CHRISTMAS IS COMING

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 46, 18 November 1925, Page 8

CHRISTMAS IS COMING

PROSPECTS BRIGHT BUSY SEASON ANTICIPATED GENERAL FEELING OF CONFIDENCE Another year is on the wane, and the Christmas season is only five weeks away, The average person has hardly given a thought to the great festive event of the year as yet, but other people have been busily engaged for some months preparing for the rush that invariably comes during Christmas week. The shops in the city are already blossoming forth in Yuletide garb, and gifts, particularly those suitable for juveniles, are being given prominence.

The demand for presents for overseas started a little earlier than usual this year, but as the Dominion’s population is being steadily augmented by the arrival of immigrants, the number of friends who have to be remembered during the festive Season is rapidly growing. The visit of the United States Fleet has been reflected in the purchase of gifts, and the inquiries for souvenirs of New Zealand, particularly greenstone, for American friends, have given a decided fillip to sales in this direction. The sale of Christmas issues of periodicals has again shown a considerable advance, those publications depicting national life being in keen demand.

Gifts for local requirements do not usually begin to move until the second week in December, but a striking feature of the toy and novelty shops this year is the surprising array of more costlv toys. Almost life-size animals, big mechanical toys, and the popular full-sized dolls, have apparently been stocked in large quantities. In these more expensive gifts, a certain amount of business is already being done.. As manv of the retailers now advertise a “lav’-bv system,” which enables a parent' to pay a deposit and a few shillings weekly on an expensive item, many people are availing themselves of the opportunity to purchase a costly present, which' will be paid for before Christmas arrives.

Although it is too early to gauge the possible demands of next month, the majority of shopkeepers feel confident that Christmas, 1925, is going to prove a record season. “We have bad no serious drawbacks this year,” one merchant said to a Dominion representative yesterday. “We have been exceptionally free of unemployment, and with the exception of the recent seamen’s strike, there has been nothing to affect seriously the earnings of the community during the past 12 months. We have also been free from epidemics, and, taken as a whole, the year has been one of quiet and steady progress. Then the wool sale, which took place on Monday, will also have an important bearing on money during Christmas. I see by the newspapers that the prices realised were, in many cases, in excess of what farmers anticipated. That is always a very good omen for business folk.”

Another retailer stated that the tastes of New Zealanders are particularly high. “I had a small business in London before coming out here,” he explained, “and while in the Old Country I had to cater for a medium and low-priced article, I find here that the demand is for quality goods. It is also a fact that the demand for the better class of article is steadily increasing. Ido not know if it is evidence of the average person’s spending power, or just proof of the frequently quoted statement that New Zealanders will be satisfied with nothing short of the best. In any case,' I have stocked up in anticipation of a big demand for superior gifts, and I think I will come out all right.” Wearing apparel is always in demand at Christmas, wl|en everybody desires to look well dressed. Naturally the orders for costumes are placed some time ahead, and several of the principal tailoring establishments report good business. Every day, one man pointed out, the orders will increase between now and Christmas Eve, and in a few weeks most establishments will be working at full pressure.

From the inquiries made, it would appear that there is a feeling of absolute confidence in the air, and wet or fine, this festive season should find the average New Zealand home a particularly happy and prosperous one.