Customers buy wares in a shop at Souq Waqif.
BY RAYNALD C RIVERA
DOHA: National Day hats, party wigs and masks are the new merchandise that has recently hit the market for youth gearing up for the celebration of the country’s most important day on Tuesday.
Wacky hats in a dozen varieties, such as top hats, jester hats, stovepipe hats and party hats in various designs, can be bought for between QR20 and QR30 in Souq Al Ali, where the long line of tailoring shops has been busy the past few weeks making National Day men’s thobes, girls’ dresses and flags of all sizes.
The prices of the flags vary according to their size, from small flags costing QR5 and QR10 that are normally used to deck up cars, to gigantic banners draped on buildings to show an establishment’s solidarity with National Day.
The men’s thobes and girls’ dresses, which are usually made for school students for the National Day events in their schools, are priced between QR60 and QR100, while gowns are available in the QR150 to QR250 range.
“The prices have increased by QR10 to QR20 because of the new designs,” said Abdulrahman, a shopkeeper at a shop selling ready-to-wear gowns specially created for the occasion.
While there are some shops selling National Day novelty items and memorabilia, the tailoring shops also offer other items, making the Souq the place to go to for all National Day-related purchases.
Aside from the National Day outfits, lots of accessories that can literally dress up a reveller from head to toe are available in the market. They include sunglasses, watches, temporary tattoos, jewellery, nail extensions, caps, scarves and wristbands.
For those who want to make some noise on the day, there is a National Day horn costing QR20, and to add more colour to the celebrations there are party poppers and party sprays priced between QR10 and QR20.
Other interesting products include mobile phone cases, umbrellas, bags, key holders, wallets, chokers, stickers, bracelets and buttons, some of which have blinking lights.
Among the must-haves for the revellers are party wigs that come in three types, and face and eye masks, all of which bear the national flag’s colours.
As of Thursday, however, sales of the different products were not encouraging for the shop owners unlike last year and in 2010, when the country won the right to host the football World Cup in 2022.
“There are not many customers these days, but I expect there would be more buyers tomorrow, and a rush on the eve of the celebration, as is the case every year,” said Tanvir, a shopkeeper selling novelty items.
The same bleak mood pervades Souq Waqif, which had very few customers at shops selling National Day merchandise, whose prices are a bit high compared to Souq Al Ali and Al Rawnaq, a famous store chain offering all sorts of National Day accessories.
The National Day would not be as colourful without these memorabilia that serve as potent symbols that instantly remind both citizens and expatriates of the spirit of the national celebration at a personal level, further enriching the celebrations.
For some motorists, however, the celebrations will not be as exciting as in the previous years as the Traffic Department has issued a notice prohibiting adorning of cars with body wrap stickers, posters and banners that make it difficult for the traffic police to identify a vehicle or its driver.
The notice was issued to car accessory shops which in the previous years have seen brisk business installing stickers on cars for anything between QR150 and over QR500, depending on the design and size.
With the increase in the variety of memorabilia available in the market, Tuesday will certainly be a maroon-and-white day for all.
The Peninsula
