Every day’s not a Sunday but every day should be Christmas! Some might disagree but isn’t this the best time of year? Not sure if it’s the colourful decorations, lights or music but it all makes you wish the festive mood lasted more than a couple of weeks. There’s an unbelievable warmth almost everywhere you go. Season’s greetings from strangers and suddenly, retailers aren’t too busy on their phones because they’re eager to make a sale and if you do buy something, they actually thank you and wish you a Merry Christmas! If only they did the same all year round! They may sell you a fake or overpriced product or trick you into thinking they’re offering you a discount when in fact they’re only trying to clear the stock before a certain item expires and someone might still snatch your wallet or phone as you go about your shopping but generally, people are nice. As expected, supermarket aisles are packed and chances are you’ll ram into someone’s cart or vice versa. What’s surprising is how quick the offender is to apologise and how understanding the “victim” is, which isn’t always the case. And at checkout, you might get a free shopping bag or some bonus treats if you spend a certain amount. A friend was telling me about her boss who for the past couple of years has been splitting whatever complimentary gift baskets she receives with staff. So cakes have been cut up and chocolate shared around the office where some other bosses just drive off with whatever they’re sent! Not quite Oprah’s “You get a car, everybody gets a car” kind of giveaway but still a commendable gesture that adds to employees’ festive cheer and it may or may not have something to do with gender but I don’t want to reduce this to gender biases! The point is that something is being shared. If you’ve tipped or donated towards a charitable cause, even better. I also love how families come together during the holidays because that’s really what all this is about. Spending time with our loved ones. From parents shopping with their kids to children travelling upcountry and relatives flying in or making long bus, train or boat journeys just to celebrate with family. None of this would be possible without the service providers who operate throughout the Festive Season. I remember a time when businesses closed for Christmas and only reopened after New Year’s! Some still do but many remain open and what a relief that is, even though it means that they sacrifice their time with their own families. It’s easy to forget something as you make your last-minute preparations and you want to be able to dash to the shops to get it. Could be an ingredient for a special dish you’re making for your guests or as earlier mentioned, families coming together and everyone’s asked to bring something: Grandma the main dish, one Aunt the rice or chicken, another the Salad and then just before everybody sits down to eat, you realise you didn’t add the salad dressing because you weren’t sure if the others would like the taste but you meant to bring it along anyway and yet somehow, you forgot to. Or you could run out of something. Believe it or not, one Christmas, we ran out of salt of all things and it was such a relief that the village shop was open, otherwise, the entire festive mood could easily have soured! Can’t forget the medics! Even the festive season is not immune to emergencies. From food poisoning to accidents and other health issues, there’s comfort in knowing a pharmacy, clinic or hospital is open! So, who is ready to sign the petition to extend the holidays?
