BUMPER XMAS EXPECTED

Chronicle (Levin), 23 November 1949, Page 4

BUMPER XMAS EXPECTED

— . — ..... Housewives ShouM Prepare Now For Hcidays v ,With some loeal stores already reaching new heights in festive season decoratiqns, housewives are beginhing to " appreciate that Christmas is- just over a month away and are gevting in their foodstufis, deeorations, presents und 101 other things that lend .Ohristmias , tnat good f.ellowsnip, good food and good time atmospheTe. , Prospects for the festive seasor. this year are the best they havu oeen for many years past. There is no rationing ro tax the house;wife:s initiative," the " majority oi' the seasonal foodstuffs are in goo'a supply, * and shops are carrying good--' fines of toys, clothes, books .and the numerous other things that go to. make up Christmas. Four-Day Ctosing Of Shops. « However, one of the tnings which is likely to g'ive the housewife a headac'he, is the four-day closing'of shops over the holiday period. Many, however, will have gained , valuable experience last year when » there were long holi-d-ays both at Christmas and the New Year and will have their own ideas on how to provide fresh meat and bread tiE the shops reopen. ' Christmas Eve this year will be observed on Fri'day, December 23, and the s'hops will not re-open till the following Wednesday morning. There will be a similai holiday break over New Year. W'hen Christmas or New Year's Day falls on a Sunday provision is made in the Public Holidays f Act and in most awards, for Ihe : holiday to be ehserved on the following Monday and Boxing Day on the Tuesday. Although the legislation regarding holidays is rather complicated these pro- ; visions generally will apply to most • workers. Some will have their •* January 2 holiday transferred to '■ 'Tuesday, January "3. January 2 is not- a statutory holiday but is defined as a holiday in the jnajority of awards.

Well-Stocked Pantries. Most homes this Christmas will haye weil-stocked pantries. Supplies of lamb, hams and small goods will be sufficient to meet all demands .and loeal grocery firms report that the cake fruit pos.tion is very healthy. There are adequate supplies of su.tanas and currants on han'd though raisint will be difficult to procure. Stocks of mixed cake fruits will be sufficient. Nuts, however, are not in suc'h a healthy position and it is expected that most homes will havt to make do with peanuts (shelled or unshelled) and a few walnuts. Tinned fruit remains an unknown quantity. Supplies arrived in $ifew Zealand and were released during the months of June tc August but since then there has been none to be had. However, it is understood that a shipment arrived in Wellington this week and these . may be distributed in time for Christmas. There will be adequate confectionerv supplies to cope with all demand. Attractive Toy Lines. Toys this year do not have the1 variety they did last Christmas but there are, nevertheless, some very attractive lines on the market. The majority of them are English made as most importers have been reduced to token licences for the overseas product. The locally-made product shows considerable improvement over the earlier line§ and there are many attractive novelties available. Great use Ihas been made of plastics to combine eye-appeal with durability of construction. There are few New Zealand made clockwork toys on the market but these have been replaced with lines which derive their motive power from rubber bands, an idea which is probably more foolproof than the old clockwork motors. One English toy manufacturmg ;firm is now operating a factory in New Zealand and supplies from this sourcq are welcome a-dditions to stocks. Many are of the same design as those previously imported. Book Supplies Excellent. For the person who leaves his Christmas s'hopping problems to the last moment and then decides on a book, the news that book supplies this Christmas are better than they have been for many years will be welcome. The other "old f-aithful" in the gift line,, the handkerchief, is in fairly good supply this year. People looking forward to a wet Christmas may bs "disappointed" as merchants are anticipating a shortage of bottled beer. The shortage is likely to be caused through the' usual difficulty in procuring sufficient bottles and cartons to meel the festive season demand. * Generally speaking, therefore, Christmas 1949 can be anticipated as a bumper one. Shops are well supplied with goods, there is no rationing (except petrol) and, if good weather prevails, what else could be desired?