Christmas and New Year merriment are around the corner and the traditional thing is to go shopping. It is at this time that many people re- stock their wardrobes and also buy gifts for their loved ones. You know who, you want to give gifts and what to buy for your self this Christmas season.

Sunday Time’s Kagabo took a walk around Kigali and here he brings you what you could buy for your loved ones in order to make this Christmas a memorable one.

Shopping for your family

You need to buy a few household items at this time of the year. These are items that will last you through next year and for that reason you will have to put a lot of emphasis on quality.

You may need to shop for new kitchen ware, like saucepans, cutlery, and a new set of plates and glasses. All these can be found at Ndolis super market at Kisementi in Remera. Alternatively you could head out into down town where prices are a bit flexible.

At the same time you may have to shop for your little kids. A teddy bear may do for your little daughter. You could also take your kids out to let say an amusement park.

This should be a fun filled trip. Buy your little ones a scrabble game board and or a snakes and ladder game board.  You could also buy some of the following items for you children who are still in their young early ages.

How about shopping for papa -you could go out there and you have a wide variety of items you could buy for your father this season. A towel robe could be a great item to buy for your daddy.

You could also buy him a night gown and a night dress suit. All these items can be easily found at the Union Trade Center shops-kwa Rujugiro.

It would not be out of fashion if you bought your old man traditional sandals which portray a casual and relaxed mood.

A wide range of casual sandal for both men and ladies are in stock at the Kigali Business Center (KBC) just near the Kimihurura round about. Comfortable African style sandals would be one of the options in this end of year season.

For your grannies in the village

One thing you must not forget is to shop for the parents of your parents-Your grandparents so to say. These old people-your grannies most of whom live upcountry, need to feel appreciated by their children and the grand children.

You like many people in town do, may have to travel upcountry for the Christmas festivities. And you do not want to go empty handed before you grannies. You could do yourself and your old people a favor by doing some shopping.

You could fulfill your grannies dream, of owning a new mobile phone this season. There are nice small and easy to use phones which are currently being sold at bargain prices.

Get two or three for the old folks in the village and you will put a permanent toothless grin on your eight something year old grand papa. You will be his hero and he will always praise you before his drinking buddies.

For your husband

This festive season could be the time to reignite the spark in your marriage. This is the best and ideal time when you could display your love for your husband. T

here is no doubt that you love your hubby. That is why you call him your husband any way. But there is that constant need to reassure him that he is a special person.

You need to display it. That, without him as your partner, life would never have been the same. You could buy him a pair of cufflinks and a nice neck tie. Blue is the ideal colour that portrays a macho personality for men.

You may also buy him a pair of casual denim jeans. Along this it will be great if you also bought him a nice T-shirt and or a casual shirt that goes along with that nice pair of jeans.

Khaki trousers for men are also ideal for a relaxed mood at home. They can also be worn to the office. So they will be multi purpose even after the season has come and gone.
So get your shopping bag and head down town.

At a number of shops in town you will find many of these items at different bargain prices. How ever you ought to note that prices may shoot up as the festive season gains momentum.

For your wife

You need to get a great memorable gift for your wife. And for this matter it needs to be particular. Make sure you are specifically shopping for her and not for the entire family.

Do not go out and buy a new washing machine and think you have bought a gift for your loved one-wife. It has to be feminine and particular for her taste.

You could buy her a nice traditional dress outfit (umukyenyero/umshanana). You could go get her a nice watch or earrings if she likes bling bling stuff. Alternatively you could surprise her with an air ticket for a holiday in the Bahamas or take her to a resort out of town.

For mama

Your mother is an important person in your life, do u have to be reminded?

Of course not, so you cannot forget to do some shopping for her this season. You could buy her some luxurious bed stuff. These include bed sheets, pillows, and a good duvet.
You could also buy her nice cushions for her chairs so that her living room enters the New Year with a new look. This you can conclude with new table clothes for her dining and living rooms.

All these items are available in down town and supermarkets at UTC, in town. You can also get them at bargain prices in down town Kigali.

For your Old Time Buddy’s

You have since left school and many years have gone by. But your School memories are still there in your head. You may even be wondering what could be going on in the life of that buddy of yours who used to help out with course work during your days on campus or before you dropped out of school.

For his intellectual generosity, you were also able to graduate with the rest though academics were never your strongest point at University. He would bail you out when you spent, most of your time hanging out in clubs.

He would give you notes and lecture you to compensate for the time you cut classes like nobody’s business. It would be great if you demonstrated to him or her that you still remember those days and you are forever grateful.

You can demonstrate that this festive season by buying him a gift that suits his interests. If he is still the old bookish guy you knew at School, then a book would do for him.

You could get him a biography of some important personality or some economics book that will keep his intellectual antenna up.

At the same time this is the ideal time to catch up with the old gang. Your old friends’ of Yester year should have reason to be proud of having known you at that time in life.

Show your generosity to some whom may still be facing hard times unlike you who has had your break in life. It will be memorable and you do not want to miss that.

There are many great joints to hang out in and around town. You could spend your time at the popular MTN center or go dancing with the gang at Cadillac night club. You would still make a big difference in their lives.

For your pen pals and long distance friends

If you have long-distance friends or relatives that you will definitely not be able to see during the Christmas and New Year festivities, then you will need to send them presents in form of gifts.

Go out and shop for them items that are unique. If they are overseas you should buy them items that will remind them of where you are. For example you could shop traditional items like agaseke-Rwanda traditional baskets.

For your girl friend

At this time of the year, you will have given many gifts to your girl friend and you may be lost for what to shop for her now. Go get that photo of hers and frame it in some nicely decorated frame. There are many shopping centers around town that sell well curved out photo frames.

Better still you could get an artist to do a painting or some kind of impression or curving of your girl friend. This would be a perfect present for your loved one.

You will also bring joy to her if you buy her a set of jewellery. This could be a set of jewellery containing a watch, ear rings, necklace, bracelets etc. All these are available at different prices in and around town.

All these items could do for your other lady friends. A set of African beads will also do the trick. Go out to crafts shops that specialize in African traditional stuff and you will surely get some.

This is not to forget that magical hand bag that is a must have for a very member of the female specie. Finally you will have to shop for wrappings. All these gifts should be presented with that aura of expectation and suspense.

Good wrapping can really enhance the importance of all these gifts. So go out there and get yourself good meters of wrapping paper to wrap in these gifts for your loved ones. They come in all shades and colors, some with multi colors.

Enjoy your shopping but avoid impulse shopping bearing in mind that after the festive season, children will have to go back to school and at a fee.

Ends