Why we are unpacking more than shelves this Christmas
We have a little secret to share. It’s perhaps not a secret that is completely unique to us, but when you take into account who and what we are — it feels weird to be admitting it.
Our secret?
We cringe, ever so slightly, at the thought of Christmas.
It’s not obviously Christmas itself, which causes this distress, but rather what it has become.
As you probably know, the festive season is the profitable time for any consumer business. To be fair, most retailers actually run their operation at a loss for the entire year, banking on the expectation that the Christmas trade alone will push them into the black.
But no matter how important it is for the broader economy (according to CNBC and Bloomberg), the weeks leading up to the end of the year are not just about hitting the projected financial targets.
So, as we at Yuppiechef prepare our operation for the seasonal rush that awaits us, these are some of the thoughts on our own contribution towards the 2015 festive season:
A precious time for people
It’s extremely easy to get caught up in the frenetic energy of boozy office parties, searching crowded malls for that perfect gift and rushing to a holiday destination without giving the real meaning of Christmas a conscious thought.
In addition to it being an important religious holiday, surrounding yourself with people that you really care about is the ultimate aim of the season of goodwill and the real reward for all of the hard work that you have put into the year to make it so.
No matter how convincing the ads for discounted mince pies may be, shopping will always be a distant second to socialising.
Christmas day without loved ones is just a another quiet mid-summer / mid-winter public holiday.
Thanksgiving
It may sound a bit like the ghost of your long passed grandmother coming back to remind you of the fact, but there are millions of people that do not have much to be thankful for.
Surrounded by those that matter, the festive time is a moment to stop and consider everything that makes close family the gift that it is — and to be truly thankful for those blessings.
In the daily rush of the modern world it is rare that you can, just for a moment, ponder about everything that you have, as well as all of the opportunities that are afforded to you in your life — and appreciate them.
We all too often lament the things we do not have, instead of being grateful for all we do have.
Gifts with meaning
Symbolically, Christmas is also about giving meaningful, heartfelt gifts to friends and family as a physical token of your love and appreciation for them.
Giving a gift without much meaning attached to it, is just the redistribution of stuff.
On reflection of this particular thought we decided to make it our mission to reconnect with the true origins of the well-known rituals associated with this time of year and to dive a little deeper into making conscious gifting choices, which really capture the sentiment that we are trying to express.
We’ve called this exciting exploration — GiftUP.
GiftUP is about stepping up to the plate and really putting more thought and effort into this year’s gift giving exercise.
GiftUP is about understanding why some festive season symbolism even exists in modern life; and being completely in the moment with what we are spending our money on gift-wise.
GiftUP = great gifts + meaning
As South Africa’s best e-commerce store we can’t get away from the fact that this is a very important time of year for us, but that enthusiasm should be balanced with a more holistic view of what this time of the year really means to you and how we as a business can positively contribute towards it.
Profit without positive purpose is pointless, GiftUP is our way of making sure that we’re offering real festive value to everyone, not just ourselves.
This article was written by Jon Cherry.
