Mall: Bah, humbug on Christmas decorations

Ordinarily I have no reason to shop at the Tacoma Mall. However, I make an exception at Christmastime because I enjoy the holiday decorations and music as well as strolling through the beautiful Christmas shops at each of the major department stores.

Unfortunately, each year the decorations have become more and more understated until this year, they were almost nonexistent. The Christmas shops were reduced to a tree or two and a couple of shelves on the top floor.

There was no sparkle, no excitement and absolutely no reason to make a trip to the mall. Even some employees expressed their dismay at how small and pathetic their Christmas selection was this year.

In an era when all shopping can easily be done at home in your pajamas, the brick-and-mortar stores need to give their customers a reason to make the effort to shop there. Apparently the merchants and management of the Tacoma Mall have forgotten that.

This story was originally published January 8, 2016 at 1:20 PM with the headline "Mall: Bah, humbug on Christmas decorations."