Christmas time is approaching quickly, with decorations already beginning to take over shopping centres and malls stores  I find it all terribly unsettling, as it’s still November for holiday’s sake! But the pressure is building to start looking towards amassing gifts for those we love and those important to us. To find the perfect gift, or at least something special enough to say ‘I thought about it for more than a couple of seconds’ and not ‘I saw it on sale and I panicked because I couldn’t think of anything for you other than socks’. Personally I like going to little boutique stores and stalls to find my gifts, looking for unique quirky trinkets that have a little more of a personal touch to add to this ritual of yearly Yuletide giving.

So now the question is – where do I look? Or more importantly, when? As it is for most of us, I find it increasingly difficult to find time around my very important dedication to procrastination. It simply takes up so much of my time, finding a spare few hours to shop is simply too difficult during normal trading hours. Oh well, everyone will have to go without this year… Alas, Eumundi has saved me from such a fate by hosting its wonderful assortment of stalls for three Friday nights in the December lead up to Christmas, leaving busy do-nothings like me with no reason not to shop up a storm – ’tis the season after all.

So in the spirit of the season on Fridays 4th, 11th and 18th of December, the Eumundi markets will be showing its wears – fashion, food, music, entertainment, knick-knacks and what its for all. Each of the nominated nights between 5pm and 9pm, the village and stalls themselves with be lit up and sparkling with enough Christmas lights to melt my icy heart and fill it with seasonal gift-giving cheer. There’ll also be colourful street performers and fire shows each night with free family outdoor movie screenings each week from around 7pm – all with a typically Christmassy theme, starting with Polar Express on the 4th, ELF on the 11th and Arthur’s Christmas on the 18th. All movies are of course rated G, and deemed appropriate for all ages – which I’d question, as Will Ferrel, starring in the movie ELF, in tights could be seen as rather scarring for any man, woman, or child.

And of course, star of the show, Santa will be arriving at the Eumundi Night Markets at 6.30 each night, choosing to arrive specially on the Eumundi Fire Truck. Makes sense to me, I mean forcing reindeer to pull his massive bulk around in this heat is probably criminal in this day and age. Young market visitors can then have their photos taken with him in the ‘Special Santa Chair’, with on-the-spot printed five-by-seven shots only $10, which doesn’t sound that bad, as long as your child doesn’t realise how creepy it is – some old dude with a beard watches them while they’re sleeping, writing their names on a secret list if they misbehave, putting coal in their stockings as punishment.

Eumundi markets plays host to some of the most creative and unique creatives our wonderful coast has on offer, from clothes making elves of impeccable taste and skill, to Christmas gremlins with gem and jewel crafting abilities that are out of this world, their creations shine brighter than Rudolf’s nose in the night. Whoever you’re shopping for this December, you’re sure to find something that will take their breath away, not to mention you’ll be supporting local people to fund their own Christmas.