Although the economy is doing poorly, and everyone seems to be crying “poormouth,” a term my mother would use, I didn’t see any of that today when I stopped at a very upscale shopping center in our town. Fig Garden Village is a quaint center with many national retailers and lots of expensive restaurants. I could not find a place to park. Not only were people shopping, but there were many who were enjoying company lunches and holiday gatherings with friends at the eateries.
I have lived in this neighborhood for almost 30 years, and the pace seems no different this year from past ones. People are shopping, buying, entertaining, eating, enjoying the season. I wonder if the media has made us feel that it’s bad all over when that is not the case.
It’s definitely different here. The mall is still crowded, but there are fewer holiday parties and the ones that are still being given are on a much smaller scale. Our office is typically awash in candy and fruit and pretzels and popcorn from the cardiologists and orthopedists – not this year.
On the other hand, far more people seem to have purchased huge, inflatable Santas for their lawns.
We have been invited to the same number of parties, and they have all been of the same degree as years past. However, one of our business partners, a large printer here in town, did not do their company party which probably cost $25K. All of my usual vendors brought lovely gifts, but the yearbook company is closing for 10 days, the first ever in their history. I still think the media is making a bigger fuss than is actually happening.
I’m fortunate that I’ve not had to scale back any of my holiday plans (which have been pretty frugal the past few years anyway).
We’re spending about the same amount on presents for our nuclear family (but we’d decided over the summer to scale back within the extended family for this year, so I have fewer presents to buy overall). For Christmas dinner I decided on a chicken entree instead of beef of pork, but I’m planning on having as many side dishes and desserts.