I’m wondering how many people found them under the tree or in their stocking, this year. My Santa said he had to fight a mob to acquire them, barely escaped with his life the way he tells it.
The Torch spent Christmas in my town and I got to see it start off on it’s journey again the Sunday after Christmas. A very cold day, very early in the morning, not a huge crowd, (unlike Friday when it arrived to a mob scene!), but many, many pairs of Olympic mitts!
So, did you get some?
(For Non Canadians: They are official Olympic gear, wool, knit, bright red with the maple leaf on the palm, the Olympic rings over the knuckles, lined with fleece and insulated with Insulite*.)
I got some for myself in November, long before the crazy started. Then, in early December, I decided that they would make excellent little presents for all of my cousins. My cousins are mostly young and very numerous, so an inexpensive set of patriotic mittens that have spawned their own television commercials seemed like a good gift idea.
Wrong. I live in Vancouver, which means that I’m directly in the middle of about a dozen Zellers, Home Outfitters and Hudson’s Bay stores. Every. Single. One. was sold out Every. Single. Day. It got so bad that I if I called the main Olympic Superstore at the Bay in downtown Van (my nearest mitten dealer) and the clerk would tell me they were available, I would hop on a train down there without bothering to get dressed myself.
On my fifteen minute commute, the Bay would manage to sell out. I would arrive just in time to see dozens of smug shoppers walking out with bagfuls of red wool mittens.
My story does have a happy ending, though. After simultaneously staking out about four different locations, I managed to buy what I needed. I also left one of my own prized personal mittens on the number three bus.
When my Santa was buying his there was a guy in line with 10 pairs! He overheard the conversation asking if he had lots of grandkids, the man responded that he was from the US and intended to put them on ebay!
I failed to mention that they only cost $10 and $4 goes to fund the Olympics. Given as a gift, that’s win, win, win, I believe.
Well, I am loving mine. They keep my fingers toasty warm when I’m out walking my dog in -23 temps, like today!
Well, it does help that they’ve been revving us up for the Olympics for nearly a year now, given that we’re the host country and all.
I was in Vancouver in May, and they already had an official Olympics souvenir store up and running at the airport, along with a whack of other Olympics-related merch in the other airport shops… I guess the assumption was that you may as well stock up now on the souvenirs to prove you were in the general vicinity of an Olympic venue within a 12-month period of the actual event, or something.
Also, we loves us some warm mittens in The Great White North.
I’ll be damned if I can explain the whole backwards-newsboy-cap-a-la-Elvis-Stojko phase we went through in '98… that puzzles even me.
My sister from Vancouver travelled all over and lined up and managed to get a pair which she gave to my Mom this Christmas. My mom is not overly impressed with the olympics, does not need red mitts and really did not care for them. I think the excitement of getting a “rare” find was lost on her.
My cousin got a pair, she was more or less meh about it (“They’re mittens”) but she does say they are wonderfully warm and it makes me wish I could find a pair for that reason.
Not that I don’t have plenty, and a pair on the needles for myself, but I suddenly find myself wanting a pair.
Damn if I didn’t hunt all over the place for a pair of these–well, one pair for myself and a few pairs as gifts–but I swear there was not one set to be found. I live in Ottawa, where we’ve had a gigantic years/months/weeks/days/hours/minutes/seconds countdown to the Olympics for like…two years now. A pair could not be found for love or money anywhere.
I only saw kid’s sizes when I wandered into a Zeller’s on Dec 23rd, but I wasn’t really looking for them and didn’t plan to buy them for myself. They are kind of cute, though.
I also looked at the hockey jerseys, and loved them, but I’m not going to go buy a $100 jersey that I’ll likely never wear.
But, as it happens, Canadian’s can put mittens to good use this time of year. Plus mittens are like socks, one is always breaking free and running off.
I like mine, they are very warm. Red knit mittens have a certain childish cache, in a world of high tech materials. I suppose that could be part of it.
Canadians have always attached themselves to their (our?) Olympic wear. The mittens are the most visible part of this year’s ensemble. They’re simple, bright red and currently being worn by every single torchbearer on TV. Also, ten bucks.
