Be quick or the best ones will go, says Lynne Mortimer as she looks at the best Christmas jumpers on the market in 2016.
And remember to send out your Christmas list so you don’t get something you’ve got, she adds although most of us have barely given the festive season a thought.
Am I fashionably early or unfashionably late... or vice versa? This is always the problem with Christmas.
But now we have successfully despatched Halloween and this evening is set aside for lighting up the sky with fireworks and bonfires, and children’s faces are red and shiny from eating hot dogs smothered in tomato ketchup, we will inevitably be thinking about Christmas.
It’s the only big occasion left in the greetings cards’ year. New year, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Easter, Father’s Day, well done on your exam results, and Halloween. But Christmas is the Big One.
I confess I have started buying gifts already. The trick here is not to forget you’ve got them. So put them somewhere visible... not, I hasten to add, under the tree. It is definitely too early to put up the tree.
But is it too early to buy a Christmas jumper? No, it is not. Get out there now and see what’s about because, if you’re not quick, the best ones will be gone and you’ll be left with a snowman jumper that sports a four-inch knitted carrot nose that protrudes from your abdomen.
When the Christmas themed jumpers first appeared in bulk, a decade or so back, they tended towards the comic but I notice they have become increasingly tasteful over time.
If it wasn’t for the obvious seasonality, they could be regarded as fashionable. What’s more the range for younger people (eg TopShop) has expanded with some witty references and more modern looks than the standard knit.
In the children’s market, the small ones have little or no say at all. What parent or more likely, grandparent, doesn’t want to see their little darlings in snowflake onesies or reindeer hoodies?
There is a great range available on the high street and at prices that won’t make your eyes water.
There are some here that even I (a bit of a bah humbugger when it comes to Christmas) like the look of... and I hope you will forgive my trailing preposition.
Which is your favourite? Or will you be dusting off your Christmas 2015 version and wearing that instead?
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