Feeling the pinch? Go Grinch!

This season at OurSwaps HQ, we’re very impressed by Buy Nothing Christmas and Xmas Resistance, two very different campaigns with similar intentions.
Although I’m not particularly well-versed in the practices and beliefs of the Canadian Mennonite community, I think the idea of pausing amidst the consumer craziness and reflecting on the true meaning of giving is really valuable.
I can’t be alone in feeling a sense of resentment that I’m obliged to run around the city buying stuff I know people don’t really want or need simply because it’s a public holiday. I’m not religious, so marking this day has no real meaning for me. Like most of my peers, for me Christmas is a festival of excess consumption – eating my own body weight in turkey, drinking far too much, enduring hour upon hour of rubbish television and the company of people I don’t usually spend prolonged periods of time with (love you mum!)
Year after year, we see reports of families finding it hard to cope, running up huge credit card debts to finance the purchase of expensive gifts and seeing in the New Year with a severe fiscal hangover. People feel an enormous pressure to shop beyond their means, squandering their hard-earned cash on items which are highly likely to end up in landfill within the next few years. Surely something has got to give!
I know a lot of people who’ve been hit hard by the recession already, and the financial forecasts seem to indicate that times are likely to remain tough for a good while to come. For this reason - amongst many others - it’s high time we re-evaluated our Christmas compulsive behavior. Why not try making a gift for your nearest and dearest this year? The reason “it’s the thought that counts” is such a cliché is because it’s true – people don’t need sweatshop made products to know that you love them. Remember how happy your granny was when you gave her that dog-eared home-made Christmas card, covered in glitter and paint and your grubby six year old fingerprints? It wasn’t (only) because she’d been at the sherry; it was because you’d put in time and care into her gift.
I’m not being stingy, but I’d rather put my energy and money where it counts. Instead of buying presents that your loved ones may find hard to reciprocate or have little need for, why not make them something they’d like? Or if your craft skills haven’t developed much beyond six year old level, why not opt to make a donation on someone’s behalf through a charity like Kiva?
It’s going to make more of a true, meaningful difference to someone’s life than any number of bath salts and socks. You might have to check with a Mennonite, but I’m pretty sure that was the whole point of Christmas, once upon a time….