Yes indeed, the holidays are finally here and in the "Christmas spirit", most Kenyans have been paid early. This also means that folks need to watch their pockets lest come January or, as we like to call it, “Njaanuary”, you'll have empty pockets and no money to pay your bills.

Now this doesn't mean you can't spend Christmas in a good way. The happy, cheerful mood is something we all need to be. Just last weekend, I was at my esteemed local. It's a joint along Thika road where I'm served by my always cheerful bar attender, Sam. He was happier than usual and I couldn't figure out why.

Taking my seat at the counter, he immediately showed me this new spirit called Captain Morgan and insisted that I should try it out. I was shy to try out something new besides my habit of sticking to what I know. I generally have poor experiences with new things and I was also a bit broke.

Before I could even mention to him that I'd prefer to have the usual, Sam showed me the new 250ml bottle.

"This will cost you much less than you think.", he remarked. "Don't say a word. Ninakujua sana!", he continued, just as I was about to open my mouth to speak.