Post by Chips on Sept 25, 2012 11:18:36 GMT 9.5
'Tis the season not to shop for Christmas
Date September 25, 2012
HECKLER
DEPENDING upon which particular bit of the globe you spent your childhood years you are likely to have firm associations with Christmas festivities. Either you are on the Good King Wenceslas side of the equator where the snow is deep and crisp and even or you fall into the sunny, surfing Santa camp. However, no matter whether we are talking festive reindeer or koalas in Santa hats, the one season Christmas is definitely not associated with is spring. So why, given Sunday was the spring equinox, has the retail sector swung into action with an enthusiasm that suggests it is only a matter of days until those bells start jing-a-ling-ing?
Find me the Christmas carol, religious tract, Advent story or any kind of planner that suggests that September would be a good time to start shopping for your Christmas decorative trimmings - thank you, David Jones and Myer, whose shops I see are up and running for all those early birds (such birds presumably being of the partridge in a pear tree variety). Equally, I don't want to open Good Living and find the suggestion that it's the moment to start test-driving the mince pie recipes.
In what kind of elf-infested haven do these people live? I know Santa's workshop works 365 days a year, but given that I am buying the presents rather than handcrafting them, I see no reason to start the traditional panic with three months to go.
There is a certain art to being unprepared for major festive events and no Christmas is complete without the realisation that despite having spent the best part of the day in the post office queue, overseas parcels posted on December 20 not only cost the equivalent of a personal sleigh delivery but are also unlikely to reach the recipient before Valentine's Day.
On the food shopping front, the Christmas Eve dash is a much-loved family event, and while ''Be Prepared'' may be the boy scout motto, having my Christmas shopping list done and dusted by October will take the fun out of the incipient mental breakdown that makes champagne such an essential part of the Christmas Day breakfast.
So whether anticipating a hot or cold Christmas, turkey or prawns, open fire or barbecue, there is a strong argument for keeping all the retail offerings and trimmings on ice until the advent of, well, Advent. I'd like to enjoy September 25, October 25 and November 25 before being thrown into a tinsel-laden blue funk for December 25, so please hold the holly, cancel the canned carols and axe the angels until 'tis the actual season to be jolly.
Catriona Ling
Date September 25, 2012
HECKLER
DEPENDING upon which particular bit of the globe you spent your childhood years you are likely to have firm associations with Christmas festivities. Either you are on the Good King Wenceslas side of the equator where the snow is deep and crisp and even or you fall into the sunny, surfing Santa camp. However, no matter whether we are talking festive reindeer or koalas in Santa hats, the one season Christmas is definitely not associated with is spring. So why, given Sunday was the spring equinox, has the retail sector swung into action with an enthusiasm that suggests it is only a matter of days until those bells start jing-a-ling-ing?
Find me the Christmas carol, religious tract, Advent story or any kind of planner that suggests that September would be a good time to start shopping for your Christmas decorative trimmings - thank you, David Jones and Myer, whose shops I see are up and running for all those early birds (such birds presumably being of the partridge in a pear tree variety). Equally, I don't want to open Good Living and find the suggestion that it's the moment to start test-driving the mince pie recipes.
In what kind of elf-infested haven do these people live? I know Santa's workshop works 365 days a year, but given that I am buying the presents rather than handcrafting them, I see no reason to start the traditional panic with three months to go.
There is a certain art to being unprepared for major festive events and no Christmas is complete without the realisation that despite having spent the best part of the day in the post office queue, overseas parcels posted on December 20 not only cost the equivalent of a personal sleigh delivery but are also unlikely to reach the recipient before Valentine's Day.
On the food shopping front, the Christmas Eve dash is a much-loved family event, and while ''Be Prepared'' may be the boy scout motto, having my Christmas shopping list done and dusted by October will take the fun out of the incipient mental breakdown that makes champagne such an essential part of the Christmas Day breakfast.
So whether anticipating a hot or cold Christmas, turkey or prawns, open fire or barbecue, there is a strong argument for keeping all the retail offerings and trimmings on ice until the advent of, well, Advent. I'd like to enjoy September 25, October 25 and November 25 before being thrown into a tinsel-laden blue funk for December 25, so please hold the holly, cancel the canned carols and axe the angels until 'tis the actual season to be jolly.
Catriona Ling