Avoid the Red Nose - an Alternative to Hoofing - it Round the Shops
The Christmas cards depicting the traditional Victorian Christmas scene are familiar to most people – ladies, gentlemen and children suitably attired for the freezing snowy weather with big long coats, the ladies with fur muffs and the gents with top hats. We can really blame the Victorians for making cold weather such a key factor in all our Christmas celebrations today since Britain was in a mini ice age at the start of the Victorian era (1837) – having started in 1550 and lasting for three centuries. Dickens described a snowy Christmas in his book 'A Christmas Carol' in 1843 – and the rest is history. Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, was used to snow and ice being around at Christmas in his much colder native Germany. Not only did he introduce Christmas Trees to Britain but he also encouraged snow scenes on the newly-introduced Christmas Cards.
Christmas was a much simpler affair in those days – children really did receive an India-rubber ball, a candy stick, a tin whistle and an orange in an old sock, and most of the festivities were centred around the Church and family gatherings. The Victorians went a-visiting at Christmastime, not a-shopping for Christmas presents. In fact, Christmas presents were mostly made by family members for each other, an activity that brightened up the long and dull winter evenings leading up to Christmas Day.
It has only been in the last four decades that we have seen the gradual commercialisation of Christmas that we know today. No longer do we venture out in the bracing cold, driving rain and gale force winds of November and December just to participate in the social occasions of the family promenade or the community skating on the frozen-over ponds of yesteryear. Now we face these appalling weather systems in the search for Christmas Presents for family, friends, bosses, colleagues and neighbours. Most of us don't know exactly what we are looking for – we'll know it when we see it is the general rule, and because we are usually taken from one end of the town to the other in search for Christmas presents that jump out and grab us, the whole activity for shopping for Christmas presents fills most of us with dread and cold feet in more ways than one.
It's not just the actual shopping that gives us the shivers. It's the whole day – from deciding how to go (parking is a nightmare, buses crowded and restrictive on what you can carry, trains the same) to fighting over a table in the coffee shop just so you can rest your aching feet, warm your hands on a hot mug of something and recharge your batteries with a soggy sarnie. Then there's the whole decision-making limitations based on your physical strength - what you can carry? (Most of us are too sophisticated to wheel a shopper behind us but you can almost see the sense!) The most perfect of Christmas presents can get passed over just because it is bulky and heavy, so then you've got another search on your hands.
No wonder there has been a 16% rise in online shopping sales this month. Over 22 million adults have found the secret to the misery of Christmas shopping on the high streets and are doing it from the warmth and comfort of their own home. No more chilblains or frostbite for them! Using the search option on most retail websites, you can type in your ideas for Christmas presents and let the site locate suggestions for you. It's just like having your own personal shopper. With more sophisticated and secure online payment systems it has never been safer to purchase Christmas presents over the internet. With the ease of delivery and returning items if you change your mind, the whole experience should be stress-free and speedy, giving you more time to enjoy the mince pies and mulled wine over the Christmas period. If you can't resist the reminder of the cold weather though you could always stroll down the high street taking in the lights and the atmosphere with a smug look on your face, laughing at all those miserable shoppers waiting at bus stops and fighting over the last Sun Jar in the store. And if you want to spread some good cheer and kindness with your Christmas presents while you stay on the right side of the front door, consider adopting a polar bear, snow leopard or a reindeer for a loved one. Now, there are three beings meant to be out in the cold. Not you!