"Wait Beta, let Baba first bring home the Christmas tree,” said a mother to her young seven-year-old daughter, who was attracted like a magnet to the vendor’s stall of pretty Christmas decorations such as fairy lights, shiny glass balls, golden and silver bells, tiny Santas, etc, outside a big supermarket in Clifton, Karachi.

The girl then pointed towards the plastic Christmas trees, some as tall as herself along with the others of various types and heights lined on one side of the stall which the vendor was also selling, and making it even more challenging for the mother to make the child understand.

“What if I get you one of these and Baba also gets you one today?” she asked trying to help the girl see sense.

They may be fake and made in China but they spruce up Christmas season

But the thought only made the kid smile. “Then we will have two Christmas trees!” she squealed with delight.

Some 20 years ago, there was no concept of fake plastic Christmas trees made in China as real pine trees used to be brought down from the Murree hills. “The fragrance of those trees was divine,” remembers Mrs David, most of whose family has now also moved to Canada. “Now we make do with the plastic trees that we buy once and bring out from the store or garage every year to place in the drawing room corner,” she says. “They are washable too. Just stand them up under the shower and rinse using some detergent, and voila!”

“But don’t take the plastic tree so lightly,” urges a shopkeeper at Karachi’s famous Paper Market. “So what if they are fake and ‘made in China’?” He shrugs trying to gather respect for the plastic trees.

There is a variety of them available. There are lush green ones, dark green ones, those with green and white foliage and white ones along with those which glitter and they come in all sizes that will make any fir tree in the Murree hills dry up from jealousy.

The bright and lush green plastic ones are the ones that sell the most, according to the shopkeeper. “They are also slightly more expensive,” he says. The plastic tree prices range from as low as 100 rupees to as expensive as 10,000 rupees.

Customers in the mood for shopping and those who already have a tree at home may want a different tree bringing in more sales of other varieties. Perhaps they would opt for the one with black-green, green and white or snow-white Christmas trees. Maybe they want a bigger tree this time.

The shopkeeper talks about the categories too. “The trees with brighter shades of green come under category ‘A’. Their leaves are also bigger in size and broader,” he explains.

Then on a more serious note, he says that he has done a lot of research on Christmas trees and the tradition of having one in the house. “You see, these trees remain evergreen. They are green during spring and summer and they are green during autumn and winter as well,” he says. “Even their leaves don’t turn amber in the fall,” he adds.

“The same is the case with the plastic trees. They will never lose their colour,” he presents his case.

“They also come with a sturdy stand giving you enough space to store your gifts and presents under them,” he continues praising his merchandise.

The writer is a member of staff
She tweets @HasanShazia

Published in Dawn, EOS, December 24th, 2017