Festive buzz

Now that December has arrived, it heralds the official start of summer, and that Christmas is not far away. The signs of the latter are everywhere with truckloads of glittering tinsel, trees and baubles setting the scene in shops and homes.

Christmas spending is well underway with many taking advantage of recent big sales such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday to pick up bargains for Santa sacks.
Predictions vary from group to group about the possible spend, and whether it will be up or down on previous years. They all agree, however, that many people are tightening their belts, and their wallets in the face of economic uncertainty in New Zealand, and globally.

Some are cutting back their spend on gifts, others downsizing Christmas dinner, and yet others are carrying on as they have always.

There’s still a couple of weeks to go before the official holiday season starts so there is time to stop and reflect on what is important to you and yours about celebrating Christmas and seeing a new year in.

People are what matter, not possessions, especially when experience has shown that a large number of gifts will end up on TradeMe, regifted, or consigned to a dark recess somewhere and forgotten.

We all love receiving presents, and it is often that joy of giving and getting gifts that drives us out to shop for them. That’s fine, but maybe this year try buttoning back a bit, being more creative, and, if you are hitting the retail outlets, think about shopping locally.