Editorial: Tis the season to be jolly ... jolly frazzled

Mark Dawson, editor of Wanganui Chronicle

In case you hadn't noticed, Christmas is upon us.

It is upon us like a giant tsunami of gift-hunting; food-bingeing; crowd-negotiating, party-hopping, advert-blaring, charity-supporting festivity.

You can't escape it, even if you put on your "Bah humbug" T-shirt. It's over-sized, over-excited, over-the-top and over here, there and everywhere.

Tis the season to be jolly ... jolly frazzled for many of us.

So as we hunker down into survival mode, it's a case of trying to enjoy it, trying to meet the expectations of those around us (always trying to remember those less fortunate) and trying not to get too stressed.

And each year, Christmas produces some new quirk to test those survival skills.

This year it is Christmas Car Park Rage, which has been identified by those who study these things as a new and dangerous phenomenon.

Apparently, as the nation goes shopping crazy and store car parks get fuller and fuller, the race for a car park hits a new intensity. Collisions, bangs and scrapes become more common, and anger levels rise accordingly.

Having come out of the supermarket to find a fresh dent in my bodywork, I can attest to the problem. I could have fallen victim to Christmas Car Park Rage, but then I remembered this important seasonal message — "Stay calm out there, folks".

Still, not all new Xmas phenomena are bad.

Here's the bright side — New Zealand now has its first ever Secret Santa for pets.

The initiative is being run by Inspector Spot, NZ's first Certified Pet Detective and it's taken off big time.

So forget Jacinda Ardern and her plea for bottled relaxation and sleep, and wrap up a tin of Whiskas or a nice juicy bone and let a faithful pet savour the true spirit of Christmas.