Stop The Christmas Madness!

I'm not a grinch...I'm really not. Okay...so I don't get into Christmas like most people. I could care less about "Satan Claus"...uh...I mean "Santa Claus" and everyone should know by now that Jesus was NOT born on December 25th. I think the entire world, is "ho-ing" (sorry, can't think of another word right now) out this holiday for selfish reasons. "Jesus Is the Reason for the Season"...what?!? Jesus is the reason you're alive...and not just for a season. It's strange to me how more people seem to identify and isolate Jesus to being that little baby in the manger and not the Sovereign Son of God, Lord and Savior who came to take away the sins of the world. We don't identify Jesus around Christmas as much as we do Santa, so don't give me that "Jesus Is The Reason for the Season" stuff. To most it's a nice, politically correct thing to say. For those of you that like to spell Christmas as "X-mas"...uh...it doesn't fly with me. What does that "X" mean? Does it represent the cross or Christ? Does it represent your non-belief in Jesus Christ?
What do you think would happen if people celebrated the Christmas season and not a single gift would be exchanged? Periodically on the news in my city, there was a segment about how they shelters for battered women were full because of lack of employment. WHAT?? So, you're saying...because men have lost their jobs, out of frustration their beating wives more. And now their beating them even more because of the stress that Christmas brings? What a bunch of malarkey! A REAL man doesn't beat his wife or kids out of frustration!! If you do, then you exhibited that behavior way before you lost your job, dude!
Stop The Christmas Madness!
Sorry...back to the topic. I want a moratorium on gift giving during Christmas. I am not talking about donations (or gift-giving) to charities or people in need. I'm saying, stop the madness of giving someone a gift solely because they gave you one. Case and point. Sad to say but one year, I wanted to take all of my gifts back to their respective stores with the exception of maybe 2 or 3. I'm sorry but you can tell when a person gives real thought to the gift they give and when they don't. You can tell no real thought was given about the gift when:
-You can tell your gift was one of those on the $10 table by the door of the store.
-The gift matches no part of who you are.
-The gift matches no decor in your home.
-The gift is one of those "As Seen On TV" gadgets.
-The gift is something you're allergic to.
-The gift is something you can't even eat.
-The gift is so ugly, you can only think it was re-gifted.
Stop The Christmas Madness!
I'm one of those people that gives gifts...when I want to, not because I think I have to. Is that wrong? I mean, how can that be wrong? I don't only give gifts to people during the Christmas holiday. I give gifts when I think of that person, or when I see a special something that I'd like to bless the person with. That kind of giving "happens" throughout the entire year. Believe me when I say, when you don't give any thought to the gift you give, it shows.
I got married almost 10 years ago. We got some of the most god-awful gifts! We got:
-A snow globe with a castle in it. WTH!!
-An ugly green vase with 4 sprigs of yellow fake flowers.
-A poster of one of those pictures that you have to stare real hard at to figure out the picture...inside the picture.
-A set of glass dishes that looked like they had been salvaged from a yard sale.
I mean people, people, people...if you can't afford a gift, don't feel obligated to gift just ANYTHING! A nice card with a personalized note would have been far more appreciated. One of my very good friends always gifts me with something that was in the $10 or $15 section of some store. What's sad about this, is that I've known this person since I was a teenager. Why she feels obligated to get me just any random gift is beyond me, but how do you tell people, "Please...even if I give you a gift for Christmas, PLEASE don't give me one in return." LOL This year, she gave me a gift I immediately wanted to return or re-gift (yes, I WILL re-gift if I know it fits someone else better than myself). I mean, I really wanted to give it back to her and say, "Please...go get your money back." Oh well...I'm sure it will be at the next yard sale.
Stop The Christmas Madness!
Since there will never be (anything but a self-imposed) a moratorium on gift giving during the Christmas season, I've already started thinking about the gift I want to give to certain people in 2009 and we are only 4 days out from Christmas. Why? Because I get great joy out of giving and great thought to my gifts and I want at least a year to purchase it, so I won't just hand out a generic, obligatory gift at the last minute that someone can't use. This year, I bought and wrapped the gifts for all the adult females in my family by June! Yes, I said June! I purchase exactly what I wanted them to have. I gave great thought in the gift and it made the impact that I wanted it to make. Mind you, the gift for each was under $10. It wasn't the price of the gift that I was gifting, it was the sentiment behind it. Maybe I'm one of those rare people who don't WANT anything back in return. Maybe it's because I'm very practical and I don't like kitsch mucking up my house.
So...I've thought about some cool things people could "gift" at Christmas:
-Family portrait swap
-Barter (e.g., if I'm a chef, I could make 6 gourmet meals and if you're a carpet cleaner, you could clean my carpet 6 times in a year)
-Certificates (e.g. for babysitting, cleaning, drycleaning, manicure, pedicure, hair salon, fav grocery store)
We're in a declining economy and no one should be spending money frivolously just because it's Christmas.
Okay, so maybe I'm assuming everyone is as practical as I am! LOL Who cares? I'm allowed...it's MY blog. :)
Stop The Christmas Madness!
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