The Gisborne Herald. IN WHICH IS INCORPORATED “THE TIMES." GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1945. CHRISTMAS SPENDING IN BRITAIN

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 21900, 19 December 1945, Page 4

The Gisborne Herald. IN WHICH IS INCORPORATED “THE TIMES." GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1945. CHRISTMAS SPENDING IN BRITAIN

QjNC'E more the Christmas spending season finds the British community with more demands than the shops can supply, with more money than coupons. In Britain all through the war it has been impossible to attain originality in Christmas shopping and difficult enough to be orthodox—so limited has been the field of selection. This, the first- peacetime Christmas experienced by thousands of young children, can hardly be expected. to mark a definite turning-point on the road to better conditions. The country has not yet emerged from the dark vale of austerity living and the supreme problem is that of the parents of a growing family who are determined to follow generously the time-honoured custom of distributing toys.

Disillusionment awaits prospective purchasers in every shop corner. They are destined to fight a losing battle against poor quality and high prices. In some eases they can take consolation from the fact that elaborate toys arc not always.the most loved. Although it is true that many children can be satisfied with small mercies, however, there has always been in the past a keen demand for clockwork toys —things that move under their, own power. The war and the grim production lines that arose from it put an end to all that. Maybe by next Christmas British children and the children of the importing Dominions will once more thrill to the gift of a mechanical marvel fashioned in the unsurpassed workshops of the Mother Country.

In the meantime the inanimate but acceptable toys being produced in New Zealand are serving a useful purpose. Some of them are finding their way to Britain itself and will., for example, gladden the hearts of the children who live in the blitzed areas of London.

The economic situation in Britain —that of demand in excess of supply—-curbs Christmas spending in many other, directions, such as in the little extras in the way of food and drink. Where the market is free the rush is astounding. Considering what the civilians arc up against, the hospitality bestowed upon New Zealand and other visiting servicemen is remarkable. Many a fighting man from the Dominions will have reason to remember till the end ot bis days the kindly sacrifices made by the people of the Homeland. From all accounts, a great deal of the surplus money is being spent on entertainments, notably the theatres. Recent .cablegrams suggest advance bookings of record-breaking proportions. 4be box office queues have been long and wearisome and waits of four, five and six hours have not been uncommon. Expenditure on theatrical amusements in Britain gives good value m return. The best talent on the legitimate stage is available. As soon as shipping difficulties are overcome visits by touring companies would ho most welcome in Australia and New Zealand, where the younge veneration has had little or no opportunity to enjoy at first-liana the offerings of the finest exponents of the histrionic art.