As Thanksgiving and Christmas approach, we stray from our normal routine and adhere to holiday traditions and events. Seasonal coffee flavors, parades, feasts, and sales are just a few of the things people celebrate during this time. A lot of times, however, the true meaning of the holiday season can be forgotten, especially when we are distracted by our busy college lives. During the chaos of preparation, people tend to lose sight of what truly is important, focusing only on material objects instead. It is during this holiday season that we are urged to think about what we truly are thankful for. Family, friends, boyfriends and girlfriends are the things we should really be focusing on. Showing each other our appreciation and gratitude is the purpose of these winter holidays. People need to remember the real reason we celebrate.

So many people think of the holidays as a time solely for getting presents. Stores advertise holiday times as being a time for shopping rather than the sacredness of family time at the holidays. This is tearing apart dinner tables and causing millions to spend this magical season camping outside the mall alone instead of by the fireplace eating turkey and talking with family. Black Friday is a perfect example of when people can be seen leaving mid-dinner to go shop. When you take away the interaction and irreplaceable conversation at Thanksgiving and replace it with disposable items, ultimately it destroys the memories. So many conversations and memories are being abandoned just to save a few bucks. We need to bring back the importance of family time by canceling out any distracting factors during the holidays such as our phones, shoe sales, and other material objects.

People not only waste away their special holiday time doing meaningless tasks, but they also confuse what they should be thankful for with unimportant objects. Thanksgiving and Christmas are times where we should be showing thanks to people, living beings, who make our lives special. It is without these people that our lives would be dull and devastating. Don’t get me wrong, we should be thankful for certain material objects such as the roof over our heads and the clothes on our backs, but oftentimes people turn thankfulness into a certain showing-off of materialistic goods. There is a difference between being thankful for having a family fortunate to provide you with clothes and posting an Instagram picture camouflaging your bragging about your new Michael Kors purse as being thankful.

This holiday season people should be spending more time at home relaxing with the people you love the most instead of being out running around town looking for the last pair of Steve Madden boots in your size. Spend some time in the kitchen learning your family’s traditional holiday recipes. Decorate the Christmas tree with your family. Sit by the fire with someone you love, share some hot cocoa, and watch some Christmas movies. Bring back the true meaning of the holiday season as you spread love and cheer and make memories that will last a lifetime with the people you care about.