What were your holiday fails this year?

UPDATE:  Ulta has sent me an egift card to make up for the mailed one and also sent me a little something for myself.  Thank you, ULTA for making it right!

My first holiday fail was a gift card that I purchased from Amazon.  A $25 Denny's gift card ... and it arrived with no balance.  Thankfully, Amazon has excellent customer service and they refunded the purchase immediately when I called.

The second holiday fail is an Ulta gift card that I ordered from Ulta.com.  I ordered before the deadline, so I would receive it by the 24th, but although I ordered on the 18th, it only shipped yesterday.  And, they shipped it by Fed Ex 3-day and shows the delivery estimate as Dec 28.

I tried to call their customer serviced number, but after being on hold for a while, I was asked to leave a message or call back another time.  After trying this a couple times, I posted on Facebook and Twitter.  Ulta on Twitter responded for me to send an email, which I did.  I got a canned reply email saying that they will respond within 24 hours.  So, I don't really have any faith in this being resolved to my expectations, but I will update when I find out.

$15 Gift Card when you purchase $20 or more from Sephora! (Plus codes to get you free stuff with purchase!)

If you order from Sephora, why not go through Swagbucks promotion!  They are giving away $15 in points that you can use to get a $15 gift card when you make a purchase at Sephora.

There are various codes available to get free stuff with a $25 minimum purchase that you can use in conjuction with this offer.  

Free Rosewater Mist Mini with code ROSEMIST
Free Smashbox BB Cream with code SMASHBB
Free 5-day supply of First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream with code FAB5DAY
Free (2) Living Proof Samples with code CURLDUO
(One code per order - plus you may need to sign up to be a beauty insider at Sephora to get these offers.)

Beauty Insiders get a free 8 pc fragrance sample set with orders of $25 or more at Sephora!

Order $25 or more from Sephora and use code Romance to get a free 8 pc fragrance sampler of your choosing!

Choose from Niche Connections, Luxe Affairs, or Most Loved Liaisons.

You need to be a beauty insider, but sign up is free and you get rewarded with points when you shop!

NOTE: If you are ordering for Valentine's Day, note that fragrance and restricted items must be ordered by midnight PST on 2/5.  For standard 3-day shipping, order by midnight PST on 2/9.

Spend $20 at Sephora and Swagbucks will give you a $15 gift card! See details.

Spend $20 at Sephora and get a $15 gift card through Swagbucks.  See details in promotion.

FREE 7 day supply of Urban Decay eyeshadow for Sephora Beauty Insiders!

You need to be a Sephora Beauty Insider to get this freebie. Just take the coupon to Sephora inside JCPenney while supplies last! Print the coupon and take to Sephora inside JCPenney