Christmas Pitfalls

cpI love Christmas. I love snow-themed everything, the nostalgic feeling the season of Christmas evokes- the smells, the music, the energy. Mostly though, I love getting together with my family- making homemade cookies, sharing memories, gossiping and laughing at each other, playing games, spending time together. I don’t; however, love Christmas shopping, the overconsumption, frenzied malls, consumer debt, environmental waste, wasted time wrapping, and the over-accumulation of needless stuff that comes with Christmas. These pitfalls of Christmas have sadly become our culture.

We focus on buying, not on sharing or giving. Giving is good; somehow though, the required act of giving gifts at Christmas ends up being about buying and not giving. We go out in a mad rush to shop, like ravenous vampires feasting on new blood. We shop for months, and often end up buying a gift that “will do.” Since when does buying translate into giving? We can give by baking cookies, making dinner, washing someone’s car, sharing music, offering babysitting services, walking pets, and making a photo album. And anyway, shouldn’t we be practicing the art of giving throughout the year rather than it being a gesture we have been programmed to do once a year?

We waste. The packaging itself for every toy is double the volume of the toy itself. From cardboard to plastic to metal twist-ties, it’s ludicrous. We bring home everything in bags, and then put them in boxes, buy wrapping paper and wrap it all up only for it all to get thrown away on Christmas day. We give into the horrendous, insipid, seizure-inducing advertising.

Need I say more?

We enter into troubling debt. People spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on gifts and wrapping. Not to mention all the money spent on gas, and fattening food at mall food courts. This goes on credit cards (and around our waistlines), and we must pay for this- with high interest- during the year. Even if we don’t get into debt, is this really how we want to spend money from long hours of hard work- paying for needless stuff?

There are STILL hungry people in the world. In the frenzy that is Christmas, we spend ridiculous amounts of money that is pure waste. In other countries, people are struggling just to eat, or get medicine, or find shelter, or get clean drinking water. We spend so much in a show of consumerist greed, when that money could feed a few dozen families. Kids love getting presents (I have six kids- I should know!). Are we to rob them of this? It’s a difficult question, but think for a moment about what we are teaching the kids. They don’t just participate in the opening of presents- they see all the shopping and are affected by the debt. They are being taught to value material goods over anything else. So for the joy of opening presents for a few hours on Christmas day, we’re imparting on them consumerist values that will last them a lifetime.

Instead, find hope. Christmas has so much potential to be about so much more than buying- it can, and should be about, a season of hope, renewal, loved ones, inspiration, contemplation. We need to find ways to be hopeful, thankful, and cooperative; being more mindful and engaged instead of worrying about getting presents. We need to teach our children about truly giving to others, about volunteering and helping the less fortunate, about acts of kindness, about the value of spending time with loved ones during the holidays.