O holy night, ‘tis the holiday season … the time when corporations throw out their best advertising masterpieces to fill your home with holiday cheer and, most importantly, the latest iPad. Housewives take advantage of the early bird specials, and students rush to pick up their end of the year bonuses from working at department stores. Ah, yes, it is that time of year again, when masses of people frantically rush to stores to buy whatever is in sight, and companies laugh joyously as they sweep in the year’s final profits.
Yet for me … 2011’s Christmas seemed to differ from the past. The malls seemed a tad quieter, consumers seemed to be carrying fewer shopping bags … and I seemed to have received fewer gifts.
As the economy continues to struggle, my family has found itself unwilling to spend much during the holidays. Gifts have become limited to family and closer friends, and the consumeristic Christmas that we all know so well has started to wane.
I thought that it was just me who was experiencing a more frugal Christmas. But after talking to a few friends about their holidays, I found that they too feel that Christmas seemed less prominent in their minds. Call me crazy, but I almost forgot about Christmas Day when it arrived.
My sister and I only took a few hours at Target to grab some small gifts for friends during our regular shopping spree. We bought each other things that we would have had to purchase anyway. With money being on the short end, I found that people limited the quantity of their gifts, and for this reason felt that Christmas was less distinct in their minds this year. They spent less time finding gifts and less time wrapping them.
My family members are normally frequent shoppers. However, during this holiday season, unless a product was marked down notably, it went untouched. Paul Ballew, chief economist at Nationwide, told CNNMoney that “retailers still had to incentivize shoppers to come out of their foxhole…” By the final week of Christmas, retailers had to mark down their inventories significantly to entice shoppers to spend before the holiday’s end.
I realized that giving small, homemade gifts was much more meaningful. My friends and I have reverted to painting cards and knitting scarves for each other rather than going out to buy them. Gifts have also become more practical. I received items that I would have had to buy anyway, such as clothing and suitcases. It differed drastically from when birthdays and special holidays meant I received gifts that I wouldn’t normally purchase for myself. Video games, gold watches and Louis Vuitton scarves were not under my Christmas tree this year.
Yes, Christmas has become skimpier as the economy continues to struggle. This may have been a Christmas tainted by economic hardship, but for me the original meaning of Christmas has started to return.
The focus has shifted from the latest trend to spending quality time with the family. Homemade gifts are carefully handcrafted with love to be given in place of diamond earrings. We ended up spending more time with each other than at the mall. Appreciation for the small things in life has revived itself.
So at least for Christmas, maybe this economy is not a crisis. Our society has been so wrapped up in spending money that when there is no money to spend on gifts, it seems to be a “crisis.” But when there is a limit on how much I can spend for the holidays, physical gifts are no longer as important as they once seemed.
Comment Policy
Comments should remain on topic, concerning the article or blog post to which they are connected. Brevity is encouraged. Posting under a pseudonym is discouraged, but permitted. The Daily Cal encourages readers to voice their opinions respectfully in regard to the readers, writers and contributors of The Daily Californian. Comments are not pre-moderated, but may be removed if deemed to be in violation of this policy. Click here to read the full comment policy.