Pallet surprises replace holiday shopping for one family

So what do you do when you do not feel like Christmas shopping, especially when everyone is exchanging the same complaints about how Christmas crept up too fast and they are not ready for it. You buy a pallet of surprises.

That is what Rob Raber and his family did this year. They purchased two medium-sized pallets in Canton, chose a seller with strong reviews, then loaded an SUV and a car until both were full.

“The way the boxes were packaged we had no idea what was in any of them,” Raber said.

He said that was the point.

The family brought home 52 packages. After about three hours and five family members opening boxes, they had worked through everything. The experience was not limited to gift opening, either. Raber said he, his wife, Stacey, and their two sons also split the cost, which totaled $373.

“The stuff we got way exceeded that by far,” Raber said.

Raber said traditional Christmas shopping has become more stressful, especially as his children have gotten older and harder to buy for. But he said the surprise opening created excitement because it was something different.

So what was inside.

Among the items were a violin in a case, a box of drywall hangers and screws, clothing, ornamental trees, bookcases, chairs and pool cleaners. There were also 70 toenail clippers in one kit, inflatable outdoor Christmas decorations and plenty of items that prompted laughter.

To decide who opened next, the family rolled dice in rounds. The person with the highest number went first.

Raber said they also joked about what might be in the boxes, including the possibility of embarrassing items.

“We were laughing about that,” Raber said. “We sort of, you know, you don’t know. So next year I think we’re going to get a couple gag gifts.”

“We tried to make it last and we tried to make it fun,” Raber said. “I do not think anybody really got bored, and by the time we were done everybody was still laughing and having a good time.”

The family shared the experience on Facebook and received plenty of interaction, including people offering to take items off their hands. Raber said they sold the pool cleaners and set aside the money to help pay for another pallet next year.

“I did not want to buy a bunch of junk,” Raber said, adding that reviews played a big part in selecting the seller. “But it worked out well. We more than got our money’s worth.”

One of the luckiest finds came when his daughter opened a box of sweaters that happened to be in her size.

Raber said the goods came from various retailers, including Target, Walmart and Amazon, as well as other warehouses. He said the items were returns or undeliverable packages that ended up in the pallets.

“It took all the stress of shopping off our shoulders,” Raber said.

“You do not have any disappointment because you did not buy any of it,” Stacey Raber said. “It was more that we had the time and spent the time laughing at each other and having a good time. And the kids actually did get some things that they liked. It was not a total bust. It was actually some good things and some funny things. It was still worth it because it was fun.”