[Special shout out to Natalia P. who planted the seed for this post]
OK, so don’t freak out here and go all Rosie O’Donnell/Donald Trump on me. I’m not advocating that we quit Christmas in its entirety. I give two thumbs up to the spirit of Christmas. But the commercial aspect of it is completely out of control.
But don’t worry. It’s not your fault. You are a victim to a blatant marketing ploy that can be traced back to its origin- the three wise dudes with their baby Jesus bling.
In fact, not only are they responsible for this commercial mess we now call Christmas, but I am also blaming them for out of control birthday parties, Halloween, the Easter Bunny and that annoying little leprechaun on those Lucky Charms cereal commercials.
Clowns, Chucky Cheese birthday orgies and blinded folded children who turn into mini-assassins when attempting to hit a freaking pinata blind folded can all be laid squarely at the feet of the three wise guys.
What I would like to suggest today however is a more minimalistic approach to Christmas. You see, I quit the commercial aspect of Christmas 4 years ago. I have not bought a gift for anyone in all that time. And those who know me, have also been instructed not to buy me a gift either.
It’s been great. I no longer put myself in debt buying gifts I know people will return anyhow. I miss the mall mayhem altogether. And I stop contributing to the needless waste of discarded wrapping paper and Christmas tree massacres.
So if you can’t give gifts, what can you give instead? Here are a few ideas.
- A hug…
Pros-they are free, they require no wrapping, and everyone loves a good hug (even if they think they don’t)
Cons-nothing blows worse than people who don’t know how to hug. (FYI: these are the same people who don’t know how to do a proper handshake either.) The hugging impaired seem to sit on either extreme. They either hug you like a silverback gorilla in heat or with the same love and affection you would get from a US customs agent with no arms.
[Disclaimer: It's best not to have the hug prefaced with the phrase, "Let's hug it out bitch."]
- A kiss…
Pros-their is nothing that shows more love and affection for another human being than a kiss
Cons-disconnect in kissing philosophies. If a lip kisser meets a cheek kisser then, as I have experienced the hard way, you could end up with nothing more than a mouthful of earlobe. There is nothing Christmasy about a soft wet one planted on someone’s anvil.
- a thank you card
Pros-they are low cost and you can really add meaning so the card and your words have tremendous impact
Cons-many of these cards are as exciting to read as junk mail. See more on this with the very first post I ever wrote on QuitBit.
- your time
Pros-you could donate your time to help someone with a difficult task they have been putting off forever or that lies in your area of expertise (assuming of course you have one)
Cons-you’re in prison. You are simply doing time and no help to anyone.
- your presence
Pros-you can visit people who will greatly benefit just by being able to spend time with you
Cons-the people you are visiting can only be tolerated for about 2 hours before you want to beat them silly with the bunny slippers they just gave you
- home made gifts
Pros-again these are low cost, but they have tremendous value because you have poured your heart and soul into them; they are very personal
Cons-people are simply giving away the ugly gaudy crap they don’t want. It is kinda like Christmas, except imagine you are celebrating it at the dump.
On a more serious note…
If you really want to make a difference over the holidays, I would also like to suggest taking the money you normally give on gifts and use it to help others who are less fortunate. A great place to start, where the the amount you give doesn’t need to be outrageous, is a site I was just recently introduced to.
There idea is to skip something like say, going to the movie tonight, and then putting that money towards food that someone, somewhere could really benefit from. Check out their site. The video on their homepage rocks. Below is there mission.
We skip because we can.
We skip because 1/6th of the Earth’s population is undernourished – more than ever before!
We skip because 25,000 people die every day from hunger and related causes.
We skip because every 6 seconds a child dies of hunger and related causes.
We skip something because the world needs our help.
As always, thanks so much for being here. Keep fighting the good fight and remember: Quit Christmas. Well not the giving part, just the overly commercial part of it.
To ideas worth quitting,
Dean
ps…in case you didn’t know, today is “share my blog post day.” If you liked what you read today, then help me build this community by forwarding this to some friends, tweeting about it if you are on twitter, or adding a link to your facebook page.
pss…got an idea for a quit post. Let me know. I still have to come up with 970 more.
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