a) getting a sled under the tree with the price marked out in black marker

b) shopping there Christmas Eve morning (1986? 88?) and watching them play Christmas music with an organ in the store and seeing tons of last minute sticking stuffers lined up in boxes

Was there really any better place to be pre-Christmas?

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Ham_Damnit t1_j0c1vj7 wrote on December 15, 2022 at 3:44 PM

The smell of fertilizer when walking up the ramp towards the paint section.

gnarlypizzaseizure t1_j0et593 wrote on December 16, 2022 at 2:55 AM

Memory unlocked

New-Vegetable-1274 t1_j0doh8l wrote on December 15, 2022 at 10:00 PM

I think I may have posted this here before. Sometime in the 1950s my dad got laid off at his job a few weeks before Christmas. To get out ahead of things my folks told us something about Santa being sick or something like that. One of my aunts worked at Spag's and was telling a coworker about my dad's lay off and the prospects of a lean Christmas for us kids. Mr Borgatti overheard the conversation and got involved. A truck pulled up in front of our house on Christmas eve. Christmas morning when we got up there were two rooms filled floor to ceiling with presents. Mr Borgatti's generosity was legendary and that Christmas still ranks as one of the best in my memory. It was pure magic for us kids and gave me a lifetime appreciation for Spag and the spirit of Christmas.

gnarlypizzaseizure t1_j0etcg8 wrote on December 16, 2022 at 2:57 AM

Now I'm crying at work

saintmusty t1_j0c989j wrote on December 15, 2022 at 4:32 PM

The weird squishy floor in the clothing department

thisisntmynametoday t1_j0c51lo wrote on December 15, 2022 at 4:04 PM

I got caught up in a Cabbage Patch Kid riot when I was 6 or 7.

JoshSidekick t1_j0d6m36 wrote on December 15, 2022 at 8:04 PM

Getting a hot dog and a hot chocolate and burning my tongue on the hot chocolate.

lukewarm_sax t1_j0gx7kg wrote on December 16, 2022 at 3:45 PM

My mom has told me this story that when I was a baby in the early 90's, just before Christmas, she was doing some holiday shopping at Spags and walked out to the parking lot with me in my baby stroller, and realized not until she was at her car putting me into my car seat (after trudging across the lot when there was bad wintery weather happening) that I had snuck like 3 pairs of mittens from the store into my stroller without her noticing. Since she was in a rush, had a baby with her, and just needed to get out of there because of the slushy snow coming down, I believe she ended up in a moment of frustration not going back into the store to return the unpurchased mittens I snagged, but later she donated them to a local shelter to equalize her karmic debt for enabling my baby crime.

Itchy_Rock_726 t1_j0r33nl wrote on December 18, 2022 at 7:57 PM

Always liked the fried dough truck outside. Best place ever to get Star Wars toys at a good price.

New-Vegetable-1274 t1_j0r6iy4 wrote on December 18, 2022 at 8:19 PM

The hot dogs were good especially on a chilly grey day. I wonder why that is. I make them at home the same way and no where as good.

Liqmadique t1_j0rvbjt wrote on December 18, 2022 at 11:10 PM

I loved wandering around in Spags as a kid. Those tight aisles were fun. Whole place had a cool vibe. My dad always let me go get a Matchbox or Hot Wheels car from the big bin if we went into the main store.