Chinese New Year Festivity

In 2021, to use the term "festivity" sounds like an overkill. Especially with the restrictions imposed on visiting due to the Covid-19 situation. For once, I have zero plans for the second day of the Niu (homophone to "new" which refers to the oxen year we are welcoming) year when this itinerary had been fixed since I can ever remember.

But Chinese New Year (CNY) had really changed in terms of its significance for me. From the carefree childhood when it was all about angbaos to vainer times when I spent time and money to find new clothes and shoes to now when all my grandparents had passed and I no longer buy in to that "necessity" to get everything new. I had expected this CNY to be subdued.

Unless marketing delicious CNY goodies can count as part of the festivity, I had not intended to do more than sending out bright cheery CNY cards (from MFPA) to all the relatives I cannot visit this year. 

However, I was unexpectedly gifted with a CNY plant that is gorgeously decked out in red. 😍 It immediately brought in the CNY atmosphere at home.

Then, I received a surprise CNY goodie bag of mandarin oranges and pineapple tarts from the tuition centre I am teaching at. I was so touched by this gesture (never realised till now how much I missed similar gestures by all the schools I had taught at!) that I was inspired to DIY some angbao lanterns to help enhance the CNY ambience at the centre. I really wanted to make this beautiful flower ball but square angbao envelopes are so rare!

Seven Star Lantern

Easiest Lantern Ever!

Lucky Star Lantern - great for students in a tuition centre!

Finally, in a rather out-of-character fashion, we ordered drinks by the carton because they were on sale. 👉👈  I was just eyeing my favourite Sparkling Fuji Apple and maybe some beer but the hubby added on for future drinking sessions! The cheap deal and free delivery are hard to resist! 😝

So if you are similarly free during this CNY, my house has drinks, Bee Cheng Hiang bak kwa (another gift received by hubby), pineapple tarts and a more livened than usual CNY ambience to welcome you! There is also mahjong, Harry Potter scrabble and Netflix available for entertainment 😆 Or for a healthier option, Bukit Timah Hill is a stone's throw away!

Oh! And to really add on to the festivity, here's a CNY song by MICappella!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!!

Shopping! Gifting? Choosing.

I love a good deal. Thus when I received the advert about additional discount and extra rebate by a particular departmental store, I knew I had to go as I had been eyeing this brand of shoes which they carry. Despite knowing that it was the Black Friday weekend, I was still taken aback by the queues. Queue to enter, queue to pay, queue for free wrapping, it was swarming with people. I was surprised and a little sad.

That brand of shoes (anothersole) had a special offer of 40% on second pair on top of the advertised markdown. I was tempted enough to start texting my family if anyone was keen but unfortunately (or fortunately?) they were not and the particular pair that I wanted had ran out of my size. 😦 I tried on other models which my big feet could fit but ultimately I chose not to get any.

However that was not why I felt sad. It had been a while since I went to the malls to shop. Standing among the crowds with incredible deals shouting for attention across four floors of the shopping centre, I could not help but wonder if it was consumerism at its worst. With Christmas just around the corner, it was almost certain that most of the purchases being rung up at the cashiers would end up as gifts. Gifts that sadly, more often than not end up unused and forgotten, therefore wasted.

 

Facebook memories recently reminded me that I shared the above infographic some years back. I think most of my family and friends know that I prefer not to receive gifts. I made it very plain what kind of memories I wish for (any chance to be up close and personal with Aaron or Kitty!) 🤣 I wish more people know of these alternatives. And my niece and nephew understand why they rarely get presents from this auntie.

Annual sales such as these also beg the question if one is really getting a good deal. The following meme got me laughing out loud and you got to admit that there is at least a nugget of truth in it! Unless you have been keeping track of the price of the item, how do you know that the discount stated was really a discount? It is so very easy to pick up other items in a big store since you are already there and you are already going to stand in the queue. Suddenly, something that was not on your shopping list becomes something the child of so-and-so might like for Christmas.

And I totally wish that this particular fantasy can become a reality. Even if it is not as serious as a mental illness, it is a fact that most people do not make conscious choices when it comes to buying things. It is on sale, buy. I can afford it, buy. Everyone has it, buy. That is so pretty, buy. What a fashion statement, buy. People will be so impressed, buy... 

If you do not care about how overconsumption is causing a strain on our only home's resources, at least consider how much you can save if you do not buy. 🤷 Start considering every want-to-buy-item in terms of "how long do I have to work for it" instead of how much money it cost. I realised I have unconsciously switched to this mode of thinking since becoming a paid-by-hour freelance teacher! 

So, choose to be a conscious consumer ok? 😼