BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – CHRISTMAS, the season for caring, sharing, celebrating, and of course shopping, is just a few short weeks away, and while there are those who are eager to hop from store to store doing the traditional Christmas ‘splash out’, many will be wondering “where can I cut down on spending this season?”.
Since late 2008 when the recession hit the nation, many have been a little thriftier, and have cut back on certain things while eliminating others in order to save more, and with Christmas being the conventional time of the year to ‘go all out’, there are those who have decided to tone it down.
Traditionally, Kittitians and Nevisians would have new curtains for almost all of the lengthy holidays of the year, specifically Christmas. Every home would be redecorated, furniture would be polished, and ham and turkey would be at the top of every Christmas list.
Some would even buy new furniture, but because of the economic downturn, people are cutting back in preparation for the New Year, because we know not what it would bring.
SKNVibes took to the streets of downtown Basseterre to find out what persons are ‘bumping’ or reducing this coming Christmas, and why they chose to eliminate or reduce those things.
“I am not into no fancy nothing or entertainment, but I am still looking at areas where I can spend less or what I can do away with and for now it looks like curtains. I am even boycotting the ham and turkey this year, just a small whole fowl. Not even my usual saltfish breakfast that I love to cook at Christmas mornings,” is what one woman had to say.
She explained that the reason for these changes is due to the increase in prices “and I am trying to look at all the areas where I can save money.”
She continued, “My children are grown and they are not living with me so there is no need for me to cook a large meal. I am not entertaining anyone so there is no need for me to do much decorating, I might as well save the little bit for a rainy day.”
One young man said that generally, he does not do much shopping during the Christmas season, but as “things are tight”; he is only going to purchase gifts for his children.
Another lady voiced that she would be recycling her curtains this season, and she would also be reducing the number of cakes kept for entertaining guests.
She said she would also be downsizing on foods cooked, while one man said he would be reducing the number of drinks bought and the number of functions he would normally attend during the season.
Some said that they are looking towards purchasing cheaper gifts for their children as the money saved from doing this would be better spent on school supplies when the need arises.
Others said that they would be putting the money budgeted for presents to good use and they would be purchasing more educational presents for their children this year.
Several said no new furniture would be purchased; they are just going to “dress up” their old ones, while others claimed that fewer clothes and shoes would be bought and fewer carnival functions would be attended as “the money is just not there this year”.
Two friends voiced that Christmas is the time for ‘liming’, cleaning their houses “from top to bottom”, as well as shopping and that is what they plan to do this coming season but economically.
“We are not really looking at cutting back, but we are definitely going bargain hunting. We plan ‘cop’ the best deals around. It is tradition, you know, so we don’t want to limit ourselves. So we are going all out, but thriftily,” one clarified.
One lady explained that when there is less money in one’s pocket, many concentrate on handling their essentials and spend less on or “forget their wants”, which is what she is going to do. She said that after her essentials are taken care of, she would then consider if any of her ‘wants’ are worth spending money on.
Many may remember nights of driving around the islands to revel in the scenery of houses donned in Christmas lights of many colours and designs.
Some homes were decorated with lights in the form of reindeers, Santa Claus in a sleigh, snowmen and even Mary and Joseph with Baby Jesus in a manger.
Persons claim that the high rise in electricity has caused them to stop going the extra mile where these decorations are concerned. At the end of it all “the electricity bill is just too high” some said.
Some businesses may also be downsizing on some of their imports during the latter part of the year in keeping with the cutbacks from consumers.
Many may also remember the late night shopping on Christmas Eve, where parents would dress up their children and take them to Basseterre to get a ‘steal’ on last minute deals as stores would stay open up until 10:00 p.m. or even midnight.
Traditions such as these are trimming down as consumers are trying to keep as much funds in their pockets as possible.
Christmas is coming, and many are cutting back, are you? If so, what are you ‘bumping’ this season?
