Tuesday, January 6, 2009

It's Girl Scout Cookie Time!

MiniMe and I made our first foray into the neighborhood last evening to begin taking orders for Girl Scout cookies. This is MiniMe's 4th year in Girl Scouts and the entire reason she puts up with the field trips, arts and crafts and camping all year long is so she can sell these cookies. She lives for this stuff! And of course, Girl Scout cookies practically sell themselves. They're delicious, you support a good cause by buying them, they're only around once a year and they're sold by adorable little girl scouts.

MiniMe, who's never really lacking in self-confidence, was quite full of herself last night as we began going door to door. She actually said at one point, "Who can resist girl scout cookies especially when they're sold by a cute girl scout like me!" And she was mostly right. We visited 11 homes last night; eight people were home and all but one bought cookies. In fact, in only an hour, she managed to sell 33 boxes of cookies. But the real excitement starts in February when the cookies are delivered and she gets to hawk Thin Mints to strangers in front of storefronts around town. She has a secret weapon, she tells me. "Mom, I just use my 'cute face' and people have to buy cookies from me, they can't say no!" She's kinda right again. It takes a real grinch to turn down a smiling little girl in a girl scout uniform. She would stand in front of Wal-Mart selling Peanutbutter Patties and Caramel Delights every weekend if we'd let her. 

She's a born salesperson. One day, I'm counting on this paying off not just for her, but perhaps for me in my retirement years. I just try to make sure she uses this skill of hers for good not evil. For instance, I let her know that selling 400 boxes of girl scout cookies is great. Selling rocks to kids in the neighborhood for $1 each, maybe not so good. Of course if a neighbor kid is dumb enough to hustle up a dollar from their folks to buy a rock from my daughter . . . well, there's gotta be a life lesson for them in there somewhere.