Monday, November 09, 2009

 CHRISTMAS WILL SOON BE HERE


Two parcels posted today, and two gifts wrapped in their Christmas paper.  If I wrap up a couple of gifts per day, it will make the wrapping task less of a rushed chore.  I could even enjoy doing it more than I have done in recent years.

I have a few more packages to make ready for posting.  A note to me: I must keep the gifts light to cut down postage costs.

I am now seriously thinking about how I can arrange for third party gift sending services.  There are a number of companies who do it. For example, earlier this year a well known online  retailer was requested to send me a gift-wrapped book.  It was presented very nicely with a card telling me when it should be opened, (nice one!) and the message card was very suitable. The company sells other things that could be posted, I guess, and they offer physical and electronic gift tokens.

 I have seen some interesting items that I think would raise a smile or two with people, where there has been some sadness recently.  One item is rather heavy and breakable. This is exactly the kind of gift that I would rather the retailer mail and take responsibility for. 

There is a chocolatier whose product is divine;  the cost of gifting them elsewhere than the UK is prohibitve.  So,  I may yet send some flowers.

Christmas is will soon be here!

6 comments:

TG said...

I'm more of an Ebenezer Scrooge. We were never celebrating Christmas, because my mum is really against the Church (as institution), so she did it in spite. Hence, I have no Christmas spirit, nor we buy gifts. At least I feel no stress with the gifts, hehe.

ZACL said...

HI MKL,

I find your reply extremely interesting.

"Mum was against the church". I may misunderstand the gift giving here in the UK, however, my impression is that with most people, it has very little to do with the church and has more to do with;

a. lighting up ones life in the middle of Winter (back to Saturnalia)under the guise of celebrating a religious festival.

Our churches are closing through lack of use, I think that gives many messages about how individuals view organised religion.

b. The modern mass pressure [church] is commercialism. With the growth of all sorts of media with which to apply those pressures, the Christian focus for the festival appears to have been submerged into a black hole.

c. I like your lack of pressure on gift-giving. Before I lived where I am now, my experiences to give gifts was pleasing, I did not have so many gifts to think about. I could have given parcels at other time, and I did, but Xmas being so ingrained in the psyche for gift-giving, really means a certain structure is followed. The people I truly wanted to please, did not feel left out if I followed the routines.

d. My situation now is so different, it would take a blog to describe, so, I won't go into it. Suffice to say, I don't obtain as much simple pleasure from the exercise, as I used to.

zewt said...

it is not a MUST to spend during christmas... right?

ZACL said...

Hi Zewt,

It can feel like a 'Must Spend' at Christmas and when money is not plentiful, people do not have jobs, it makes the pressure of gift-giving, awful.

I learned to set myself budgets for each gift I buy, many years ago. If I spent less on one, it meant I had a little more to spend on another. If I did not need to spend so much, that was good, I saved.

As time goes on, you review budgets according to what you can do.

Other faiths that have a festival of light about the same time, do not appear to be caught up in the commercialism of a UK Christmas until, with some groups, (not all) their kids grow up, and merge some of their traditions with the traditional behaviour of the country they are in.

TG said...

I know Christmas has less to do with the Church now, but 30-40 years ago, when my mum was young, it did. It's a long story how my mum became so angry at the Church as an institution, it has personal reasons in the family. So she brought up as atheists and maybe in spite, we never celebrated any of of holidays. She's a bit less strict today at age 52, but we don't have the spirit I see in cheesy US movies... so I don't really feel it's something I look for. It's just a day off :P

ZACL said...

Hi MKL

That's understandable; there are so many reasons why we do the things that we do. I kind of envy you your position; it takes away all sorts unreasonable expectations, disappointments and pressures.