Eid frenzy begins, malls flooded with shoppers

Abu Dhabi - With offers and sales from fashion to electronics, Eid shopping is no longer restricted to clothes

Shopping malls, hypermarkets, tailors, beauty salons and even banks have been flooded with customers in these last few days of Ramadan. From the far out Makani Mall in Shamkha to Lulu Hypermarket in the heart of the city, people have been rushing for a last minute shopping, particularly clothes.
"It is traditional to wear something new for Eid, so we are out looking for a dress for our daughter," said Kamil Habib, a Pakistani resident here.
He and his family were among thousands who turned up at Al Wahda mall's Lulu hypermarket on Saturday night.
With offers and sales from fashion to electronics, Eid shopping is no longer restricted to a new kandoora or dress. Household items, perfumes, mobile phones, a new table cloth or bed sheets are all part of the Eid shopping extravaganza.
For Abdulrahman Al Amri, shopping should be kept to a minimum.
"To be honest, I don't like malls. For years, I got myself a new kandoora for Eid, made by the same tailor and this year was no different. Last week I sent him the measurements for myself and my two sons and by Monday evening he will deliver them to my house," he said.
For his wife, though, getting ready for Eid is a more elaborate matter, as it is with most women. Buying a new dress often goes with buying new shoes, new scarf and even a new handbag to match the dress. In most cases, a new hair do as well.
"In this last couple of days before Eid we have dozens of bookings in our salon, mostly for hair styling, manicure and pedicure, henna and Moroccan bath," said Cherry Derulo, a beautician in Abu Dhabi.
Banks too have been busy as people prepare their "eidiya", another Eid tradition, of giving children a small sum of money as gift.
Usually, this varies from Dh20 to Dh50. A few days before Eid, adults go to their banks getting hundreds, if not thousands of dirhams in small brand new notes to give to their children, nephews and nieces.
silvia@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE
• Abu Dhabi