The sadness of Christmas shopping

Christmas is a time for me which comes and goes in popularity, all depending on what situation my life is in, as is probably the same for most people.  Last year Christmas was not an enjoyable time and something I could have happily slept through, but having children always makes it better to see their excitement of the day!  This year, Christmas will be better I think and I am more positive and excited about it, even though I wont be where I would like to be, it will still be good for us and the children.

So I am starting to think about presents, especially for my children and although haven't made any decisions, obviously this is the time for pricing things up in order to make a final decision before purchasing chosen gifts.  I was walking through my local shopping centre, here in Tavira and looking around.  Now, for one you will never have the same amount of choice as I would back home but what made me sad was, that probably I will not purchase any gifts there or very few at most, purely for the reason that the prices are too high, in comparison to what I will pay on an UK site such as Amazon.  For instance, looking at the DVD of Tangled, which my daughters love, here is €20 or amazon £8!  What are you going to do?  I really want to support the portuguese economy, but in this case its a 'no brainer'.  In these tough financial times, I, like everyone else will be seeking out a bargain and to make the choice to buy one or several gifts for my children, there is no decision.

So my Christmas shopping will probably be done with no human contact, no going through the shops, it almost takes away the fun of it.  Christmas shopping here in Portugal is never the scrum that it is in England, although the amount the Portuguese spend in these next few weeks is astounding, even in a crise!

I also dont understand how the 'average' portuguese wage person can afford to buy gifts at what are to me, high prices.  I have another choice, buying from a UK site, but most of them dont.  I understand that they isnt the same 'competitiveness' or level of buying power, but there must be a better way.  I just find all a little sad.