Hello everyone! We are almost at the end of the year. In Japan, December's temperature has been a bit unstable, it's kind of difficult to manage our health. Although COVID-19 has quite settled down in Japan, but the new Omicron variant has been discovered, so it looks like life with COVID-19 will still continue.
Speaking of December, it's Christmas! The illumination lights makes the town sparkling and shining everywhere, it sure brings happiness and heals my heart. Today, I'd like to share some ways to enjoy Christmas at Donki. I'll also give you a sneak peek at some information that only some of our staff know, hope this article brings you happiness too.
Ways to enjoy Christmas at Donki
➀ Free Gift Wrapping at Don Quijote
Don Quijote offers a free wrapping service regardless of the amount of your purchase. After paying at the cashier, just say "wrapping please" and staff will wrap the products for you. The wrapping service differs slightly from store to store, let me explain the basic flow.
Checkout→ enquire about the wrapping→ visit the service counter→
give the items you want wrapped to the staff with the receipt→
receive a number tag→ wait for your number to be called→ finish
If you have purchased more than one item, we can put a sticky note on the wrapped product so that you are able to identify which item is which, please request it.
This wrapping service is available not just for Christmas but all year round! The wrapping paper changes depending on the season, you can also enjoy the design as well.
➁ Don Quijote's Christmas Costume
You can find a range of Christmas products across the shopping street in December everywhere, and of course, Donki is one of it. Most stores in Donki begin selling Christmas products from the day after Halloween. The Christmas products and decoration increase more and more till a week or two weeks before Christmas at Donki, is also a way to enjoy Christmas for me.
As most of you know, Donki has a pretty good selection of cosplay and costume! Almost every store has products for grownups, some stores even has cosplay and costume for kids! Of all the costumes, I would recommend the character-type costumes, "Kigurumi" the most.
They are very warm because they can be worn over the clothes you are wearing, and many people wear them as pajamas because it's cute! There are many designs in Kigurumi, which can only be purchased at Donki too.
Of course, I have to recommend Santa costumes. If you're looking for a Santa costume, you might think that they all have the same design. However, you can find many different types of Santa costumes at Donki to meet your needs.
If you're the price-conscious type who first and foremost enjoys putting on a costume, and doesn't mind if they get dirty or torn, this is perfect for you.
If you are particular about texture and comfort, planning to wear it again next year, these are recommended to you.
If you want to be unique, how about check these out.
There are also many different types of Christmas hats, please choose the one that suits you the best!
How Japanese spends Christmas holidays
I was born in Japan and raised overseas, so there are some instances where I feel like something is a little unique to Japan. These things may not be so strange in East Asia, but what do you all think?
The way giving Christmas gifts in Japan
Grownups usually hand over, single gift to each other. Japanese people are usually said to be shy, but Japanese want to give gifts and see other peoples' smiles. Most of the time, especially between lovers, gifts are exchanged on Christmas Eve! In Japan, Christmas Eve is often more exciting than Christmas Day.
Usually, gifts for the children are not placed under a Christmas tree, but next to their pillow instead. That'ｓbecause many houses doesn't have space for a big Christmas tree, so having a big Christmas tree with lots of gifts underneath is not a usual thing in Japan. Opening gifts one by one on Christmas day will also not be seen in Japanese family because most of the time, only one gift is given. You might receive one gift from your parents or "Santa", and maybe one gift from your both sides of grandparents, and that's still three in all. lol
"How Santa comes inside?" is always a famous question for kids because there are very few houses with chimneys in Japan. Also, Japanese does not have culture to prepare milk and cookies for Santa too. In Japan, it is often said that Santa does not come to bad behavior kid's house, so before Christmas, many children try their best to help their family to show that they are good kids. Incidentally, my birthday is on Christmas Eve. Having both Japanese parent, I used to receive only one present as Christmas present and birthday present. lol
Being with Lovers are more priority than being with family in Japan
Christmas has a very romantic image for Japanese, especially on Christmas Eve. Rather than having dinner with family, people are more likely to spend time with their lovers. If you're staying at home on Christmas, your family might be worried and ask you like, aren't you going out? Are you two okay, any problems?
If there are Christmas parties, usually people doesn't invite friends who has partners, because they don't want to bother couple's Christmas date. Many Families and friends will try to help you to make time with partner, especially on Christmas Eve.
Japanese like to buy Christmas Cakes and Fried Chicken at Christmas
There is always a Christmas cake on Christmas! If there are no cakes, it doesn't feel like Christmas. Not only cake shops, but also convenience stores also sell Christmas Cakes, and you need to make a reservation in order to make sure you get one.
Fried Chicken is also very popular, and because of the high demand, each company requires a reservation to purchase Fried Chicken, even convenience stores too! Why not turkey but chicken? It is said that this is a custom that has taken root in Japan due to the successful strategies of major companies in the past.
Summary
In this article, I introduced the wrapping service at Donki, Christmas costumes, and Christmas culture in Japan. The cherry blossom and Christmas seasons are extremely popular when visiting Japan, so when you're here, be sure to take a look at Donki as well! Merry Christmas!
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