The invitation arrived by snail mail and e-mail. My local Hallmark store was having a grand reopening after a remodel. The first 250 people would receive $150 worth of free merchandise. Then I received another e-mail, just in case I forgot the first one. How could I resist free stuff? And they really wanted me to attend.
So, I enlisted my good friend to be one of the 250 people to arrive a bit early for the 10 a.m. ribbon cutting. We came at 9:45. Big mistake. As we walked in a lady left with this warning. “You will never make it, there must be 600 people there.”
The line snaked around and around — just like the airport during Christmas. I heard that some people came at 7 a.m. What? It’s not like a rock concert. But, free stuff is really enticing.
So we waited and waited. My friend threatened to leave, but I talked her off the edge. Then finally she admitted that she put too much time in to leave. Everyone was smiling as they received the big, gray bag. As our place in line creeped along, I knew it might be bad news. Yep, they ran out about 100 people before us. But, Hallmark gave everyone that came an umbrella. Mine has a beautiful exotic print, shown above. After two hours, the experience ended like a Hallmark movie — neatly tied up in a bow or a bag, and everyone was happy.
What we do for free stuff! Please share your experience.
Tags: free giveaways, grand opening, Hallmark, umbrellas, what we do for free stuff
Motown Savvy 