T’is the season of good cheer and cold nights. T’is the season of caroling and twinkling lights. T’is the season to buy, buy, buy.
As much as I enjoy the season, I find myself recoiling from the wanton consumption of the holidays. It’s not like people already don’t have enough things.
Yet all attempts to suppress buying more are swept aside in the spirit of “giving” and to opt out is to face scorn or worse, labeled “cheap.”
A recent article in the NY Times echoed this sentiment in Jolly and Green, With an Agenda:
The holidays have always been an emotionally combustible time for families, bringing together a sometimes volatile mix of siblings, crotchety grandparents and ill-behaved children. But in recent years, a new figure has joined the celebration, to complicate the proceedings even further: the green evangelist of the family – the impassioned activist bent on eradicating the wasteful materialism of the holidays.
I’m lucky, as my family switched over to a “Secret Santa” model years ago (where each of us only buys a gift for one other family member). But to those of you caught in the throes of buying for family, friends, and coworkers, coming up with the cash and conscience to pull it off is difficult.
How to bring others to see the green light? Educate them. A large reason over-consumption can exist unchecked is because most of us are so far apart from the consequences.
Witness an excellent new film The Story of Stuff:
So now that you’ve enlightened your friends and family to the destruction of excess, they’re wondering what to do instead. Years of buying everything has left most of us with an inability to imagine the myriad of creative gifts we can make with time and our hands.
Here’s a few ideas from BuyNothingChristmas.org:
- Compile a recipe book
- Shoot a homemade film
- Donate to a charity in their name
- Creat a custom calendar
- Paint a picture
- …the ideas are endless
So go ahead, act against the grain. You may be teased, scorned, mocked on the surface, but underneath, your actions make a difference. They plant that subtle seed of change, which may take a few years to peek its head out of the dirt, but with enough repetition, the results will appear.
And soon you may be on the receiving end of a pretty cool custom calendar.
What are some ideas you’ve come up with for Christmas gifts? Share in the comments!
Ian MacKenzie is editor of Brave New Traveler. Aside from writing, he spends his time exploring the fundamental nature of existence and wishing he did more backpacking.About the Author
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12 Comments... join the discussion!
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Actually we do celebrate Thanksgiving up here! Only it’s in October instead of November. An American friend of mine actually asked me recently if it was to commemorate the early settlers like the US one – in fact, our Thanksgiving is to celebrate the traditional harvest time, along the European tradition. Take that Yankees!
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I hate to be the ugly materialist in the debate, but is there really a huge difference between me buying my mom a book about Tudor England and me making her a recipe book or a calendar? (Aside from the fact that the last two will be ugly as, since I am notoriously hopeless with arts’n'crafts…) I mean, either way it’s dead trees, right? Sure it saves me money but I’m not sure it’s all that much greener. Is it?
I could be missing something here or maybe I’m taking it too literally, but almost everything on BuyNothingChristmas.org’s list still involves BUYING stuff – baking ingredients, craft supplies, blank tapes, whatever. I happen to think it’s really nice – if you have the time and skills – to make something yourself for your friends and family, but I don’t see how it’s that much greener, really. And it’s still “stuff” even if homemade stuff.
I don’t know, I’m not really saying anything coherent I guess, just raising any objection I can seize on because I hate being guilted about something that should be joyful. I hate being told I am being immoral by picking out a thoughtful treat once a year for my loved ones. (Not you, Ian. You’ve stated it very tastefully. But some people really turn on the guilt.)
Maybe instead of buying nothing for others, people should ask that their friends and family buy nothing for them? That way the rest of us can go on our merry consuming way…
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You bring up a good point Eva. It’s virtually impossible to give a gift (or even exist) without consuming something. it terms of ideas like “Buy Nothing” I’ve always taken them as essentially “buy or use less.”
So if you’re making something with items that you probably already have around the home, or even if you have to buy a couple (extra tapes, paper) at least the thing you’re making will have sentimental value beyond a week.
One of the most interesting statistics from that film I embedded above is: of the “things” people buy for themselves, only 1% are still in use after 6 months. The rest is chucked in the trash/recycled whatever only to be replaced with more & more stuff.
I think your last suggestion is a good one: just ask others to not buy a gift for yourself. Even then, some friends/family will see that as self-righteous taunting. But I’m a firm believer that you can’t make anyone else change their thinking by force – you can only lead by example.
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a couple of other suggestions:
A service – like a pedicure or a massage. Either by you or by a company. Doesn’t clutter up the garbage dump, doesn’t take up space in the apt (which I hate when people give me stuff!) and can help your loved one chill out.
Something that they were already probably going to buy for themself eventually anyway because they need it, like clothing (if you’re not sure about their size/taste, then try gift certificate). Or dinner out (they were going to eat that day anyway, right?).↵ -
Living through a corporate driven, consumption free, debt free Christmas is high on my list every year, but I only attain it to varying degrees and sometimes I miserably fail.
Recently, our nuclear family has taken to traveling on Christmas Day for a little trip…preferably away from the usual family hot spots, to somewhere warm, cozy, with good cheer. This avoids the entire “Must Buy Many Gifts For Extended Family Members” scene, and assures we’re investing instead in experience or opportunity, rather than buying more stuff we and they don’t need while feeding The Machine.
I did however, spend 4 hours at the Mall two days ago in search of one measly $25 gift for my brother in law. It was a nightmare. It bummed me out and I returned present-less and panicked. But necessity was the mother of invention, and by nightfall this is the gift package I put together: homemade currant jelly, homegrown and shucked popcorn, 2 CD’s of music i burned, and printed photographs of the kids. The kids’ homemade card topped off the package and though I still felt really, really cheap for a few hours, It’s growing on me. I hope the virus spreads.
I’d rather be considered cheap than consumptive. Its the new vogue.
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I like the idea of giving a service. Also, great link to the buynothingchristmas.com! I’ll have to use that one.
My family is switching over to donations to your favorite charity and then doing some volunteering together as a way to foccus on giving and not consuming. It’s been working great, but it’s hard for the kids to understand when their friends are getting tons of presents.
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If buying something is what YOU really want to do and what you are giving is coming from the heart then I think that it is just as good as making something. The point most people seem to miss during holiday times these days is that the real meaning is about being thankful, enjoying family and friends etc. Feeling obligated to buy or even make something is against the whole idea of the holidays. Thats what people need to be educated about. Most people buy gifts because they feel obligated or worried someone might get them something so must counter that by getting a gift too. I have used the ‘don’t get me anything’ line, it has worked. The people who still give me something usually only give something small anymore.
Things I have done for thoughtful gifts:
Custom photo album
Photo Christmas cards (I like taking photos so works for me)
*choose something you are good at and like doing and turn it into meaningful gifts
Homemade cookies or food (things I know will be consumed and not thrown out, unless I botch the recipe)Love the give to a charity idea
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We also switched to the “Secret Santa†model this year with a $50 cap…considering the fact that, culturally, we never really followed the christmas gift giving thing consistently.
When I was growing up, gift giving meant giving gifts when people least expected it, not out of obligation.
Our Christmas holidays were just spent physically being together and talking and laughing for hours about absolutely nothing
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We seemed to have dodged the season of stuff bullet (it ain’t just Xmas, Hannukah has it too) this year by traveling, but we have a passel of January birthdays in our tribe, so it’s not over yet.
I’ve tried, where possible to give more transient stuff. Edibles are always good, but I like to give tix to shows – live music, the ballet, blah blah blah. Less stuff, more experiences. Yum.
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Ian, I’m unfortunately a little late on commenting on this one.
That said, this is a great piece. This was the first Christmas ever that my entire family took a step back from the rampant consumerism to say “Enough is enough.” Each person bought only one gift for one other person and that was it.
It turned out to be the most stress-free, enjoyable holiday season in recent memory.
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I pretty much agree. After all, it’s the thought that counts and a lot of expensive presents that relatives have given me I couldn’t stand to begin with. It’s better to only give people presents if you actually know what they would like, otherwise don’t bother.
Secret Santa is a good solution because it forces people to be creative and if they buy something stupid, then at least the damage isn’t too with a price cap.
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