Winter Blunderland (Tips For Hassle-Free Christmas Shopping)

Member Name: 1st2thebar

Product:	Tips For Hassle-Free Christmas Shopping
Date:	18/12/08 (246 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Holiday time

Disadvantages: Fraudulent activity

Titled : WINTER BLUNDERLAND
DooYoo : Christmas Shopping - Retail - dated - 18 - 12 -2008

There is nothing like a piece of retail therapy to keep your burning embers and desires at bay at Christmas-time; or shall I say, Winter Festival-time; now that the UK is so multi-cultured and I don't want to cause offence seeing that we're all PC now ( Politically Correct). Like most materialistic nations enduring our now hard-ship due to Capitalism idealism nose-diving; we still love to shop, it makes us happy - so I'm told. It is what makes our economy working now that since the mid 1980's the UK is a formidable retail park, which should appear perfect in our retail psyche that allows itself for excessive eating and drinking and buying of goods that no-one sensible would want; which some of us take it as gospel. Buying needless things that go missing on the same day of purchase, is what we UK public are good at. - The immortal phrase of, - 'Have another helping - it's Christmas!' spells out danger for arteries all across planet YOU. Rennie sales this time of year soar as does Aspirin and Parasetamol sales - It will be a lot more evident this year (2008) partly due to the fact that December has been the coldest since 1977; bringing in flu bacteria bugs early just in time for Christmas and for many people it will add to the added misery due to this increasingly poor economic down-turn; I bet your feeling even more festive now aren't you? Not that I know what being festive is; I tend to sway towards the saying 'are you feeling festive?' as being slightly merry with a orange paper hat crown perch awkwardly on my mop. - My answer is almost all the time - 'No, not yet, - mines a long cold one, that would help'. Not that I drink to excess at Christmas and use up valuable NHS time in A&E, no I leave that to the overpaid celebs who can afford a tank load of Pinot Plonk and a Priory re-hab visit. No, I'm too busy paying for all of other peoples' blunders, like the rest of the decent UK nation. - So there is shocking ' Secret Santa' gifts either, this year, which is a blessing as many of my efforts of years gone past have been slightly sick and worthy of a '8 minute' laugh, and then forgotten for a week then met with a tiny grimace as it is boxed off to the skip. It then is picked up by a small mammal and used for housing purposes; at least I'm doing good thing for the environment, in an off-beat kind of means.

Popping into shopping arcades for me during this festive season, brings me a little bit of sadness as well as deafness, especially this year as there are so empty areas of where shops once were, and due to having a heavy ear-warming hat, keeping out all the Christmas melodies that are apparently being played while shopping. The hat is vital as not only does it keep your sanity it stops interference from people who just may notice you, and try engaging in a conversation. Not good when you view shopping as a military operation. The hunt for a good deal is paramount. Getting 3 walnut whips at half the price feels me with 'festive spirit' as does haggling for a pare of shoes that has a 2 millimeter piece of thread dangling, insisting I have a 10 percent reduction in price due to bad workmanship, or work-woman-ship, or most of the time work-child-ship.

The retail manufacturer in the UK is notorious global and now looks as if many retailing outlets will close in 2009; following on from a dreadful last 6 months where-by many retail businesses have already gone into administration; No get out of jail clauses given out to them from our credit hungry government and scrooge like lenders who are too busy papering over major flaws in the monetary system. Our Grand-Ma favorite Woolworths' are deep in closure talks and now no buyer will take-on the 300 Million debt or would take over the 118 stores through-out the UK. Not even the wisely Dragon Den star and retail giant Theo Paphitis could come up with a rescue financial package to save them from their vulture creditors and all this ironically happening at Christmas time whereby 1/3 of their annual trading takes place. At present the stores are offering up to 50 percent off all in-house products. It's impossible to move they are so busy. Their chocolate boxes are available for around £1.00 each. Great for credit crunched families who are looking for a respite during this season of goodwill, or is it good-bill. Watch-out for the sale of the century in 9 days or so. On January 5th 2009 Woolies will cease to trade leaving a colossus hole as up to 25,000 jobs at the retail chain will go, and a further more 1,000 jobs will in February 2009 go as the 99 year old veteran retail chain will be sold off in parts to many of their own established suppliers. I as a child I enjoyed their Christmas adverts and thought that the heavy weight would see off the hardest of recessions. I was glad to have witnessed the cheeky thoughtful Woolies Christmas message every year. I got my first Christmas tape called 'Wham!! Fantastic' one year from Woolies. I had my first in-store fry-up breakfast in Woolies - High Wycombe. It is where my loving late Nan took me Christmas shopping hunting for those great deals, bless.

'Tis the time for forgiving and for receiving', it's okay, I'm not going into a verse from Cliff Richard's 'Mistletoe and Wine'' which remains the longest Christmas number ones' apparently, and I didn't get that piece of trivia from a cracker anecdote. At this time of year always claim victims of fraud, whether it is on the internet or on the high street. Every Christmas on average 330,000 people become victims over this Christmas period, at a cost of a shocking £850 each. It is a serious message and needs a reminder within this Christmas category. The Office of Fair Trading says there are £3.5bn taken in scams each year. Still a lot are un-reported especially if you're a victim online. Payment online has to be made secure via Paypal, go to their website for details - www.paypal.com - remember to directly link- up to your credit card rather than your bank account, by doing this your able to charge-back and track your payment properly. Please note that credit card lenders are much more likely to pay for fraudulent activity than any bank would, so cover yourself while shopping online, and allow at least a week, for a purchase to arrive on your doorstep, to avoid disappointment. Be prepared for products to be lost in transit while shopping online also, allow for blunders.

'Chestnuts roasting on an open fire', it's okay I'm no Bing Crosby, either; However, I do wish you a white Christmas. Though unless you vacating to Lapland or going to Iceland it most definitely won't be, the last one was in the 1920's; way before my time. Now Iceland the retailer does have some major good deals on at the moment - worth checking out and will half your food bill on those luxury food items. It is a must visit on my offerings this year. - You never know, you might bump into celebrity royalty such as 'once King (or is it Queen) of the jungle'-Christopher Biggins and ex - coke addict Jason Donovan and current alcoholic and pill - popper Kerry 'loves breakfast tv' Katona. Who has had a muffin reduction operation since the Iceland adverts were made - Now I'm back to 'Chestnuts roasting on an open fire'.

One good piece of news for non turkey lovers is that they're very expensive this year; which means there's a good excuse not to get one and get a bigger oven to cater for the swollen big bird. The reason is due to the fuel costs on getting corn feed to the birds in the first place, preparing them for your Christmas dinner. Not only is the bird inflated to bursting point but so is the cost of it. Another fuel taxation to 'run around headless over' when you purchase the taste-less bird, just so you can stuff it with something a bit more tastier. Last year there was a crazy report on how many air miles your Christmas dinner traveled to get on your plate. All together it was an astonishing 1852 miles; now that is a big carbon footprint. Since then most of the mainstream supermarkets have bought a lot more local produces into the stores for purchasing. However, under Fair Trade laws there are many produces who are ethically bounded to overseas trading laws and that will show in the overall price. It is worth shopping around, if you have time that is.
When you tuck into your Christmas dinner; spare a thought for those hard-up ex- bankers who worked all year at creaming off the banking bonus system who had no choice but to walk-out from their posts collecting millions in awards in a deranged system that defies belief and logic. Now they have to go 'cold turkey'. - Had to be said.

I would like to thank all those who have been hard-core raters and readers this year. I wish you all a Merry and safe Christmas.
Thanks again for reading this epic.

Copyright 2008 - 1st2thebar

Summary: Tips For Shopping at Christmas