I am beginning to dream of never-ending, rising piles of packages. 

The front door breaking open from a flood of red collection slips. 

My wife has finished her Christmas shopping online.

Presents for grown-ups, children – Santa gets yours.

“It helps me relax,” my wife said, head down over her smartphone’s glowing screen.

The festive season does anything but. It’s in my home my wife’s shopping.

Online stores and financial services such as Afterpay make it easy for wallets to open.

Social media, such as Pinterest and Instagram, can offer honed platforms targeting particular shoppers.

Product makers post photos of wooden toy trams and flower-print dresses in their homes and backyards, and this sense of community inspires buyer investment.

But Christmas ‘tis the season old delivery methods meet new.

For recent weeks on end, I arrive home to parcels left on the welcome mat. 

On Monday I went to the post office to collect a parcel, only to arrive home and discover a slip in the mailbox. 

“This is not the first time I have been to the post office today,” I told the woman behind the counter. 

She then stared at my one-year-old little mate who was with me.

“I do like your sunglasses,” she said of my son’s red Ray Ban-style specs, with cars racing up and down its arms. 

In times like these, the cost of stamps and slow delivery services beggars belief.

But you have to feel sorry for the mail.

Posties carry enough parcels to make their bikes tip.

Queues form in post offices every few minutes beside shelves of stationery, children’s books and limited edition Muppets. 

Chris O’Leary