Posted on the December 8th, 2008 under christmas by rob
No matter how many adverts I see on TV, how many times radio stations play Wham!’s Last Christmas or the number of presents I have/haven’t bought it never really feels like Christmas until the tree is up.
Yesterday, we tootled down the road to a man selling trees from the car park in the local pub. There was no variation in price depending on how much taller some were than others, so we had a look round and, amazingly, found one very, very quickly.
C was happy because it was the tallest one we’ve ever had, A was happy simply because it was a Christmas tree and I was happy because it was a good deal!
Back home, the decorations came out, the lights went up, baubles were hung – much to A’s excitement (see photo) and suddenly it was Christmas in our household.
I even spent an hour or two making some Christmas cards last night – a first for me! Roll on the 25th…
Now on the face of it, this is a perfectly valid story. If you’re buying an obviously Christmas-themed product, you’d expect it to last till the festive season, wouldn’t you?
But then I stopped to think. I know we’re in credit crunch (god, am I fed up with those two words) time and people like to start buying things early, but why would you buy mince pies now – in October – to use on Christmas Day?
I can understand buying crackers or stocking presents. But mince pies?
When I make a batch of mince pies at home, they’re lucky if they last 2 days before starting to be past their best, not 2 months!
What must manufacturers be putting in these pies that allows them to last so long? And more to the point, what are people thinking that makes them decide to buy mince pies in October and expect them to be OK to eat in December.
Posted on the October 17th, 2008 under christmas by rob
I know that Christmas is getting closer and that shops have started advertising all their fantastic offers. That’s par for the course.
What I don’t want just yet is any Christmas music. Look at the weather, for god’s sake. It’s sunny and 15°, not snowing and -5°.
So why on earth are DFS playing Mariah ‘bloody’ Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You on their current advert? Like that makes me want to go out and buy a new sofa!
Yes, I know if you order now, you can get it in time for Christmas, but that doesn’t mean I want to hear a fruit-loop superdiva trilling away on my radio when I’m in the shower in the morning.
Next thing we know British Gas will be plugging their boiler service using Baby, It’s Cold Outside.
Just to round off this slightly bah humbug post (even though I’m not really that way inclined), enjoy Weird Al Yankovic!
No matter how many adverts I see on TV, how many times radio stations play Wham!’s Last Christmas or the number of presents I have/haven’t bought it never really feels like Christmas until the tree is up.
I know that Christmas is getting closer and that shops have started advertising all their fantastic offers. That’s par for the course.
