Thanks, but no thanks! The third day of Christmas is a big day to get rid of that Christmas present you don't want.
- The third day of Christmas is a popular day for exchanging unwanted Christmas gifts.
- VG makes a trip to the Ark in Karl Johan, where staff say hundreds of people exchange gifts.
- Some people try to trade in books after reading them, but bookstores often check for signs of use.
- VG reporters met people who exchanged Christmas gifts and described the process as simple and quick.
Rumors have started to spread. It's confusing! Changing chaos! VG's two second reporters carry a camera, notepad and pen.
Christmas is over, shops are reopening and hope is shining. Finally, the wheels of society are slowly turning and the news drought is over.
– Always a tryst
Things are going smoothly at Ark Bookstore on Karl Johan, Norway's busiest shopping street in the middle of Oslo city centre. Customers don't pile up, push against the counter, and one doesn't burden one's head with books to unload.
Cashiers are very good at their jobs and ensure minimum queue.
– Things go haywire and…
Hell. There the pen took the wreath.
– Wait! The pen is dead. I have to take admission.
– This is going on stupidly. A sudden rush. This is very serious. Kirsty Northwick Grohn explains that 90 per cent of people here will change what they got for Christmas.
He has more than 10 years behind him as an employee of Ark, the last three from the store in Egertorget. In other words, an experienced exchange day sender.
If you're really stingy with plans to quickly read the book you got for Christmas, trade it in, you'll have to find another bookstore.
– I became strict and checked that the books to be exchanged were not read. There's always someone who tries, says Crone.
Going to exchange a gift from grandma? Here are the tips.
In the week before Christmas, customers flocked to 19-year-old author-turned-volleyball Oliver Lovrensky's “When We Were Young” and Lars Maitting's “Scrapanata.”
So far, people seem pretty happy with these gifts, although the bookstore is keeping this option open:
– Many of them have not been replaced, but it may come tomorrow, says Kroc.
There was a noise in the corner of the shop. Is this the sound of confusion everyone is talking about?
– Oh that's right, something fell down, says Krone, which will be replaced and put back on the shelf.
A steady stream of customers keeps coming. Some of them exchange Christmas gifts, others are tourists visiting the capital. Several hundred people are coming to the store this Christmas Wednesday, Krohn says.
Are you going to replace any of the Christmas presents you received?
– A little too “basic”
Ina Halvorsen (26) was one of those who wasn't completely satisfied with one of this year's Christmas gifts, the cookbook “Til Angdommen” by Ringfox Eivind Hellström.
– It had many dishes that I already knew. It's a little “basic,” Halvorson says of the gift from his uncle.
He's obviously on to something, because after a short tour of the store, Halvorson returns with a new and slightly more “advanced” cookbook.
The exchange goes like a breeze. Targeted, fast and successful – despite today's chaos.
– You should do it. If not, forget it, says Henriksen.
The Roccones family from Kristiansand stands on the sports shelf. They are going to replace the game they gave Grandma for Christmas.
Daughter Kuri Roccones, 46, says she's tired of the “missing diamond”.
Grandma with a clear message
The 73-year-old's daughter says she gave a clear message when she opened the gift on Christmas Day. The idea was to hold the game in their traveling cabin on Wednesday.
For those who haven't been forced to play “The Lost Diamond”: You're some kind of gem hunter in Africa surrounded by bandits, Bedouins and pirates. The first to discover the “Star of Africa” diamond wins! If you find the diamond on the first try, the game is simply over.
Her two sons, Magnus (12) and Oskar (14), agree with their grandmother. “The Last Diamond” is boring – the “Ricked Car” game they changed to is better.
– What do you think about the change request?
– Very good, says Magnus.
– Whose idea was the first to give away the missing diamond?
– That's dad, Oscar says.
– Isn't he here today?
– No, he replies.
Substitute chef at Carl Johann
VG's two second correspondents decided to go out on Karl Johan to get the pace of the transfer chaos. Maybe wild conditions there.
First, it's cold — really cold. Minus seven degrees. Yr app says it feels like minus 10. No wonder no one wants to talk to us.
– Hello! We are from VG.
– No thanks.
– Hey, where are we from…
– Going well!
– Hello, We are writing a case about exchange day…
– No.
After stopping about 70 people who have better things to do than be interviewed for VG, we catch up with two boys on an exchange trip.
– We don't stumble so much, we are more purposeful, says Andreas Andzeth Sørland (17).
She's going to change a dress, and for the sake of donors, she's reluctant to divulge the gift details.
– Unfortunately, it was a bit small. It doesn't quite fit, Sorland says.
– What about you, will there be any exchange?
– There was a lot going on in socks and knickers. I take what I can get, says Berndtsen.
– Is it a little frivolous to open presents on Christmas Eve that you're not happy about?
– I think it's the thought that counts, says Sorland.
– This is a very politically correct answer. Who did you get the gift from?
– It's … my relatives.
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