with Catkins, and there is no need to spend all day cooking and juggling pots and pans at all! A roast meal is easy and simple to prepare, and the washing up can be done quickly and easily with 2 or 3 pairs of hands. Half the day? What an exaggeration!

I cannot fathom why people would rather pay £60-90 per head to have someone else cook dinner, rather than cook their Christmas dinner themselves. And who says you have to have masses of extended family anyway? What's wrong with just you and your partner and kids (if you have them.) What is this obsession people have with HAVING to be at someone else's house for Christmas, or having someone at theirs for Christmas?

And who on EARTH would use more than one tank of petrol 'visiting people?' :huh: Why on earth travel 600-800 miles to see various family members on Christmas day? (And boxing day?) Can people not just stay in their own home? And nobody is going to convince me that there is NO other time in the year that they can see extended family, other than these 2 days.

I would be seriously re-assessing my Christmas if I was travelling 600-800 miles over Christmas day and boxing day to visit people! As I said, just stay at home, and see them another time. Surely people would see anyone who is important in their life on a fairly regular basis anyway?

I can't fathom driving multiple 100s of miles on Christmas day and boxing day to see people. :huh: If they lived far away, and you just HAD to see them on Christmas day and boxing day, surely you would stay with them? (Or near them in a hotel or something.) Using multiple tanks of petrol to travel up and down the country to see various people on Christmas day and boxing day makes no sense to me.

The things people are coming out with on this thread are baffling to be honest!

My take on the original post is there is no need at all for shops to be open boxing day, and I am stunned at the attitude of some who think shop workers should be there for their shopping pleasure.

Are you not happy that the shops are open for 363 days of the year FGS? Next will be people saying 'I am not interested in Christmas, so I insist the shops open on Christmas day for ME.'

I will sign ANY petition to have shops closed boxing day.

Person_one

Petrol is essential. Emergency vehicles, community nurses, care workers etc. all fill up at the same places as everybody else.

Spendless

catkins wrote: »

I don't see any reason for restaurants to be open. Why can't people cook their own Christmas dinner? It's nicer, fresher and cheaper

They might have just moved in to a house without adequate kitchen/dining facilities. They might be recuperating from an op or have an illness that makes standing for prolonged times too difficult. It might be the first Christmas after a bereavement for someone and they want to do something 'different' and not be reminded of the previous year by the empty table space at home. They might want to see their student or young adult offspring who lives away and also works a job over Christmas period on the day itself and student/young person doesn't have room to accommodate them.