Greet with a touch of creativity...

“Hello, Shyamali!” I said to my friend.


“Hey Hi, it’s good to see you. It’s been long since your last visit to my place,” she replied.


“Yes, I’ve been busy lately, however we met often. Didn’t we?”


“Of course!” Shyamali is one of my childhood friends, who has an eye for creativity. She uses her spare time converting waste materials into gorgeous craft. Most of the time, her office room is a real hodgepodge. Even today, there is no difference.


“Some things never change,” I muttered and looked at her. She had paint stains all over her apron. Her hair is messy. I realised she must have been working for hours. A little guilt crept into my mind, “Did I disturb her?”


“What are you doing standing over there? Come and take a seat. Your favourite sofa is waiting for you,” she teased.


“Sorry about the status of the room, I am sure you are used to it.”



“Hey never mind. By the way, what are you doing today? Looks like you have been working for hours.”


“Yes I did. Just six days more for Christmas, I thought it’s time for me to make some cards,” she grinned.


“Oh! Aye! I remember your advice. However, it was too late for me to work on it. By that time, I had already posted the cards I bought.”


“Hmm... Still you can have a look on what I am doing today, so you can try these out later. What do you think?”


“I’d love to. I am sure I can use this knowledge to make birthday cards also. I spend a lot of money on them too.”



“I agree. I too save a lot of money, this way. Many admire the personal touch and the way I customise those according to the receiver.”


“That’s inspiring. Will you teach me how to make some cards? There are many handmade cards in the store, expensive though. I always wished if I also could craft in that quality.”


“With lots of patience, proper tools and a pinch of creativity, achieving that store quality is a piece of cake,” she explained. Then she sat on the chair at her working table to continue with her work. I sat next to her, hoping to get a better view.



“Alright, what are the materials needed to make a greeting card?” I queried.


“There is nothing in particular. First, you need to have something like Bristol board or coloured paper to make the basic card. For this empty milk boxes are also accepted, but you have to cover them nicely.”



“Really? So, what you are saying is, we can make a card even buying nothing at all?”


“Exactly, that’s my point. The next important thing is, folding the card. There are different ways for that. You can make a standard card by folding the paper or the board into two. You can also make different cards by folding into three. The design can be laid out in portrait or landscape. This makes the card stand out.”



“That’s true. I have seen cards folded differently and I’ve also noticed those, which have a different fold than the ordinary, are a little expensive.” “That is a possibility. Now, we are done with the first step. Next, before decorating the card, we have to finish off with the verse. Write your own verse according to the person you are intending to send the card or there are free verses available online, which can be downloaded easily. Use colour pens, gold or silver pens to write this. Write the verse with your best handwriting and clear enough to read.”


“Can’t we get a printout of the verse and paste it on the card?”


“Of course you can. Is that a thing to ask? Only thing is, be creative when pasting the paper. You can burn the edges to give it an ancient look or cut the edges using a zigzag scissor. “


“Fine, what is next?” I asked.


“Now, it’s time to decorate the card and write the greeting on the front page. Write these letters bigger, so they are prominent,” she said.



“I can understand that. So, what do we need to decorate the card?” “Again use anything. Coloured paper, coloured board, dried flowers and leaves or water colours. If you want, use all in one. Be creative. Before doing the design on the card, do a sample on a waste paper and see whether it comes out nicely. In addition, it is important that the design suits the greeting of the card.



“If a birthday cake is drawn on a Christmas card. That looks odd, right?”


“Yes. I understand. Thank you so much for the wonderful tutorial. Do you mind giving a chance to the apprentice to try out some card?”


“Not at all, best way to learn something is by trying out on your own. You make a card while I bring you a drink. Good luck!”



“Thank you,” I murmured while picking up materials to make a card for the first time in my life.

Christmas for Sale!

It has been a while since my last visit to our neighbourhood supermarket. While I was pondering the implications, all of a sudden my mother remembered that she had forgotten to buy sugar in her last shopping tour. I had no option except running to the supermarket. As usual, the car park was full of vehicles and the place was crowded.

As I entered the building, the first sight was a huge Christmas tree with hundreds of little boards saying Naththal Cash (Christmas money). “Christmas? in November?” I was surprised. “Isn’t that too early and by the way what is Naththal cash?” I wondered. The word was alien to me, but I right away realised that this must be something related to their latest marketing campaign. I took a closer look.

Of course! They were encouraging their customers to buy more supplies from them qualify themselves for a raffle draw.

This Naththal Cash was the name of the contest. I must say, I was shocked to see the way they used a religious festival to promote their business. Going beyond our country’s oceanic boundaries, we can see that this type of campaigns have become very common in most parts of the world in the recent past.

The Christmas season is the best time of the year for the business community, irrespective of the business being big or small.

Even the street vendors earn their living by selling Christmas cards, masks of Santa Clause and Christmas decorations. During Christmas, selling Cyprus trees is another common sight.

Many of you must have seen these trees or rather branches, which are available mostly near Vihara Maha Devi Park. Who says Christmas is not profitable? Vendors can sell anything during this period.

That is why the marketeers spend more than half of their budgeted advertising amount during this time, expecting the biggest windfall of the year. These days even the least Christmas item is advertised by highlighting some connection to it. 

If you see a mosquito coil advertisement saying ‘this is the best coil you can use while you are at the midnight mass’ do not be surprised! People do get brilliant ideas like those! Many of you must have noticed that a number of new shops pop up during the season. They know that as soon as they open they will have a considerable amount of sales to cover their initial cost.

Maria is a retired teacher. She recalls how she used to celebrate Christmas with her family. “We enjoyed our Christmas lunches a lot more than nowadays. We celebrated Christmas according to the old traditions. After the Christmas lunch, we used to break Christmas crackers, which were made by Akki and myself. Now, Christmas is like another name for shopping.” She laments. Somewhere down the line, the real holiday spirit has been lost.

Instead, the celebrity awe struck, materialistic attitudes have replaced the joy surrounding the Christmas season. Many companies advertise their products as if those are essentials to celebrate Christmas in the right manner. Not only that, some toy companies wait until Christmas to launch their latest products. As a result, children demand their parents to buy those toys as their Christmas presents. Helpless parents have no option than trying their best to fulfil the child’s wish, as they do not want to disappoint them during this festive season.

In the movie Jingle all the way, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays the role of such desperate father, who tries his best to buy a newly introduced action figure toy for his son as a Christmas present. The movie shows how people stand in queues from morning, to do their last minute Christmas shopping. Though it is somewhat unusual for us in Sri Lanka, this is a common thing in the Western world.

Sometime ago it was in the news about a man who was trampled to death while other people rushed into to a supermarket after waiting in a queue for hours to start Black Friday shopping. The interest surrounding Christmas has now shifted from what the season is meant to represent. It has now become a marketing tool and a product-focused event where consumer commodities are incredibly in high demand and companies will try anything to make a profit during the holiday season.

It would be good to see the old traditions return and Christmas to be celebrated for the right reasons not as a commercial opportunity. Making these occasions more prominent would be a good way to enhance the peoples’ Christmas spirit and for them to realise the importance of the holidays.