This past Saturday I stopped into Starbucks on The Strip. Going anywhere near The Strip at this time of year is absolute mayhem. I made the mistake of stopping in on a weekend at three in the afternoon. The line was out the door.

It comes as no surprise, that at this time of year, when traffic is out of control, lines are long and the rush is on . . . many holiday shoppers are missing their “Christmas cheer.” Standing in line in a crowded coffee shop can be one of the most stress-filled ordeals of the day. But it wasn’t at Starbucks.

I’m standing in line and the guy making the coffee (his official title is Barista) is yelling out to four and five people back in the line, “What can I do for you?” And people are yelling back, “I’d like an eggnog latte, skinny,” or “I want a mocha frappuccino,” or “Make me a caramel macchiato!” The Barista is definitely moving the line along.

Finally, he yells out to me, “What can I do for you?” And I yell back, “You can sing The Twelve Days of Christmas!” And the guy starts singing The Twelve Days Of Christmas! Pretty soon several of the customers are singing The Twelve Days Of Christmas. I’m singing The Twelve Days Of Christmas! The Barista gets to the twelfth day of Christmas and he can’t remember what “my true love gave to me.” So he shouts out again, “Anyone who knows what the gift is for the twelfth day of Christmas gets a free coffee!” And the lady in front of me shouts back, “Twelve drummers drumming!” Sure enough, when we eventually arrive at the counter, her $3.70 coffee was on the house.

I walked out of a very crowded coffee shop having just witnessed firsthand the “Starbucks experience.” Perhaps we all could bring a bit of the “Starbucks experience” with us wherever and whenever we find ourselves in a long line, feeling rushed, and missing our “Christmas cheer?”

Ummm, especially those of us who are actually “Christ-followers.” Shouldn’t we have the most to “cheer” about at Christmas?