Should all shops be closed on Boxing Day?

annandale

In Scotland though supermarkets don't close at 6pm on a Sunday. That's always seemed a bit odd to me.

I'm ancient enough to remember when you couldn't buy alcohol in Scotland on a Sunday

There are loads of workers who work boxing day. People who work in pubs, clubs, door stewards, security staff.

If there's a boxing day game of football you'll have people staffing it.

Where do you draw the line? As for Christmas being about extended family or not I find it a bit odd that there's issues for some about Christmas being a family time. Unless that family lives 500 miles away then you've to see them another day

Also as regards to eating out at Christmas, it's not always 90 pounds a head. In my area is around 25-30 and given the amount some people spend in superm

bluebear36

karcher wrote: »

At least in England you can still buy alcohol in shops after 10pm

Dark ages indeed:p

Yet it's us Scots who are supposed to be the alcoholics :p

karcher

Proxima_Centauri wrote: »

Is that a sign of being advanced? :rotfl:

I remember the days when pubs shut at 11pm and we were actually able to get some sleep at night without being woken by idiots walking past the flat squealing drink at all hours.

We live in a very me-me-me society now.

I remember those days too, but I was talking about buying alcohol in a shop not down the pub

Actually yes I do, if the shops are open and I'm doing my weekly shop at 11pm after my shift finishes, why should I not be allowed to buy alcohol for future consumption?

annandale

Sorry, posted before I was finished. The money that some people spend on food for Christmas and new year it's probably as cheap for some people to eat out as it is to cook.

The town I live in has a lot of takeaway places and they seem very busy over the Christmas period. Not everyone seems to want to eat a traditional sit down roast dinner whether that be for two people or 20 people

catkins

Person_one wrote: »

Sorry but... :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Apart from a very few small businesses owned and run by people who also celebrate the occasion, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, Hindu, Pagan, Zoroastrian, Rastafarian people and anybody else from any culture with a significant day that traditionally would have meant no work and marking it with loved ones just have to ask for annual leave and hope for the best if they want the day off.

But you can't ask for annual leave at Christmas if you work in retail (not sure about other jobs). Usually you can't take holiday in December at all.

Raspberry_Queen wrote: »

Because they want to. They're paying for the ease of not having to cook, and (hopefully) a better quality Christmas dinner. Not everyone can cook, not everyone enjoys cooking. I can't fathom why you don't understand other people's choices?

Because they want to. No one says they have to. I don't, but I understand that many other people want to.

People who want to visit their friends and relatives, who live 600-800 miles away? It's not hard to understand...

What about people who have to travel for emergencies? (Eg when a relative has fallen ill, or given birth and you want to visit them). People would be screwed if the petrol stations weren't open.

I am baffled by your inability to understand other people's opinions and preferences... You also sound judgemental.

So because you really don't want shops to be open on Boxing Day, you think they shouldn't be allowed to open?

Obviously many people enjoy the sales, and they generate a lot of money; if the Boxing Day sales were not successful, they wouldn't exist. This proves how popular they are. If they decide to ban Boxing Day shopping, tens of millions of pounds (perhaps more) of business would be lost, millions of pounds of wages would be lost, and millions of people who enjoy the sales would miss out.

(Having said that, they would probably just move it to a 27th Dec sale)

A "better quality Christmas dinner"!!!!! Have you ever eaten a roast dinner in a pub or restaurant? They are awful. You would have to be a pretty bad cook to do worse. A roast is actually a pretty easy meal to cook. Or, as I said before, buy everything froze. Not difficult is it?

How many people use more than a tank of petrol over 2 days? Not many I bet and, again as I said, lots of petrol stations have self service pumps that take cards so use them. Petrol stations did not used to open so what did people do then? Surely if you had to drive 600 to 800 miles to spend Christmas with someone you would travel on Christmas Eve (plenty of petrol stations open then) otherwise you would not get to actually spend time with them on Christmas Day. When your tank is almost empty you fill it up!

People would miss out on sales! Well of course they wouldn't because they would just start on the day after Boxing Day wouldn't they like they used to do before shopping became such a god in this country.

No business would lose money, they would just take it another day. In fact they would gain as they would have a day less to pay staff.

If staff had the choice to work or not fine, but on the whole they don't so why do they have to for selfish people? Oh I don't have to work so can go out to eat, to the sales etc and sod the people that do have to work so I can enjoy myself. Great attitude

annandale

Surely it's the restaurant that makes the decision to open over the festive period. Of course it will do that based on demand but it's a two way thing. If restaurants decided not to open for Christmas dinner then people would have to make other arrangements.

bluebear36

annandale wrote: »

In Scotland though supermarkets don't close at 6pm on a Sunday. That's always seemed a bit odd to me.

I'm ancient enough to remember when you couldn't buy alcohol in Scotland on a Sunday

There are loads of workers who work boxing day. People who work in pubs, clubs, door stewards, security staff.

If there's a boxing day game of football you'll have people staffing it.

Where do you draw the line? As for Christmas being about extended family or not I find it a bit odd that there's issues for some about Christmas being a family time. Unless that family lives 500 miles away then you've to see them another day

Also as regards to eating out at Christmas, it's not always 90 pounds a head. In my area is around 25-30 and given the amount some people spend in superm

I think supermarkets treat Sundays as not much different from any other day. The opening hours are slightly shorter (eg my local Tesco is open 8am to 8pm, as opposed to 7am to 11pm on other days). The Asda closest to me is 24 hours which just means it never closes

Proxima_Centauri

karcher wrote: »

Actually yes I do, if the shops are open and I'm doing my weekly shop at 11pm after my shift finishes, why should I not be allowed to buy alcohol for future consumption?

The thing is, the shop can either sell alcohol after 11pm to winos, drunks and the occasional sensible drinker like yourself, or they can pass a law that prohibits sale of alcohol at certain times. I'm not sure I'd want a society that sells alcohol 24/7

I know you can't buy booze before 10am where I live, but I'm not sure what the cut-off point is at night.

catkins

BarryBlue wrote: »

I agree with you entirely. There may be no "need" to go shopping on Boxing Day, but it is all about personal choice. There is no "need" to go shopping today, 7th December, either, so why the difference? The answer, usually, lies somewhere within religion, and the fact that many religious people cannot resist telling other people how to live their lives. Sunday trading is just the same.

I just wish people would live and let live. Nobody is compelled to shop on Boxing Day (and I wouldn't dream of joining in with the mayhem) but why must various busybodies try to dictate to others what they do and when they do it?

We enjoy going out for lunch on Xmas Day with friends rather than suffer the nightmare of a turkey dinner. It is our choice, and the restaurant will be full of happy people having a good time and spending £22 a head on a lovely meal. Again, nobody is forced to attend!;)D

No, no one is forced to attend but some ARE forced to work

annandale wrote: »

Where do you draw the line? As for Christmas being about extended family or not I find it a bit odd that there's issues for some about Christmas being a family time. Unless that family lives 500 miles away then you've to see them another day

I spend Christmas Day and Boxing Day with my OH, my parents, my siblings and their OH's, my nieces and nephews and their OH's. It's not easy all meeting up during the year. We don't live that far from each other but have different work commitments etc. I have spent every Christmas Day and Boxing Day with all my family every year apart from the ones I had to work.

Christmas for my family, and others, is a very special time. There is only ONE time of year when we celebrate Christmas and we have 2 days together playing games, talking, laughing etc. Why should I have had to miss out on that so that some people could shop?

annandale

There are jobs where you have to work Christmas or new year and like it or lump it. I've worked several Christmas eves, days, hogmanays and new years days and I and my colleagues weren't allowed to put in for annual leave over that period.

A friend of mine got married on the 27th December and I had to battle to get that day off to go.

Being single with no kids I probably worked more Christmases than some others because when the time came to allocate who was working what people who did have families started arguing that they deserved to have the day off with their family more than people like me.

I know exactly what it's like to work over the festive period. It's not just people in retail or who work in restaurants that have to work over the festive season, many other people do.

There are some gyms that don't close, open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. In England I believe the laws are such that over Xmas and new year the gyms can run unmanned but in Scotland where I am they have to be staffed. So you'll have gym Instructors/pts who work those days as well. Christmas day, boxing day, hogmanay, new years day.

Some people miss out on time with their family so that people can have a workout in the gym.