Shop till you drop
Christmas Frenzy already in full gear in november
written by Nancy Laforest

Budapest businesses are booming as shoppers set out on buying missions. The season of giving has kicked in, along with the biggest retail sales weeks of the year, and from early November, everyday products become potential gifts. The whole essence of the city changes, and even those who don’t normally shop spend at least a few hours doing so. As the capital embarks on a sleigh ride west, is it still possible to feel remnants of the authentic Hungarian Christmas?

When I was a child, Jesus brought us oranges and bananas,” explains 34-year-old Lajos, exiting a shopping center toy store. One full bag in each hand, he describe how he remembers Christmas during the communist regime. “Exotic fruits couldn’t be found in the winter, but if your parents pulled a few strings, you might even have been able to get a grapefruit for Christmas!”
At the height of consumerism glory, today’s holiday season brings with it innumerable choices. From early November, retail stores take on a new look as their Christmas stock comes in. Red, white and green items line storefronts. On display are only the sexiest and classiest items, or at least those most likely to lure in shoppers. Budapest malls begin to glitter, and the golden bows and cascading lights give off a very western feel. Ornamented pines are a focal point of holiday décor, as is a stuffed Santa Claus, oversized and bearing bagfuls of gifts.

Santa Claus or Jesus?
Hungarian custom has Mikulás, or Saint Nicholas, arriving Dec. 6 and stuffing small gifts and chocolates into good children’s boots. Timed to commemorate the death of Nicholas, patron saint of children, Dec. 6 became a day for giving. Yet, as we all know, the festive fuss doesn’t end with Saint Nicholas. Although he’s nowhere to be seen, Baby Jesus is, in reality, the big holiday spender. Similarly to Santa in the West, he delivers presents to homes on Christmas Eve. This religious tradition is one that most Hungarian families continue to observe, and children are taught from an early age about the birth of Jesus Christ. Young ones all over the country write letters to Jesus, specifying their Christmas wishes months in advance. Citizens of smaller Hungarian towns and villages incorporate Christianity more into their local Christmas preparations, yet it seems that there is little place or time for such values in big, bustling Budapest. “Baby Jesus called me on my mobile last year,” mentions Lajos with a smile, “and told me to warn my kids that he’d only come if they behaved and studied properly.” Eventually he came of course, as he does every year, but he first visited one of the city’s numerous toy stores. When asked about traditional Hungarian toys and games, one salesgirl on the ground floor of the WestEnd shopping center couldn’t name any. Her colleague quickly admitted that the Rubik’s Cube, sold for HUF 2,000, is the only popular national toy.
Luckily, however, for only HUF 14,000 you can prepare your child for the future by teaching him about “the concept of saving money and password and P.I.N. entering” with his very own automatic teller machine (ATM) at home. For about HUF 2,000, you can buy thousands of euros or win even more with both the junior and adult board game versions of ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.’ If your child is of a more affectionate type, an interactive kitty might be a better choice. Its purr was so convincing, that one and a half months before Christmas the very modern and desirable feline was sold out. Swan Lake Barbie, with her glowing wings and price tag of HUF 10,000, is, without surprise, one of the season’s biggest hit with girls. Swan Lake Enchanted Castle, however, hasn’t been quite so popular with the parents, at HUF 25,000. But with several weeks to go before the big day, there is plenty of time left to purchase Barbie a luxurious new home. A little more rational, Lego continues to be the most sought-after children’s gift. With modest beginnings in 1932, Lego has now joined forces with Harry Potter, Spiderman and Star Wars to make building even more enticing. NHL, NBA and even Formula One Lego have hit the shelves, and you can choose to either buy one player or support the whole team.

The holiday of wise men?
Thankfully, toys aside, Christmas isn’t only for children. Adults, in fact, are most affected by the holiday, whether it be from sheer excitement, the stress of spending or madness in malls. We all have very distinct shopping habits, yet 86% of us wait to do most of our Christmas shopping till December. The same percentage of consumers goes into shops with hopes of inspiration and decides at the point of purchase what they will buy. “Often, customers don’t really think about what the person they are buying for really needs or wants,” explains the sales manager at a MOM Park leather goods store. “They see that everyone is buying wallets, so they buy a wallet as well.” She continues to say that during the chaos of last minute shopping, it becomes all about the amount of money you spend on someone, and not really about the giving. In this case, it’s no longer the thought that counts, but rather the price. “It seems that during this time of year, Hungarians are more about showing off their money, even if they don’t have any,” suggests Cheron, an Australian who spent last Christmas in a Hungarian family environment. “They’re very generous and they buy and they give until they have nothing left to give. I get the impression,” she continues, “the Hungarians celebrate the arrival of the wise men, rather than the birth of Jesus.”
And where do modern day wise men and women buy their gold and incense? Most generally they prefer the atmosphere of street shopping, with Andrássy and Váci streets being favorites. It is the fresh chill, the rosy cheeks and the visible onset of darkness between one shop and the next that enhances the magical feeling of the season. Yet most will also agree on the convenience of big malls like Mammut or WestEnd, or hypermarkets like Tesco, Cora and Auchan. The outdoor Christmas markets and fares, such as the one regularly set up on Vörösmarty square, also enjoy wide popularity and convey some of the atmosphere of an authentic Hungarian Christmas with the scent of freshly made “kürtöskalács” and “forralt bor.
With all the consumables available, the city offers as many gift choices as there are tastes. Matching the products to the person, however, can often cause a festive frenzy. Fathers are typically the most complicated to buy for. Nevertheless, men tend to be the most time-efficient shoppers.

“Men come in, something catches their eye and they buy it,” said a sales attendant at a Boszorkany Konyha outlet. “Women, on the other hand, circle the store a few times and touch everything before deciding.” So the stereotypes ring true! The majority of women will also admit to buying something for themselves when shopping for others. The temptation is too great to resist. Hairdressing and cosmetic salons work overtime in the month preceding Christmas, and even coffee shops profit from tired consumers. While the holiday glitter sometimes does come without all of the intended glamour, Christmas shopping today is still a far cry from the oranges and bananas of 30 years ago. Like their neighbors to the West and across the ocean, Hungarian shoppers go crazy and their spending power steadily increases during the two months before Christmas. They inevitably continue to mistake the sound of cash registers for jingle bells, while seemingly enjoying their walks in their newfound western winter wonderland.