Time to Splurge! Russians Ready to Dish Out Entire Month’s Salary or More on New Year’s Gifts
According to the Russian Public Opinion Research Center, most Russians will welcome the New Year at home with the family. As the research shows, they will mainly present souvenirs, candies, and delicacies. Cosmetics are surprisingly the most desirable gift.
Ksenia Kolchina-on how to make your relatives happy and at the same time to save money.
Gift and home décor shop-windows are iridescent. But customers often come just to feel the New Year atmosphere. They'll wait for the sales. It is usually cheaper to decorate the home on December 31. Salesmen don't approve of this approach.
Anna Bryzhevataya, co-owner of a gift-shop: "Of course, we're planning to delight customers with special deals but at the beginning of the season there is a larger variety of goods than at the end of the season".
Experienced shoppers advise to search for gifts in online shops. There is a rich assortment of goods and a lot of deals.
Singer Valeria prefers online shopping too. But she admits that it's impossible to pass by Christmas-tree decorations.
Valeria: "I want something new, beautiful and festive. Look, how sweet!"
But the singer thinks that it's better to present these decorative gifts to friends. She also says that it's better to present to relatives something useful in everyday life: “I'm trying to purchase useful things. For example, a sweater, fancy-bags for girls or cosmetics.”
And this kind of gift won't be kept as a souvenir and gather dust. Redfish and caviar are sent from the Far East to all parts of the country. Today 1 kg of caviar costs about 4500 rubles. So it would be nice to get such a gift. It's important it not be spoiled in transit.
A shop assistant: "Add more parchment paper. Plastic wrap creates thermal barrier too. Then you put it into a bag. Everything is delivered safely".
Another dilemma: to give a surprise or to present a requested gift. Sometimes you need to use tricks not to make a wrong choice.
Natalia Kurbatova: "We send letters to Father Frost. All the family members write letters and then stick them to the fridge. We remove letters after we've bought something".
According to surveys, many Russians ask Father Frost to bring smart-phones, spinners, package tours to hot countries. But some people love to present and get impressions. For example, ballooning over the city. It's expensive. Almost 20 000 rubles for two persons. But spectacular.
It's possible to present a flight on a fighter aircraft, a parachute jump recording in the studio and even stars in the sky. Everything that your imagination and budget can afford.
By the way, for many people, money is a desirable gift too. As the statistics shows, only 11% of Russians prefer to present money. Traditionally people also present chocolate and cosmetics.
A customer: "I bought perfume for my mother and dad".
According to surveys, the Russians are ready to spend a sum of money that exceeds their monthly wage. Half of it they will spend only to buy presents.
The yellow dog is the symbol of 2018 on the Chinese calendar. So the Golden Retriever is one of the best symbols of the upcoming year also due to the fact that this is the most friendly breed of dog.
Golden color and all its shades will become the color of the upcoming year. That's why you can choose this color for your costume, decorations and even wrapping for gifts.
Ksenia Kolchina, Aleksandr Saveliev, Egor Bushuev, Vadim Telegin, Vesti