Yet another holiday season is upon us, and for my family that means preparing for Christmas. It's my absolute favorite holiday but recently, it has become increasingly more difficult to get into my usual holiday cheer. We are so lost amidst all this holiday consumerism that we have forgotten the cliche true meaning of Christmas—The Managers from the Mariah Carey Sketchtacular said it best: Consumerism has created a garbage Christmas!
Fear not, there are ways to prevent the holiday season from becoming all about the gifts. First, you don't have to be religious or Christian to celebrate Christmas. If you are and chose so, try going to mass on Christmas to celebrate your faith before celebrating with friends and family. If you do not religiously celebrate Christmas, it may be a time for being with family and being thankful or just a time to enjoy some hard earned rest and drink egg nog. Regardless, Christmas should never be just about receiving expensive gifts and if you have young children, you should prevent Christmas from becoming all about gifts so that they can extract some greater meaning from the holiday. Here are 3 very important things to remember!
1) You don't have to give gifts! You have birthdays, anniversaries and all year around to surprise someone you care about with an amazing gift, it does not have to be on Christmas! If your family wants some alternatives it would be nice to give to charity, or purchase "experiences" instead of material goods. My mother now hands each child of the family an envelope with a ticket to the circus or "Disney on Ice" and she takes them all out during their winter break together. The kids have a blast and this way she ensures she is not spending money on a toy that they will play with once then get tired of. This also encourages spending time with loved ones and de-emphasizes material goods. (Now remember, you don't have to be religious or Christian to celebrate Christmas and these tips apply to all other holidays as well.) Christmas can be whatever you make it, whether it's about celebrating your faith, being thankful, spending time with family or consuming copious amounts of good food and eggnog. That is all fine, but it should not be centered around a frantic exchange of expensive gifts. Parents need to actively raise their children in an environment where they learn to value more than just material goods. I am not condemning anyone for wanting to give nice gifts, because that is also a way of showing love and appreciation. However, this holiday season I send out a plea to parents and gift givers everywhere:
2) Do not give to receive! If you find yourself trying to guess what someone will spend on you so that you know how much to spend on them, you are doing it wrong! Gifts should be from the heart. They should be because you want to give and not because you feel obligated to. Try focusing on the joy of giving something that someone will enjoy rather than making your own wishlist this Christmas
3) It's not about the price tag! Of course, all of us want to give the most extravagant grand thing to the ones we love, but often times money is limited and it's not possible. This Christmas, remember that many people are on a budget and remember that it's okay for you to be on a budget as well. No one should be amounting credit card debt because of Christmas! It's hard now a days to purchase inexpensive gifts, especially for children because most of their wishlist is made up of expensive electronics but remember that it is the thought, not the cost, that counts and often times, if the kid is young they'll have more fun playing with the wrapping paper anyway!
