Plan for Christmas with some sense of sanity

Christmas comes with the spirit of extravagance, wastage and pride.

People buy and try out items not normally in their menu. This is when you find people scrutinising tinned sardines (omena) and a moment later, a few tins land in the shopping basket.

More and more tinned cans accompany the first one: Tinned mushroom, tinned spaghetti and tinned pineapples or beans, among others.

Then contents of the next aisle with different coloured juices will find their place in the already overflowing basket. There will be more room for different soaps, toilet papers, baking flour, towels and everything else that the lady of the house will suddenly decide are needed for that one special day, December 25. Different wines and spirits will topple the basket over.

Hey, their friends must know they have acquired all these things; that they are actually set to 'eat' a good Christmas.

The problem is that most of these purchased goods will either be unnecessary or end up in the rubbish bin. Why, for example, buy tinned apples when you can buy fresh ones at a fraction of the cost? Besides, fruits are valuable to your body when eaten fresh.

As the D-day approaches, there will be a natural desire to eat and eat. I have seen it in my house where you find half-filled juice glasses put in the sink. As the glasses are washed, the juice goes down the drain – plus the money spent to stock the coloured juices. Mind you, the dirty utensils keep piling as people in the house try new dishes, fail and dump the dishes in the sink. This means more water is used and of course electricity to bake. Naturally, the utility bills will go up.

When it comes to cooking, there are excesses – hundreds of maandazi, pilau, fried rice, chapatis, ugali and different types of meats. Yet, this food is prepared for the same number of people normally in the house. Everyone else is celebrating in their own homes or with family. What happens after the 25th? Most of the food will go bad as the fridge is already overstocked to take more. Besides, no one wants to warm leftover food during this time; come on, it is Christmas!

Therefore, it is good to plan for the big day with a sense of sanity. If you have close friends not travelling upcountry where most Kenyans head for the festivities, organise to host each other alternately. For example, three families can come together so that one hosts the friends for Christmas while another can do the 26th and the third can host them to the New Year party. This is a clever way of reducing wastage and enjoying the togetherness that is the true spirit of the season.

Also, it is good to note that many favourite items appreciate in price during the season despite the 'sale' signs all over the place. A friend went to the famous Garissa Lodge in Eastleigh as soon as it struck December hoping to get the latest fashion for Christmas gifts before the prices skyrocketed only to find everything had gone up by nearly 100 per cent.

The last time she was at the malls associated with affordable clothing and other household items in October, there were hardly any shoppers but this time round she was shocked to find the place swarming with customers and rude sellers. One rudely told her after she enquired the price of a child's suit that was Sh700 only a month or so earlier,"Sh1,500 take it or leave it. Alternatively come in January and get it for Sh800."

Ah, good idea, why not actually save some little money over Christmas and buy these items in January when everyone is buying school uniforms, paying fees and complaining about everything being expensive?

You can be savvy and buy some gifts even in January. There are items that never go out of fashion. Imagine a blue suit and white shirt; you can keep the gift and give it out at other events during the year such as birthdays or graduations.