The holiday season is often the most stressful time of year despite the freedom many of us have from work or school.
Shopping for the perfect Christmas gifts has become the paradigm of winter activities. Christmas has become so commercialized in fact that shopping for deals on Black Friday, and even Thanksgiving evening are now standard practice. The newest technology, and the door buster deals are driving people into archaic anxiety. Just today, two days before Christmas, the line at Costco winded around the entire store, with impatient and aggravated last minute Christmas shoppers furious over the long wait to buy their perfect last minute gifts.
The progressing social norms of Christmas gift giving are driving people away from the holiday spirit and into pits of worry and depression. The commercialization of Christmas has become so bad that the worry of buying something too small or too cheap is driving the exchange of gifts. Parents hustle out of their beds at the break of dawn on Black Friday to receive the best deals on the newest technologies. All of this sacrifice and anxiety over buying a simple gift just to meet the standards of what their children want to receive. Children manufacture these elaborate wish lists, pushing their parents into despair over the cost of many of the most wanted items.
The traditional holiday spirit is being replaced by an obligation to meet the consumeristic and material needs of all the people in our society. It is an obligation, not a desire to buy gifts for family members nowadays. And receiving a gift is not a welcomed and appreciated, but taken for granted. With all the sacrifice of money, time, and sleep for the perfect gift, the holiday season is perhaps the most stressful time of the year. With many relationships on the line over just a couple gifts, the anxiety of gift giving is higher than ever. Even aside from the gifts, all the efforts to accommodate family members during their holiday stays is just enough to drive anyone nuts. The meals have to be perfect, the sleeping arrangements have to be comfortable, and the decorations have to be splendid. The holiday season is supposed to be a time of family, friends, and fun; however, we often lose sight of the greater meaning in the lust of preparation and gift giving. Gifts are great, we all love and look forward to them, but the holidays are about so much more than just gifts. It is really a blessing just to be in the presence of family and old friends. That alone should be the center of the holiday attention. There’s some people you only get to see once a year or so, and yet more attention is focused on their gift than the actual person. I encourage you to spend some more time with your friends and friends, the time you get to spend with them really is special.
And of course your dearest friends and family deserve a special gift too, but watch out for the holiday stress and anxiety when choosing that very special present.
