Buy Nothing Christmas
Buy Nothing Christmas is an initiative which was started by some Canadian Mennonites to de-commercialize Christmas and to challenge people’s over-consumptive lifestyles.
In short, thinking outside the box (store) for Christmas presents.
Some of the alternatives suggested included making gifts (arts and crafts type stuff), making food, giving IOUs for services like babysitting, gifting things that you already own but no longer use, the gift of open source software…
They don’t outright forbid buying presents (it’s impractical) but they encourage people to pay attention to what they’re buying and where they’re buying it. They suggest local stores, fair-trade shops, garage sales or thrift shops and trying to buy high quality items that are going to last a long time rather than buying cheap junk that’s going to probably break in the next year or two.
In general, I love the idea.
However, part of my problem is I generally get into the idea of it being Christmas time far later in the game than most people (it’s December 23rd and I’m JUST beginning to feel a little bit like it should be Christmas soon) which doesn’t give me a whole lot of time to prepare and a “Buy Nothing Christmas” in my mind might be less stressful because you’re not worrying about shopping, but it does take some planning in advance….. preferably not three days ahead of time planning in advance.
Also, not buying for people is a bit of a stumbling block at times…. You find yourself wondering, “Is this person going to appreciate what I give him/her, or are they going to think I’m being cheap because I gave them a homemade scarf instead of a video game?” It’s interesting how we’ve been conditioned to think that the only acceptable presents are the ones you buy in box stores.
I think you'd be surprised how many people would love to make Christmas more about the spirit and less about the box. I was pretty much feeling the way you do when I wrote my Bah-humbug rant a couple of weeks ago. So much of the stress around Christmas is this idea that we HAVE to give and we HAVE to give in BIG ways. When I decided that I wasn't going to give to everyone I have given to in the past, I was worried how that would be received. I knew there would be people who might even be offended or disappointed that I didn't give to them. I gave them cards explaining my decision to give to a charity instead. I was pleasantly surprised how many people were, at least outwardly, pleased and supported my decision.
Perhaps the key to making it work and not disappointing or worrying about people thinking you "cheap" would be to make the commitment to go in this direction, then let your recipients know in advance. Wouldn't it be nice to start a whole new trend?