However in other areas, I'm afraid, the Grinch has attracted a few rather enthusiastic followers.
They seem to have taken over a store that has not just ignored the festive spirit, but downright given it a headbutt and kicked it to the floor.
And it was all over $1.50.
It seems an elderly lady on a mobility scooter went into this Western Bay store and wanted to get her watch battery changed.
She was given a price and then presented her gold card hoping for a tiny discount.
The Grinches would have none of it, telling her the full price had to be paid.
The woman was gobsmacked, as she has previously received the discount at the same store.
Now I don't know about you, but I reckon that is not only appalling treatment of an elderly person on a scooter, but a damn stupid business decision.
That woman told her story to everyone who would listen, including one who wrote to this fellow, and that amounts to one heck of a lot of people who, like me, are pretty horrified at the insensitivity of that store's staff.
Shame on them for such behaviour.
All for $1.50.
Bah humbug!
One of the really big problems with the New Zealand economy is the huge investment Kiwis make in the property market.
Instead of putting their cash into productive investments locals buy houses and wait for capital gains that attract no tax.
Unfortunately what this has done is put the price of housing out of the reach of many.
A report by The Economist has said that New Zealand homes were overvalued by 25 per cent and there was a real danger of a housing bubble burst.
In fact it said that New Zealand was in the world's top nine overpriced markets.
But, fear not, The Economist's independent view has been derided by real estate insiders who reckoned the real assessment of a property came from the buyer and the seller.
But they would though, wouldn't they?
Good on Melissa Anderson, the mum who went to the defence of her daughter who had been assaulted by some less than pleasant fellow schoolgirls.
Melissa is accused of attacking the ringleader of the beasts and, dare I say, she didn't deal with her harshly enough.
In this pathetic world where the bad can seemingly do everything and law-abiding folk get screwed whichever way they turn, I think it is important to challenge the situation.
When my son was punched on a school bus I took it upon myself to wait at the bus stop the next day to chat with the assailant.
I did so in a very voluble way and like to think that will make the teen involved consider his own safety before assaulting someone again.
Now just in case anyone suggests that what I did was also bullying I will say this - rack off. I'd cheerfully tell the parents of the little ratbag the same thing to their faces.
When cyber bullying occurred I tracked the perpetrators down and rang the home of one suggesting that if similar occurrences happened then his parents would be informed, as well as the police.
Needless to say the unpleasantness stopped.
Authorities do not do enough to protect our children from bullies and I will back 100 per cent every parent who deals with the situation themselves.
As someone who doesn't believe in killing things - other than for food or in self defence - I was rather amused by the tale of a bird hunter who was shot in the backside by his dog.
Yup, man's best friend proved a duck's favoured mate when he accidentally stepped on his master's 12 gauge, firing a burst of buckshot into his buttocks.
Tee hee.
richard@richardmoore.com
