I was fully prepared for chaos. It was December 22, just three days before Christmas, and I’d decided to venture into Cardiff city centre on what is one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
Armed with the knowledge that this was peak panic-buying time, I imagined crowds elbowing their way through the high streets, endless queues snaking out of shop doors, and a general atmosphere of festive stress.
But what I actually found? It wasn’t what I expected. And it left me thoroughly confused. Find out about the latest events in Wales by signing up to our What’s On newsletter here
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Queue’s weren’t over spilling in shops on Sunday, December 22 and everything seemed to be running super smoothly
Yes, it was busy. Cardiff was doing what Cardiff does best with Christmas lights, music, and shoppers darting between stores. The streets were bustling with people carrying armfuls of shopping bags and taking selfies with various Christmas displays, and it also happened to be the day the Christmas Coca Cola truck came to town so this added a new level of excitement to the already busy city streets.
But despite the crowds, something was missing. Where were the frantic, mile-long queues outside the big brand shops? They were nowhere to be seen.
I strolled past stores I assumed would be bursting at the seams and nope, no chaos. Although the LEGO shop was the only one I saw that did look like it might have been at full capacity at one point.
Overall, most tills seemed to be moving at a steady pace. The whole thing felt strangely… orderly. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again but Welsh people are some of the loveliest, friendliest humans in the world, and I love that we embrace crowds here in Cardiff as it’s seen more as a positive burst of energy rather than an inconvenience in most cases.
Outside John Lewis in Cardiff on Sunday, December 22
And despite living in Wales now for over two years I hadn’t quite realised the difference in the city centre at Christmas time here to other parts of the UK until now. Because the biggest shock wasn’t the lack of queues. It was the vibe. Instead of the frazzled frenzy of shoppers I’d braced myself for, everyone just seemed happy to be there.
Shoppers smiled, strolling arm-in-arm, and everyone had a proper spring in their step which is a welcome change to what I’ve seen in other places. For context, I grew up in the north of England where one of my major stomping grounds for shopping was Meadowhall, which is famously also referred to by locals ‘Meadow Hell’ and if you’ve ever visited at Christmas time, you’ll know why. But I digress.
Walking through Cardiff on Sunday afternoon, I started questioning everything I knew. Why were people so calm? Was it the Christmas tunes? The Coca Cola truck?
Even when I ventured through the heart of St David’s, the calmness persisted. Yes, there might have been the occasional person glancing anxiously at their phone and looking like they might be about to throw it on the floor in a fit of festive rage. But the scenes here compared to back home in the madness of Meadowhall were still a breath of fresh air.
By the time I left the city centre, I was genuinely baffled. I’d come expecting the worst but it’s changed everything I thought I knew about last minute shopping, and I felt a bit like my efforts at the start of December to get it all done had almost been for nothing.
Maybe it’s a sign that people are embracing the festive season differently now. Or that we’ve all got better at practising mindfulness and soaking up the moment. Or perhaps Cardiff shoppers are just built differently. But what I do know is this that I’ll never look at last-minute shopping in quite the same way again.