John Ellis

A global Elf shortage or Chinese whispers?

BY JOHN ELLIS

FINANCIAL ADVISOR

WE didn’t have #Elfontheshelf back in my day, but Santa’s spy has been keeping kids in check for several years now. However, there are a million Elf on the Shelf toys apparently stuck in China due to global port congestion, prompting media scare stories about elf rationing (only two per customer!) conveniently delivering a huge marketing boost for this new tradition.

On December 1, the elf arrives to spy on childrens behaviour in the run-up to Christmas. Parents must hide the elf in a new place every evening for the child to nd. Local toy shops are selling “elf toys” costing anywhere between €7.99 and €49.99. Parents are using social media to share prank shots of naughty elves.

Why would a so-called childish pastime make national and international news? Money! It has become a multimillioneuro industry and it’s possible to get us to spend hundreds of euros before Christmas has even arrived.

We are being encouraged to spend early this Christmas. It’s been reported that experts say supplies of toys and gifts will be “materially constrained” this year”, with one predicting Black Friday and January sales will be muted because of shortages.

Irish book lovers have been warned not to wait until December to buy their Christmas reads because of a “perfect storm” of problems, including a global paper shortage impacting supplies within the industry. And Aoife Roantree of Dubray Books, who is also the chair of Bookselling Ireland, also believes the problem will be made worse by the demand for books in the run-up to Christmas.

And we are warned we can’t currently get the goods we want because of Covid, Brexit and the recent Suez Canal hold-up.

Irish shoppers are warned of the possible supply problems, shipping costs skyrocketing and have been encouraged to buy Christmas gifts early. While some of the largest toy and home furnishing companies in the country have said that they are experiencing delays ahead of the festive period and so shoppers are encouraged to buy products early this year.

IKEA Ireland has warned of supply chain problems that are a ecting the delivery of some products at its Irish stores, with up to 10 % of goods unavailable.

Is there a conspiracy afoot? Do retailers want us to get Christmas wrapped up early and buy at full price. Could supply chain issues and talk of toy shortages this Christmas be clever marketing?

As usual Supermarkets have gone early with Christmas promotions on toys, food and drink. But as we are aware from previous years, the problem with stocking up on wine, champagne, biscuits and chocolate in November is the risk of polishing it o before Christmas and having to buy more at a later date.

But with all the in ationary pressures, most other retailers cannot a ord the usual discounts. We are in the last quarter for retail pro tability so there is a huge amount of pressure to spend big this year. Surveys suggest many shoppers plan to spend much more on gifts and celebrations to make up for last year.

But remember, it’s not about “stu ”. Christmas is the most emotional time of year; we buy on emotion and retailers sell on emotion, but nobody wants friends or family to get into debt.

Last week we looked at ways of celebrating Christmas without breaking the bank, so, to nish, what about donating money to charity instead of sending Christmas cards? Give your time; plenty of charities are looking for volunteers who give of their time. Food banks fear they will be inundated with requests this Christmas and are appealing for help with donations and deliveries.

Whatever celebrations we are planning, it would be heart-warming if helping others either through donating money or giving of our time became as much of a thing as “elfontheshelf” this Christmas.

And as Sergeant Phil Esterhaus of Hill Street Blues’ fame use to say, “Hey, let’s be careful out there.”

John@ellis nancial.ie - 086 8362633

Not drinking in the 2020s

ANDREW MCDONALD HYPNOTHERAPIST

PRIOR to the 2020s, choice was limited for people who chose not to drink alcohol when socialising. Normal everyday drinking options were plentiful enough. Tea, co ee in a wide variety of styles, tisanes, soft drinks, milk, juice or just good old plain water were enough for daily purposes. at changed completely when we were with friends or at a family event. Whilst a cola, lemonade or zzy orange is nice, very few of us wanted, or had the stomach, to drink copious amounts of them in one sitting. ere was also the pressure element. If you were in a pub in Ireland and you were obviously drinking something which wasn’t alcoholic, people usually wanted to know why and tried to push you into going for a stronger beverage. Whilst this perhaps said more about their relationship with alcohol than yours, having to justify yourself repeatedly wasn’t conducive to a good time.

Some people choose never to drink. is can be for religious purposes, health reasons or just because it’s something they don’t want to do. Others do enjoy alcohol but opt to limit consumption, again as part of a healthier lifestyle or because they’re driving. Whatever your reasons, these are frequently personal and you shouldn’t feel you have to validate your choice.

In recent years, not drinking alcohol has become less of a problem. In fact it’s actually becoming fashionable. at’s because drinks companies have been investing big time in producing quality non-alcoholic beverages. ere’s even a zero booze pub in Dublin. ere was a time when non-alcoholic drinks were vile. No longer. In fact, they’re actually of such high quality that they are a boom niche within the booze industry. Famous name, zero alcohol, beers, ciders, wines and spirits are available as are offerings from smaller producers. Big on avour, they don’t get you messy, there’s no hangover and a breathalyser test isn’t going to turn out badly as a result of them.

Ireland’s signature brew, perhaps it’s most wellknown product, has recently hit the shelves and some pubs around the country in non-alcoholic form. Guinness 0.0 tastes very similar to the real thing and seems to be getting a good reception.

Non-alcoholic drinks are much more appetising for a longer session than minerals and they’re much less likely to leave you with issues like indigestion. They’re a lot better for your health than booze and for those who don’t like the pressure that comes with not drinking, nobody need ever know that you’re not sipping on the real thing.

Of course, alcohol has it’s place and this is not likely to change soon, if ever. Why would it? Many people enjoy traditional beers, ciders, wines and spirits as part of a healthy lifestyle. However, whatever your reason for not drinking, whether temporarily or permanently, it’s good to know there are other options out there that are full on avour and convivial to a fun evening.