By Leasia Korbel
Somewhere deep in in the bowels of Atiria (aka the FiXT home office), a Christmas elf named Michelle resides. She originally fell off Santa’s sleigh as the story goes. But she brought good cheer and turned their merch production upside down, enabling them to hit not only homes on Atiria but offworld as well delivering your FiXTmas merch to an earthside residence near you.
What’s your favorite part about Christmas?
It’s hard to pick just one favorite! I love it all—the lights, the music, the decorations, the celebrations—and especially the gift-giving!
What’s your ultimate Christmas candy?
Now this is impossible to choose just one… I’d say Sponge Candy if I can find it because it reminds me of when I was little & going with my Grandma to the corner store to get it & then I’d have to say my mom’s Buckeyes, which are decadent, peanut butter balls covered in chocolate that look like, well, a buckeye.
Do you decorate your home for Christmas?
Yes, and I’ve even been told that it looks like Christmas exploded in my house! We don’t decorate the outside, but when you walk inside, it’s like a Christmas wonderland! We’re talking Christmas in every room, and yes, even the bathroom is decorated! I know, I know, it’s a bit over the top, but there’s a lot of nostalgia behind many of my decorations. Many of them were passed down from family members who are no longer with us, and it brings me so much joy to put them out every year so that a little piece of them can still be with us during the holidays.
Do you decorate your FiXT office? How do your fellow FiXT workers(christmas haters I know they are there – looking at you, Kurtis) take the decorations?
I have not decorated my office, but the Christmas tunes have been jamming!! Believe it or not, Kurtis is not the Grinch of the office… Travis, I’m looking at you!!
What’s your favorite Christmas movie or TV show to watch? (And why?)
Again, I can’t pick just one! There are several movies I have going in the background while I’m decorating or wrapping presents. My go-tos are Home Alone, A Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation, How the Grinch Stole Christmas & Elf! To me these are the classics & I can probably recite them all word for word! I just love em! And then I’m a sucker for the cheesy Hallmark movies, even though the plots are all the same, just set in different Christmas towns!
What’s your all-time favorite Christmas activity?
One of my favorite Christmas activities comes from my involvement with the Elks, an organization I’ve been a part of for 20 years. For the past three years, I’ve had the privilege of being invited to Fairfield, IA, to help with their Shop With a Hero event. The Elks partner with a local school to identify families in need and provide them with a little extra holiday magic.
We all gather at the Elks Lodge to assemble cookie trays, and then, along with local first responders in their emergency vehicles (lights and sirens included!), we head to Walmart for a shopping spree. Afterward, they host a pizza party with Santa, and every family leaves with overflowing cookie trays and gift cards to a local grocery store. This event is such a heartwarming experience! It truly gets me into the holiday spirit and serves as a great reminder that it is the season of giving.
What’s your secret to staying organized during a chaotic holiday ordering season?
Making lists & checking them twice! 😉
Are there any exclusive holiday-themed items fans love to grab this time of year?
I would say all of our Holiday Sweatshirts seem to be a big hit! Insert my shameless merch plug here… get yours before they disappear after the first of the year!! https://fixtstore.com/fixt-holiday-merch
What’s the busiest time of year for merch orders, and how does the holiday season compare?
My goodness, we’ve had a lot of busy times this year, and they all compare equally to the rush of the holiday season! Each pre-order we’ve done has kept us bustling around here! Just to mention a few, the Daedric Mortal Vinyl, both ENMY CDs, and The Browning OMNI CD, Vinyl, and merch drop all had us acting like Christmas elves this year!
How do you prepare for the influx of holiday orders? Are there any special challenges?
One thing that is a must do to prepare for all of the holiday orders is to order up on all of our shipping supplies. I guess the challenge would be where to put all of them sometimes, but as the orders come in, the supplies dwindle, and we just have to order them all again. It’s a vicious cycle!
What’s the most unique or creative holiday merch idea you’ve seen come to life?
This is not really a merch idea, but for the most creative holiday thing in my world right now, I’d have to say our holiday social media images! I love seeing all of the shenanigans that our little FiXT Bot keeps getting into with each holiday that rolls around! And I’d like to give a special shoutout to Summer for helping to bring all of our crazy ideas to life! She is a true gem & I wish I had even half of her creativity!!
What’s one thing you’d like fans to know about the effort that goes into managing the merch desk?
Hmm… Well, fans might think there are Bots running the merch desk, but I have to burst their bubble & let them know that real people are behind it all, working as hard as possible to get their orders out quickly! We take a lot of pride in getting their orders to them, and we truly appreciate them supporting the artists by shopping with us!
What’s the most exciting or unusual destination you’ve shipped merch to?
It’s hard to think of one particular destination, but anytime an order comes in from somewhere warm, I always wish I could just go with it! Hawaii, here I come!!
Do fans ever send notes or messages with their holiday orders? Any memorable ones?
It’s funny that you should ask! Sometimes fans will respond via email with little notes about their orders, & occasionally we’ll get some fan mail. But something interesting happened recently that was a bit out of the ordinary! One of our top fans ordered a Scandroid Monochrome Notebook, which isn’t strange, but then they wrote a note in it and shipped it back to us. Who knows, maybe I’ll write my own note in it & send it back out so we can become notebook pen pals!
Do you have a personal favorite item in the merch lineup that you think makes a great holiday gift?
I love our All Over Print Zip-Up Hoodies… you can’t go wrong with gifting either the Celldweller or Scandroid Hoodies or any of our Blankets! They are all so cozy & are the perfect gift for wintertime!
Would you rather battle 100 gingerbread man sized santas? Or one giant santa sized gingerbread man?
I’m gonna go with one giant Santa sized gingerbread man because I do not want to fight a bunch of Santas and end up on the naughty list!