Christmas Day is almost upon us and even in these tough economic times (I can’t remember when we weren’t living in ‘tough economic times’) the shops and supermarkets are full of people buying gifts and seasonal food and drink.
Retailers rely on this surge in spending, to make up for the ‘quiet’ months when shoppers aren’t in that generous ‘Christmassy’ frame of mind that makes them part with their money more easily.
Restaurants and pubs are chock-a-block with customers enjoying special Christmas menus and drinks, as are coffee shops and cafes.
As you know, I spend a lot of my spare time in coffee shops, nursing a latte and ‘people watching’.
Okay (full disclosure) I ear-wig conversations for ideas I might turn into material. And this time of year, there’s a definite ‘joyful’ atmosphere in even the most basic café, thanks to the staff (seemingly) being in a Christmassy mood, even if they have wear floppy, bright green elves hats throughout their shift.
We also spend a lot of our dosh on Christmas decorations and tree lights, because inevitably, when the time comes to take the box containing our old ones down from the attic, from under the stairs, or whatever dark cubby hole it’s been tucked away for 11 months of the year, some of them will show signs of damage.
I suppose we all would, if we’d been tucked away in a dark cubby hole for 11 months of the year!
Damage to tree decorations might be, as I described them, inevitable, but it’s still, to me anyway, inexplicable because they were all fine when they were carefully put away on Twelfth Night!
Do the little hanging Santas, elves and fairies indulge in fisticuffs, when tucked away in their dark cubby hole?
It’s a mystery worthy of Conan Doyle.
Talking of mysteries, I was baffled when I read that Britons spent more than £750 million on Halloween this year.
Personally, I think that phenomenal amount could have been put to a much better use if it were donated to the NHS or foodbanks.
But who listens to me?