Christmas galore

Shops around Lahore opt to sell Christmas decorations.

LAHORE: With five-star hotels erecting Christmas trees, book shops, bakeries and grocery stores also chose to put up adorned trees this fall. Decorating accessories have become easier to get than a few years ago, when only a handful of shops sold seasonal decorations but now premium quality decorations are widely available at Hyperstar and Essajees this year.

Choosing to remain anonymous, a seller at DHA franchise of Alfatah Super store said that unlike the years before, the store is scheduled to have 10 to 20 artificial Christmas trees for sale while a few pieces  were exclusively reserved for decoration at the store.

Alfatah has also featured decoration accessories like translucent stars, crescents and string lights available for Rs135 each.

Until two years ago, Anupa was studying in Canada and used to bring tree and outdoor decorations from Toronto as they were not available in Lahore.

“Seeing multiple shops selling good quality Christmas ornaments and hats (in Pakistan) signals progress,” she said.

“Sometimes one finds hand napkins, kitchen culinary, table cloth and curtains detailed with Christmas caricatures (such as Santa and angels) in Ichraa and Shalmi Bazaars,” she added.

China-made Christmas accessories are also widely available at Paper Market off New Anarkali and Youhanbad off Ferozepur Road.

Running a decorations shops in Paper Market, Tanveer told The Express Tribune that “The supply of goods was very limited about five years ago. The supply of Chinese accessories has increased substantially bringing down the price of locally made goods,” he said. “Local decorations are of substandard quality and cost more, impelling shop owners in Paper Market to import goods from China,” he added.

Of all the shops in this market which are known to house low-end wholesalers of trees and outdoor decorations, Billa Decoration Centre showcased the most rich and colourful variety.

The shop featured boxes carrying coloured spheres and stars, plastic and glass angels, glitter dusted balls, stars, galaxies, jingle bells and chains. Prices were economical and ranged between Rs36 and Rs135 a box.

Among other stores carrying Christmas accessories are Hyperstar, Essajees and Haroons accessories.

An employee at Gulberg’s Essajees said, “A box of dozen small silver and red balls cost Rs555 and the prices are fixed at Rs995 a box of bigger balls.”

He further added, “The goods being sold at stalls set up especially for Christmas are mostly imported from the US, thereby increasing their prices.”

Relatively less costly alternative to buy Christmas accessories can be found at the Hyperstar store in Fortress Stadium, which is also the only store selling a variety of Christmas lights and caps priced at Rs429 and Rs220 respectively.

An ardent Christian, Parveen who shops at the Hyperstar said, “Every year my family and I research departmental stores across Lahore prior to making a purchase but the availability of a vast range at one store has made things convenient.”

“Until two years ago, it was hard to purchase food colouring extensively used in baked items for Christmas. These are now available here,” she added.

Easier to decorate and find, Arocaria plants and trees are also widely available across nurseries where a tree up to four feet tall costs between Rs600  and Rs1,000.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 25^th, 2010.