Shops' seasonal tat!

I think you're right that a lot of people are doing all those things regularly and if you move in circles where it's seen as the norm it might seem like everyone, but I doubt whether the majority of women are having their nails done regularly, for example. Some because they don't want to, some because they can't and some because they don't see it as a good use of whatever fun money they have.

I think the reason retail parks and restaurants seem busy, despite the COL crisis, is that the gap between rich and poor has widened, and there are more people living in poverty, while many others are still doing very well.

My Granny always said “take care of the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves”.

One pair of Easter pyjamas might not make a difference, but it all adds up.

I could afford it but I think it's chavy and a strain on the environment.

Really? 😳
Mumsnet seems to be the epitome of people with an extraordinary amount of income. Only this morning I was reading a thread about someone who was thinking of buying a flat because they had so much money they had nothing else to do with it.

The majority of what I read here is nothing like what I experience in real life.

Yes, I pay into my pension, savings, and emergency fund. I don't have life insurance because I don't have any beneficiaries.
However, skipping on Easter PJ bottoms isn't going to get an average person any closer to being able to afford to buy a house, for example (but, ironically, skipping on pension contributions might). So, in that sense, I think there is a massive gap between generations in terms of quality of life. Yet, here you are (assuming you are of an older generation), proposing essentially the same "avocado on toast" argument.

I always wonder about this when I go to retail parks. Nowhere to park, every shop is rammed, all the cafes are full.

Personally I think these days a lot of people have certain expectations which they see as baseline essentials, which wasn’t the case when I was younger. For example, my overdrawn student son is constantly moaning about lack of money, as are all his student friends. But they regularly go out for meals, get takeaways, buy fancy coffee at Starbucks etc. When I was a student those were considered impossible luxuries.

When I was young, the only beauty treatments we paid for were haircuts. Everything else (nails, make-up, hair dye) we did ourselves. Now a regular slot at a manicurist, eyebrow/lashes place, Botox clinic etc is seen as a basic human right.

So I think in general society has increased the level of retail that they consider to be standard. There are things to be bought for every occasion, however small and short it might be!

I’m medically retired.

my pension is paying out. I don’t have life insurance not least because no bugger will insure me. I own my own house (see medical retirement)

i don’t expect to live long enough to use up my pension in any meaningful sense and I have full state pension contributions. I also get pip and esa.

i buy tat.

i buy full price Tat.

i have very few joys in my life (see medically retired and don’t expect to live long) and if an Easter wreath makes me feel happy I’ll damn well buy it.

Well, I have the disposable income to buy it, but I don’t because it’s all shit!

Uk population is what. 68 mil? 50mil+ of over 16.
If 40% buys a single thing that's 20 million of items sold. Many buy more than one.

Cannot be a surprise that it's in shops. These things can cost only few quid.

Are you claiming that people are not poor because they can spend few quid on something that they think is nice and you seem to have forgotten more than 1000 people live around?

I also think that it's perfectly valid to feel like everything is expensive and you work bloody hard for the money you have got spare and that the "spare" after all the bills and everything else isn't enough.

If you had £5 after all your bills etc were paid each month, would you stick it in savings and live on the bare minimum for all eternity? Or might you occasionally buy yourself a little something - be that a chocolate bar, a nice hand cream or a bit of decor?

And yes I think there are people living in poverty, and there are also a hell of a lot of people who aren't. That doesn't mean that those who are, aren't allowed to complain about it - both groups exist.

OP, I don't think it's a reflection of the state of the Economy, I think it's a reflection of consumerist culture that permeates modern society. It's not an insignificant issue as it leads people to be individualistic and just satisfy their compulsive whims. IMO it's not a reflection of people having excessive disposable income.

Even in two households with the same earnings/same outgoings, that spare cash will be spent differently.

Household 1 has £100 spare for anything they see fit, so does Household 2.
Household 1 spends £100 on home decorations / seasonal items because it's Easter. Household 2 spends their £100 on the cinema/a treat meal/pick anything you can think of.

In even the wealthiest and the poorest households, the spare cash (be it £1 or £1000) is going to be spent differently in whatever way brings that person joy.

Spending on seasonal items is literally no indicator at all of spending power generally.

I buy my sessional tat when it's reduced. So have got some ceramic bunnies for £1 in primark and 50p ceramic eggs from Poundland that will be boxed up for next year and probably never replaced as I have it now.

Kids Christmas pjs are worn all year and like their non Christmas ones, are outgrown and handed down.

I suspect the giant valentines bears are bought bought by young men for girlfriends or maybe husbands. No normal family is adding a giant teddy every year to their February shop are they?

Cheap is bad for our planet. But when I feel like judging I'd rather judge the parents smoking pot while their kids go without.

I'm not pro tat. But for £5 I have a nice Easter display for my kids sake. How many joints would £5 get me? Or bottles of booze? Choose your poison isn't it? In all my life I have only met two friends who lived in genuine poverty. I also didn't judge her getting them a iPhone at Christmas on credit. It was the only luxury they had. But I'm not in her shoes so it's very hard for me to judge isn't it? As by my standards, with choices open to me she doesn't have.

It's definitely a shift in perspective. I've heard people talk about "needing" to get Easter decorations for example.

My parents had modest jobs and have retired comfortably. People will say that's because they were fortunate to buy a house cheaply etc and it's true to a point, but they've also always approached spending on a "do we need it" basis. They are generous with eg eating out with family but wouldn't have a coffee just because they're in town. The Christmas tree decorations are the same ones from their first Christmas in 1969, with the addition of some bit DSis and I or our DC made over the years. Mum did birthday parties at home woth homemade games etc etc. Everyone had one pair of shoes plus wellies, clothes were replaced when they were small or worn out etc etc. And it was fine, no one was going without, and it was so much more environmentally sound.

My Dad's favourite saying is you can only spend it once. If you're spending £25pw "unnecessarily", that's £50k over 40 years and if you're in the habit of buying "seasonal tatt" it's probably more.

Yes and where has the generational wealth come from, you think owners of CEOs of, Shareholders in supermarkets don't hold any wealth?

Baking themed cakes, crafting seasonal decorations isn't the same as consuming lots of seasonal products. I don't think it matters except if you care about the environment. I was responding to the statement that this stuff is being bought by people who have excessive amounts of disposable income

“Hard working families” is code for “working class people”.

Not necessarily aimed at you OP but I often wonder how much more polite, content, rational and enthusiastic we might be as individuals and society if we didn't worry about, resent or compare every damn circumstance about ourselves to others.

Is it a hobby to be perpetually offended or outraged by just about everything?

I think it’s just more about where people want to spend their money. If they have spare money, then it’s up to the individual with what they want to do with it. I saw a post recently where a woman was reminding people that £60 spent on “tat in B&M” ( her words not mine) could equate a return ticket to Amsterdam and she brought up the evidence to support it. Obviously that’s where she prefers to spend her money and others will say that they love their tat in B&M and actually they don’t have the funds to enjoy Amsterdam once they’ve bought that return ticket.

I cant lie, I love a browse around tkmaxx. More for general stuff around my house rather than seasonal, but I’m not immune to it. I’ve retired from teaching so I do still have some seasonal stuff that is years old that I like to grey out for my grandchildren. Probably only Easter and Christmas though.

I don’t buy much of it. I look at it and think aw that’s sweet etc but realistically I don’t want to spend the money. The older I get, the more I want out my house, rather than in it. But whether you’re buying period pieces for your house or buying autumn candles, it’s all money wherever you are on the scale, it’s just up to you what you do with it. I don’t think you can tell whether it’s an indicator of economic growth or not. Lots of people may smoke, vape, have a gym membership, a season football ticket, a travel hobby whatever….and other people will say well I don’t do or have any of that, I spend my money on house decor, trinkets etc . Everyone will spend their money differently, although I do grant you it’s big business…none of this was about when I was young (I’m very old). A few foil ceiling decorations in your kitchen were classed as “extra” in addition to your Christmas tree back then!!

I said "almost unrelated" not "two very separate". I also said "Personal finances are affected by interest rates and unemployment " and your reply was "How are unemployment and interest rates unrelated to personal wealth?"

None of your subsequent points contradicted what I said. So again, I am not sure what you expect me to say.

I wasn't being boastful about my A level, I was making a point that 'even' with only an A level in Economics, I can work out that macro very much does impact micro economics. You suggested that the poster was conflating two very separate issues, I disagree.

I spent a fiver on a rabbit to go with DMs Easter chocolates - she has dementia and really appreciated it - if she’s still with us - it will come out again next year

What makes wealthy people wealthy is inheritance, generational wealth, high earning power. What doesn't make you poor is spending £30 around Asda, HB, B&M to add cheer to your life because you haven't got a new kitchen, dining out, skiing/exotic holidays, or even decent, secure housing to look forward to. If someone lives on £24k a year, not buying a tulip themed wreath to put on your door, isn't going to make a jot of difference to your financial situation.
Decorating your house/baking for Easter, with the children and having a park/community based break, is still cheaper than a day at the zoo/theme park. Or shouldn't the lower incomed have any joy? Plus we need people to shop. It generates tax revenue and supports jobs.