With Christmas on our doorstep once again, it's time to spend time with friends and family, enjoying a well earned break and some festive traditions. This year, some of those traditions have changed.
All the good stuff is still there for us to enjoy. It's the only (Christian) period of the year where every house is festooned with decorations, a tree, lights, and a feeling of cheeriness. nearly every meal is indulgent, nearly every drink is mulled.
In years gone by, these delights, and the enjoyment of the season was offset somewhat by the unpleasant side of Christmas. The crowded shopping centres, the battleground of supermarkets and the sheer effort of getting ready for the big event.
"Having a list... checking it twice" was not the job of Santa anymore, but of diligent parents with a family to buy presents for, and at least a few crucial meals to plan. Did you buy gardening gloves from Waitrose for Granny last year, or the year before? How old is niece number 2 now, and is she a fairy princess or a climbing trees type of niece?
But in today's world of Amazon Prime... or even eBay Free&Fast... much of the drudgery of Christmas shopping has been consigned to memories of yesteryear.
Making good use of Google sheets, sync'd across all my devices, I was able to keep track of the 30+ presents that needed buying, and with mobile apps for Amazon and eBay, plus mobile-optimised webshops becoming the norm, every spare moment was an opportunity to work through the list, and get everything ordered. Always for next day delivery, and as such, so much easier to track.
Working out what to buy was made much easier through Whatsapp messages with each of my children. Even Granny has got the hang of emailing links to present ideas on the web. In fact my family shares ideas throughout the year, mostly through whatsapp links - which are often discussed around the dinner table afterwards. And to my surprise, a lot of the messages are more along the lines of "This would be so cool for Grandad", rather than "I want this for Christmas".
I've also retained my self-appointed title as savviest shopper. For every present a price comparison is a few clicks away. Finding a great present, and being sure you've paid the best price, without cris-crossing a shopping mall over and over is delightfully satisfying.
Unlike fresh fruit or groceries, present buying is perfectly suited to the online experience. In grocery shopping, some control of quality and quantity is handed over to the store ... think choosing a ripe avocado, or receiving a mini shampoo bottle because you didn't notice it was 50ml not 500ml. At Christmas, present buying is a breeze. Assuming you stick to trusted brands, getting the right product is not dependent on whoever is picking that product at the warehouse. In fact, the process is mostly automated. Taking humans out of the loop is a very good thing.
This year, in particular, I've been somewhat housebound on account of a recent hip replacement and a doctor-enforced 6 week break from driving. But has that ruined my run-up to Christmas? Not a jot. In fact, it's given me the ideal opportunity to test-run a 100% online Christmas. And it's been a breeze.
As long as Ocado arrive on 23rd December, as promised, and as long as they haven't run out of parsnips, my Christmas is in a perfect state of readiness. In fact, it was that way by December 4th. Since then I've merely been seeing even cooler presents, and replacing them on my list.
It's a rosy picture but not without some downsides. The boot of my car, and also my conscience, is full of Amazon cardboard and packing paper. Amazon seems incapable of delivering more than one product per unnecessarily large box. I ordered three wall calendars, 30x30x1cm. Each of them arrived in an A3-sized 15 cm deep box, filled with packing paper. The sustainable forests that produced that cardboard, wept.
I'm also worried about the last mile distribution. I'm on first name terms with a variety of delivery drivers. Most of whom have been kind enough to mention how well I'm doing, having started to receive deliveries whilst propped up on crutches, to now being crutchless. But all of them were driving diesel vans, mostly old ones, often leaving them running whilst dropping the parcel. I imagine the current push for cleaner air in and around London is being set back considerably by this.
In years to come, I'm hoping that big data analytics can be put to task to optimise these delivery runs, whilst electric vehicles eventually replace the oil-burners. Hey, even drone deliveries might make a dent, if they become safe and cost effective.
So, small quibbles aside, I'm looking forward to a mostly stress-free holiday period having got ready for it with the least wasted effort, the most efficient e-commerce, and all well within budget. That all makes for a very merry Christmas.
All the good stuff is still there for us to enjoy. It's the only (Christian) period of the year where every house is festooned with decorations, a tree, lights, and a feeling of cheeriness. nearly every meal is indulgent, nearly every drink is mulled.
In years gone by, these delights, and the enjoyment of the season was offset somewhat by the unpleasant side of Christmas. The crowded shopping centres, the battleground of supermarkets and the sheer effort of getting ready for the big event.
"Having a list... checking it twice" was not the job of Santa anymore, but of diligent parents with a family to buy presents for, and at least a few crucial meals to plan. Did you buy gardening gloves from Waitrose for Granny last year, or the year before? How old is niece number 2 now, and is she a fairy princess or a climbing trees type of niece?
But in today's world of Amazon Prime... or even eBay Free&Fast... much of the drudgery of Christmas shopping has been consigned to memories of yesteryear.
Making good use of Google sheets, sync'd across all my devices, I was able to keep track of the 30+ presents that needed buying, and with mobile apps for Amazon and eBay, plus mobile-optimised webshops becoming the norm, every spare moment was an opportunity to work through the list, and get everything ordered. Always for next day delivery, and as such, so much easier to track.
Working out what to buy was made much easier through Whatsapp messages with each of my children. Even Granny has got the hang of emailing links to present ideas on the web. In fact my family shares ideas throughout the year, mostly through whatsapp links - which are often discussed around the dinner table afterwards. And to my surprise, a lot of the messages are more along the lines of "This would be so cool for Grandad", rather than "I want this for Christmas".
I've also retained my self-appointed title as savviest shopper. For every present a price comparison is a few clicks away. Finding a great present, and being sure you've paid the best price, without cris-crossing a shopping mall over and over is delightfully satisfying.
Unlike fresh fruit or groceries, present buying is perfectly suited to the online experience. In grocery shopping, some control of quality and quantity is handed over to the store ... think choosing a ripe avocado, or receiving a mini shampoo bottle because you didn't notice it was 50ml not 500ml. At Christmas, present buying is a breeze. Assuming you stick to trusted brands, getting the right product is not dependent on whoever is picking that product at the warehouse. In fact, the process is mostly automated. Taking humans out of the loop is a very good thing.
This year, in particular, I've been somewhat housebound on account of a recent hip replacement and a doctor-enforced 6 week break from driving. But has that ruined my run-up to Christmas? Not a jot. In fact, it's given me the ideal opportunity to test-run a 100% online Christmas. And it's been a breeze.
As long as Ocado arrive on 23rd December, as promised, and as long as they haven't run out of parsnips, my Christmas is in a perfect state of readiness. In fact, it was that way by December 4th. Since then I've merely been seeing even cooler presents, and replacing them on my list.
It's a rosy picture but not without some downsides. The boot of my car, and also my conscience, is full of Amazon cardboard and packing paper. Amazon seems incapable of delivering more than one product per unnecessarily large box. I ordered three wall calendars, 30x30x1cm. Each of them arrived in an A3-sized 15 cm deep box, filled with packing paper. The sustainable forests that produced that cardboard, wept.
I'm also worried about the last mile distribution. I'm on first name terms with a variety of delivery drivers. Most of whom have been kind enough to mention how well I'm doing, having started to receive deliveries whilst propped up on crutches, to now being crutchless. But all of them were driving diesel vans, mostly old ones, often leaving them running whilst dropping the parcel. I imagine the current push for cleaner air in and around London is being set back considerably by this.
In years to come, I'm hoping that big data analytics can be put to task to optimise these delivery runs, whilst electric vehicles eventually replace the oil-burners. Hey, even drone deliveries might make a dent, if they become safe and cost effective.
So, small quibbles aside, I'm looking forward to a mostly stress-free holiday period having got ready for it with the least wasted effort, the most efficient e-commerce, and all well within budget. That all makes for a very merry Christmas.
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