How to be a successful bell ringer
Yep, you read that right. I’ve been bell ringing for the Salvation Army in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Good times! I really enjoy it. I’ve been singing throughout my whole shift and have seen great results.
I bet you’ve seen your share of “bell ringers” let’s talk about a few. No one was harmed in the writing of this blog! Ha!
Ok. So I’ve seen the “scared to death” br (bell ringer). They don’t make eye contact, they look like they are embarrassed to give out candy. I had one lady hand me the whole strip of candy canes. Almost apologetically. I didn’t take any of them and I gave anyway.
I’ve seen br’s stand in the corner , away from the door and basically hide. I’ve seen them sit behind tables as if to protect themselves. Realistically, I can understand their concerns. They are probably introverted souls that have given their time out of love. Anytime you give with love it’s amazing!
I’ve also run into a couple of “hostile takeover” br’s. Nobody is supposed to do this, I mean it is a charity and all, but I know of people who have “staked” their claim to a specific site and you’d best not invade their territory. I mean, ownership is one thing, but really?
I’ve seen br’s that laugh and sing and even some dance. People either respond one of two ways; they either join in or choose the entrance as far away from the br as possible.
This year we’ve gone out before Thanksgiving. People have had different retractions to that as well. Some smile and say, “thank you” for being there or they scowl and say “can’t we have one holiday at a time?” I get it. But the Salvation Army only has one fundraiser for the entire year and with the wild fires, the tragedies of 2018, whether through rain, wind or fire... there are a lot of needs.
So tonight I decided to sing hymns and say “Happy Thanksgiving “. I also made a lot of jokes. I’m an extrovert... in case you haven’t figured that out.. ha! But I’m not extreme. I do have fun though.
So when I sing “Jingle Bells” and I get to the part where someone is supposed to say “hey” or hay..I pause, put my hand up to my ear and say “anybody?” People stop and laugh and say “hey” and they have a good time. Also when you’re supposed to sing “ha, ha, ha” I put the bell down and very drily say “ha...ha.. ha”. People usually laugh. They are taken off guard. It’s fun. Oh. If it’s not snowing I sing “4 horse Chevrolet “ instead of “one horse open sleigh” Surprise!
It was warm today but it was freezing last time I sang. So, this time, with my sunglasses on I sang “let it snow. Let it snow, let it snow” with a question mark. People smiled and said it was ok. I told them that the last time I sang that, it did snow!
I think it’s obvious that some of these songs were written a long time ago.. Like the song I just mentioned, do you realize it says “and since we’ve no place to go?” Clearly that was a long time ago. Now we have trains, planes and automobiles and we are constantly moving.
Sometimes I sing “white Christmas “ and instead of singing. “Just like the ones I used to know.” I’ll stop and say, “who am I kidding, I was born in California!” Unexpected laughter is the best.
Now, let’s talk about Rudolph. When I get to the part that says “all of the other reindeer., used to laugh and call him names.. “ I pause and say “isn’t that reindeer shaming” then I continue. When I get to the part where Rudolph becomes the hero and saves Santa I say, “ see, we all have purpose!”
It’s really fun.
Tonight “Deck the Halls” was a rock song. I stopped and said. “Let’s hear it for the band!” Then I rang my bell and said that all I could afford was the percussion section.”
“Joy to the World” was a jazz song!
One persons car alarm went off and I kept singing. When he got to the door I said, “I bet you thought you could confuse me, didn’t you?” He laughed.
One person stopped and told me that I had a beautiful voice , “awww “ I said that they couldn’t get “Beyoncé “ and I was all they could afford. He almost fell over laughing.
I sang “Feliz Navidad” and a Native American stopped and asked me if I could sing it in Cherokee. I surprised him by saying , “ sure, if you teach it to me”.
I have to say my favorite part is when I see children coming. I keep suckers, etc in my pocket (shhh). And when they get close enough I put the bell up to my ear and stay. “Wait a minute! I’ve got Santa on the phone and he told me to give you this!” I open my palm and candy “magically “ appears. Cracks me up and the parents love it. I’ve been given hugs and those are the sweetest gifts! I almost got attacked by a Charlie Brown character tonight. He was hanging onto his blanket and I said, “ I bet I can get you to take your arms out of your blanket” then I gave him a piece of candy. Little did I now that later he would return and “demand” more. To which I kindly replied, “next time”.
Don’t judge me.. I wasn’t giving in so he tried to push the kettle over. I looked him straight in the eyes and said sternly, “ next time”. He walked on. Wow! Thought I was goin to have to call for backup!
In all my silliness I hope you’ll hear my message “Enjoy your holidays, either all at once, or one at a time,”. But whatever you do... don’t scare the bell ringers! Happy Thanksgiving!
I bet you’ve seen your share of “bell ringers” let’s talk about a few. No one was harmed in the writing of this blog! Ha!
Ok. So I’ve seen the “scared to death” br (bell ringer). They don’t make eye contact, they look like they are embarrassed to give out candy. I had one lady hand me the whole strip of candy canes. Almost apologetically. I didn’t take any of them and I gave anyway.
I’ve seen br’s stand in the corner , away from the door and basically hide. I’ve seen them sit behind tables as if to protect themselves. Realistically, I can understand their concerns. They are probably introverted souls that have given their time out of love. Anytime you give with love it’s amazing!
I’ve also run into a couple of “hostile takeover” br’s. Nobody is supposed to do this, I mean it is a charity and all, but I know of people who have “staked” their claim to a specific site and you’d best not invade their territory. I mean, ownership is one thing, but really?
I’ve seen br’s that laugh and sing and even some dance. People either respond one of two ways; they either join in or choose the entrance as far away from the br as possible.
This year we’ve gone out before Thanksgiving. People have had different retractions to that as well. Some smile and say, “thank you” for being there or they scowl and say “can’t we have one holiday at a time?” I get it. But the Salvation Army only has one fundraiser for the entire year and with the wild fires, the tragedies of 2018, whether through rain, wind or fire... there are a lot of needs.
So tonight I decided to sing hymns and say “Happy Thanksgiving “. I also made a lot of jokes. I’m an extrovert... in case you haven’t figured that out.. ha! But I’m not extreme. I do have fun though.
So when I sing “Jingle Bells” and I get to the part where someone is supposed to say “hey” or hay..I pause, put my hand up to my ear and say “anybody?” People stop and laugh and say “hey” and they have a good time. Also when you’re supposed to sing “ha, ha, ha” I put the bell down and very drily say “ha...ha.. ha”. People usually laugh. They are taken off guard. It’s fun. Oh. If it’s not snowing I sing “4 horse Chevrolet “ instead of “one horse open sleigh” Surprise!
It was warm today but it was freezing last time I sang. So, this time, with my sunglasses on I sang “let it snow. Let it snow, let it snow” with a question mark. People smiled and said it was ok. I told them that the last time I sang that, it did snow!
I think it’s obvious that some of these songs were written a long time ago.. Like the song I just mentioned, do you realize it says “and since we’ve no place to go?” Clearly that was a long time ago. Now we have trains, planes and automobiles and we are constantly moving.
Sometimes I sing “white Christmas “ and instead of singing. “Just like the ones I used to know.” I’ll stop and say, “who am I kidding, I was born in California!” Unexpected laughter is the best.
Now, let’s talk about Rudolph. When I get to the part that says “all of the other reindeer., used to laugh and call him names.. “ I pause and say “isn’t that reindeer shaming” then I continue. When I get to the part where Rudolph becomes the hero and saves Santa I say, “ see, we all have purpose!”
It’s really fun.
Tonight “Deck the Halls” was a rock song. I stopped and said. “Let’s hear it for the band!” Then I rang my bell and said that all I could afford was the percussion section.”
“Joy to the World” was a jazz song!
One persons car alarm went off and I kept singing. When he got to the door I said, “I bet you thought you could confuse me, didn’t you?” He laughed.
One person stopped and told me that I had a beautiful voice , “awww “ I said that they couldn’t get “Beyoncé “ and I was all they could afford. He almost fell over laughing.
I sang “Feliz Navidad” and a Native American stopped and asked me if I could sing it in Cherokee. I surprised him by saying , “ sure, if you teach it to me”.
I have to say my favorite part is when I see children coming. I keep suckers, etc in my pocket (shhh). And when they get close enough I put the bell up to my ear and stay. “Wait a minute! I’ve got Santa on the phone and he told me to give you this!” I open my palm and candy “magically “ appears. Cracks me up and the parents love it. I’ve been given hugs and those are the sweetest gifts! I almost got attacked by a Charlie Brown character tonight. He was hanging onto his blanket and I said, “ I bet I can get you to take your arms out of your blanket” then I gave him a piece of candy. Little did I now that later he would return and “demand” more. To which I kindly replied, “next time”.
Don’t judge me.. I wasn’t giving in so he tried to push the kettle over. I looked him straight in the eyes and said sternly, “ next time”. He walked on. Wow! Thought I was goin to have to call for backup!
In all my silliness I hope you’ll hear my message “Enjoy your holidays, either all at once, or one at a time,”. But whatever you do... don’t scare the bell ringers! Happy Thanksgiving!
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