Christmas Ducks

Christmas, in case you weren't paying attention, is only 4 days away. Your shopping is done, right? No?

I thought I had my Christmas Ducks in a row, gifts are either stashed away or scheduled to be delivered the next couple of days--and only 2 at that!--but UPS has totally messed it up. Knocked those ducks totally out of the line. One of them even got lost.

You see, my kids asked for very little. Kutey? All she wanted were princesses and a pink soft blanket. That was easy enough. Kiddo? He picked out two games (Rush Hour and Blokus To Go) and a marble track. That's it. Santa *should* be able to oblige, right? The marble track was the trickiest. It was specific. Add to that the fact that I have done the majority of my shopping online, and it got trickier. I did go out looking for one, but Toy* R Us apparently stocks nothing in their store, and the other 3 stores I checked didn't have one either. In fact, they had no marble tracks. Who knew this was going to be such a tricky request? Amazon was out of the one he wanted, but I found it through Toy* R Us online. So I ordered it. Cost more, but it was the one he wanted. Then all that was left was the waiting...

It was scheduled to be delivered today. But we had snow (yes, AGAIN), so I really didn't expect it would show up. I checked tracking tonight at about nine. They said it was delivered at 3:04 pm and left at the front door. So I checked again. Mind you, I had the kids I babysit today, they left through that door at 6, hubby arrived home at 4 and came in through that door, then went back out to shovel, twice. There is no package at my door.

I called the less than helpful UPS people. They'll contact the driver (who delivered what, 200 packages today? You REALLY think he is going to remember anything about my package? I doubt it) to see if he can give me any direction as to where he left it. Um, excuse me? It said front door. Exactly how big do you think my front doorway is? Add to that the fact that my working doorbell never rang, and my ever vigilant dog who barks when a delivery person delivers a package next door never barked, and, well, let's just say I am skeptical that the package made it anywhere near my front door. While I was waiting to be transferred to a supervisor (the first woman sounded like she was talking to me from her kitchen on a terrible headset that I could barely understand her through), I put my shoes on and went outside. I looked around the ENTIRE front of my house--well, at least where one could reasonably anticipate stepping, what with the three feet of snow on the ground. Nope, there is no package there. Supervisor says she'll send the message to the local to "see if they can talk to the driver." No, they WILL talk to the driver. This is simply not acceptable. Yes, they will talk to the driver and call you back tomorrow--sometime. Great, says me. So I have to sit around my house waiting for a call? Sigh. If they can't do anything (and she really didn't sound like they were even going to try), I'd have to contact Toy* R Us.

I then went out and looked around the neighborhood, just to see if I could see the box at a neighbors. I would think they would have brought it over, but, well, who knows. I didn't see anything, so I called Toy* R Us. I'm not waiting around for UPS to decide they can't help me. Yeah, they can't do much. They'll file a carrier claim and start the investigation. Yeah, great. I did get a refund for the shipping, and he knocked $10 off the price. Great. He would have shipped a new one to me, but, surprise surprise, they are out. I can get a refund of the entire amount if it turns out they can't find it at all, so there is that. But now what?

Kiddo has his heart set on a marble track. I know he will be incredibly disappointed on Christmas morning if there isn't one under the tree. I don't know that I can get one here--even the wrong one--in time for Christmas. And remember, I have already looked at most of the stores in my area. There is one that I am told has marble tracks, so I might have to venture there tomorrow and check it out. Of course, I can't do that until evening. Amazon's 2-day shipping might work, too, but it will have to be the wrong one. Ugh, I just don't know what to do. Suggestions?