Dream: Oh, lovely Christmas time!
This year, we truly won’t give each other any gifts! I think I hear that year after year in our family. In the end, we all sit in front of the Christmas tree with innumerable presents in front of us: OK, yes, fine, something small is somewhat of a must. With Christmas and shopping that’s always the case anyway. I personally have this romantic idealised dream of Christmas: peacefully sauntering through the decked-out city centre on the glamorous search for just the right present, with glittering St. Niks and dazzling Christmas trees all around, the sweet aromas of mulled wine, roasted chestnuts and pine bows in the comforting cold air. From someplace or another, you hear the melody of Christmas classic tunes mixed into the murmur and chatter of people in good moods, creating a rhythm for the shining white snowflakes to fall to the earth. Oh, lovely Christmas time! Well, so goes the theory anyway.
Reality & peaceful reflection = ha ha.
Practically speaking, all that with Christmas and shopping is a funny thing. The hard reality of inhuman pressure in searching for just the right present in that spiffed-up city centre slams you awake like a bucket of cold water over your head. Positively blinded by the brightly coloured Christmas décor in any and every store window, I get a nervous twitch in my eye. And at some point I start to feel queasy from the penetrating crazy mix of smells from some kind of cinnamon-cloves-mulled wine-spiced gingerbread-combination. Instead of snowflakes, it just rained cats and dogs this year with temperatures of 10+ degrees Celsius. In the Christmas season craziness, I left my GORE-TEX jacket at home. Soaking wet from head to toe, I fought for my very survival among hundreds and thousands of crazed Christmas shoppers, finally totally stressed out and depressed because I had only one of 10 gifts I needed, I head for home. Peaceful reflection? Bah-humbug! There is only one way out: The Internet. Period.
Oh, lovely Internet.
Online shopping? I mean, right?! Nestled in at home with Santa Internet, Christmas shopping transforms into a really peaceful affair. The Christmas-y looking home page with a half-million gift ideas turns out to be a totally creative shopping partner, and I enjoy the viral feeling of the animated Christmas screen saver. Completely at peace, my snow app sprinkles flakes right on time across my screen while a diverse playlist of the nicest Christmas songs hums along on Spotify. With the Christmas Snapchat filter, I get in the mood for shopping and pootle about relaxed from page to page to find a gift for myself first. With one click on the “buy” button, I already receive my first Christmas gift two days later, beautifully packed already in a brown box. I am thrilled with my new GORE-TEX jacket, just in case next year at this same time I’m in the city centre and the sky is crying water droplets again. And, oh dear Internet, in case next year I have forgotten what a dream and what reality is, then I wish for Christmas that you remind me of this post in a year. By the way, if you are still on the search for a suitable present, then may I suggest you take a look at the newest pieces in the Gore Apparel online shop. Click, click! Happy holidays! Laila
