We're all familiar with the tales and nightmares of Christmas shopping, where parking is at a premium, malls and big box stores are packed tightly, and the top gifts of the season are in high demand and in low quantity.

In many parts of Canada, the Boxing Day (now Boxing Week) sales are often as frantic as the ones that precede the holidays.  There are countless stories of people camping out and lining up overnight in frigid temperatures to try and get the best deals possible at department or electronics stores.   I'm one of those people.

For almost a decade since Boxing Day was legalized in Ontario, I've ventured out in the middle of the night (usually between 2:00 and 4:00 am) with friends and lined up at the electronics store of choice for the year.  With an extra large cup of coffee in hand and layers of clothing to stay warm, we brave the elements for hours before getting access to the store.

This year, we were fortunate to have warmer temperatures, but still waited three hours before the doors opened at 6:00 a.m., and were 49th and 50th in line.  The CBC reported earlier this week that nearly six million Canadians would be taking part in the Boxing Day sales this year.  In the article, the CBC referred to research that estimated the average Ontarian would spend approximately $414 this Boxing Day in the stores and online.  I fell just shy of that number this year, but I witnessed many others spending considerably more than that.

Given that laptops, LCD televisions and other items were available for as little as just a couple of hundred dollars, the crowds were as civil as the lines were long.  Even when the employees announced that the season's highly sought after gadgets from Sony and Nintendo would not be available, it didn't change the mood of those in line.

But most of all, there is something surreal about spending a few hundred dollars on electronics and being back in your car with purchases in hand before the sun even rises.