Bleh. There's my attitude about Black Friday.
I enjoy gifting for the Holidays, but somewhere along the trip between Turkey Day and the end of December, everything gets out of control. I'm home sick today, so I've had the television on. Political campaigns are replaced with ads for Kohl's, WalMart, JC Penney and Target. Some stores are opening at Midnight on Black Friday. Some are even staying open over Thanksgiving, but holding back Black Friday merchandise so people can assemble in the store for Midnight deals. What is the joy behind wading into crowds in the middle of the night? Is some preschooler honestly going to appreciate the fact that you battled a tryptophan hangover to jostle through grabby shoppers who'll descend into violence over a toy?
I remember the ridiculousness which broke out over Cabbage Patch Kids in 1981.
I enjoy gifting for the Holidays, but somewhere along the trip between Turkey Day and the end of December, everything gets out of control. I'm home sick today, so I've had the television on. Political campaigns are replaced with ads for Kohl's, WalMart, JC Penney and Target. Some stores are opening at Midnight on Black Friday. Some are even staying open over Thanksgiving, but holding back Black Friday merchandise so people can assemble in the store for Midnight deals. What is the joy behind wading into crowds in the middle of the night? Is some preschooler honestly going to appreciate the fact that you battled a tryptophan hangover to jostle through grabby shoppers who'll descend into violence over a toy?
I remember the ridiculousness which broke out over Cabbage Patch Kids in 1981.
Newschannels showed a frenzy over an item I thought was stupid. Moms didn't even look at what they took. They just pushed, shoved, grabbed and ran for the registers. My mother was under the impression that I wanted one and I quickly told her 'no.' No one needs to dive into a riot for a gift. This applies to any future edition of the Wii, Xbox, Playstation, Android or iPhone. In the case of game systems, some aren't even grabbing them for gifts. They're flipping them on eBay for twice the retail price. We're supposedly thinking creatures. We're better than this.
It's rare but refreshing to come across parents who put some reality back into Christmas. So, the kid wants an XBox. Great. We'll add that to the to-do list and pick one up when Johnny kicks off Summer Break with a good report card. When I was in high school, I wanted a Nintendo NES. My parents flatly refused to get one. I had to earn the money to buy it myself. It became a consuming obsession because all the games I wanted were over $40. So, I worked for the system and had to keep going to get the games. We didn't have Gamefly back then. Gamefly is somewhat pricey, but pure genius. It has to be a cash cow for Hodess and Spector. It's $15.95/mo or $22.95/mo depending on which plan you sign up for. It's definitely less than buying two or three games per month.
Even better, one of my former coworkers refused to buy a game system a few years ago. He openly told his kids they weren't getting one and not to bother asking. He didn't do it to be mean, even though some people painted him that way. He did it because he wanted his kids to play outside.
Are there still some good traditions to lock onto for the Holidays? Absolutely. Volunteering is excellent. There are no shortage of food, clothing and toy drives around town to get involved with. I'm a fan of Toys for Tots. It's fun to watch little kids pick out gifts to donate to toy drives. If you have friends or family serving overseas, get involved with soldier and family support causes. Coordinate care packages for soldiers or for military families who are struggling to make ends meet. If that's not your speed, coordinate something in your neighborhood. Potlucks, ornament exchanges, recipe swaps and outdoor tree decorating parties are a great way to bring neighbors together and make friends.
Past that, there's nothing wrong with a quiet Holiday with family. If you can't get along with your biological family, create a 'family' with the friends around you. Start a tradition among yourselves. Reflection and good cheer are mandatory. Gifts are fun, but optional.
...And turn the TV off.
It's rare but refreshing to come across parents who put some reality back into Christmas. So, the kid wants an XBox. Great. We'll add that to the to-do list and pick one up when Johnny kicks off Summer Break with a good report card. When I was in high school, I wanted a Nintendo NES. My parents flatly refused to get one. I had to earn the money to buy it myself. It became a consuming obsession because all the games I wanted were over $40. So, I worked for the system and had to keep going to get the games. We didn't have Gamefly back then. Gamefly is somewhat pricey, but pure genius. It has to be a cash cow for Hodess and Spector. It's $15.95/mo or $22.95/mo depending on which plan you sign up for. It's definitely less than buying two or three games per month.
Even better, one of my former coworkers refused to buy a game system a few years ago. He openly told his kids they weren't getting one and not to bother asking. He didn't do it to be mean, even though some people painted him that way. He did it because he wanted his kids to play outside.
Are there still some good traditions to lock onto for the Holidays? Absolutely. Volunteering is excellent. There are no shortage of food, clothing and toy drives around town to get involved with. I'm a fan of Toys for Tots. It's fun to watch little kids pick out gifts to donate to toy drives. If you have friends or family serving overseas, get involved with soldier and family support causes. Coordinate care packages for soldiers or for military families who are struggling to make ends meet. If that's not your speed, coordinate something in your neighborhood. Potlucks, ornament exchanges, recipe swaps and outdoor tree decorating parties are a great way to bring neighbors together and make friends.
Past that, there's nothing wrong with a quiet Holiday with family. If you can't get along with your biological family, create a 'family' with the friends around you. Start a tradition among yourselves. Reflection and good cheer are mandatory. Gifts are fun, but optional.
...And turn the TV off.