Holidays are coming. Holidays are coming.

The festive season is upon us, the Christmas lights have been switched on, Christmas music is played in almost every shop and already the faint sound of Santa's sleigh bells are getting children very hyper.

However what good is going to come from Christmas this year? Are parents going to over indulge their children with presents and are the elderly going to be warm enough? Even in the current economic climate there doesn't seem to be too much of a dip in sales, mind you, this is just the start of Advent. Normally December sales are colossal but it appears that a lot of people have already bought and even wrapped all if not most of their presents. Mince pies, truffles and other goodies are all being bought in preparation for the big day, but retailers fear this could be one of the quietest Decembers ever. Many will turn to starting their January sales a week or so before Christmas just to get people in to buy.

Does this really help the economy?

I guess in some ways it does, by starting sales early retailers are sure to bring in money and keep the debt collectors from darkening their door...for a couple of months at least People will only spend money if the have money to spend but at sales time people can sometimes go over the top often ending up in masses amounts of debt. So maybe January sales keep stores open and people in jobs but they can also cripple the money belts of those people desperate for last seasons cast offs.

So before you go and buy all of your presents, please think about when to spend, where to spend and why you are spending. After all " 'tis the season to be jolly" not worried about debt, unemployment and financial ruin.