It was one of those days at work were the time moves in a snail pace and browsing Facebook is your immediate remedy to ennui. And as I was continuously scrolling down my news feed, I found this post about a Christmas fair happening on the 2nd of December.
The event was to be held at Parkview Pet Center in Madinat Khalifa where market stalls that sell handcrafted stuff are set up. There would be face painting for children, a raffle draw with great prizes, a selfie with Santa, a book sale, and a lot of fun and games. I don’t know with anybody else, but the mere mention of a book sale got me sold! 😀
Seeing that I might have friends in Doha who would be interested, I shared the said post on my Facebook page and tagged most of them just in case anyone wants to join. Funnily, one of those friends who replied was a bookworm like myself, and she was very much interested in the book sale as I am. So we set up a time to meet, and we went together on that day.
As written on the notice, tickets for adults are 50QR each, which are sold at the entrance. Once we enter the gate, we were welcomed with food – and that, I believe, is a very very good sign. Because who wouldn’t want to be greeted with food? 😀
Anyway, the place feels pretty festive. Reds and greens are abundant everywhere you look. There’s a person in a lion costume (or I think it was a lion) walking all over the place. Children are taking pictures with Santa, who is sitting near a Christmas Tree and giving gifts to the children after taking photos. Of course, we plan on having a photo with Santa as well, but at that moment – just near the tree – was the stall we’ve been looking for… A long table filled with books!
Our eyes were practically dancing from the sight! And when we asked how much each of the books cost – their answer just made Christmas come early in Doha. Would you believe that each of these books, both softbound and hardbound, is only for the price of 10 QAR? Most of them are even virtually new!
Anyway, you can say that we shopped to our heart’s content on this one. 😀
While looking around, we also found a spot where a lady does some henna tattoos, and we can’t help but have one. It was my first time, and I was ecstatic about it.
As promised, we ended the day with a Santa picture! The kids in us won’t miss the chance! Ha! 😀
Also, FYI, all proceeds of the event has helped raise urgently needed funds to feed 200+ rescued dogs and cats and contributed towards facility maintenance cost.
What a perfect way to both enjoy and contribute to society. ❤
