Materialism killed the Christmas star

This year's holiday season has been different for me then in previous years. Usually, I am more then anxious to get the tree up, decorate the house and listen to Christmas music for a solid month. But this year I've had very little motivation. I can't quite put my finger on it but if it weren't for it being Owen's first Christmas, I might not have decorated at all. Is it possible to get Christmas fatigue before the season even begins? If so, I find that deeply disheartening.

The only conclusion that I could come up with was the massive amounts of blatant materialism that is assualting me at every outlet. Amanda, Carl and I were talking about one particular jewelry commercial where they out and out say "I Love you, the more you buy the more you say it". And don't even get me started on all the Target Commercials. Especially the one where the mother wakes her small children up at 12:01 a.m. so they can open their presents and start playing with them because she got "such a good deal". I find those specifically tacky. If you didn't need it to begin with then it's not a good deal even if it is on sale. But that's a side issue. This year, for me, materialism killed Christmas.


I recently read an article in a magazine about a family who challenged themselves to stop buying things for one year. At first, I thought they were crazy, so I just HAD to read the article.

It began with just trying to adjust their budget to stay afloat during the recession but turned into an overall lifestyle change. The more I read the more doable it seemed. Of course they still bought food and necessities. But they stopped buying things they didn’t need and started trying to make do with what they had. They stopped turning to shopping as a form of entertainment or a source of Happiness. When something broke, they didn’t run out a buy a new one, they simply made do without or used the resources they had to fix it. Instead of going to the movies, they stayed in and watched one they already had. Instead of going out to eat, they made dinner….Together. It became so much more then money and budgeting and became more of a bonding experience that brought their whole family together. It also made their kids appreciate things so much more when they received new clothes or shoes. They didn’t HAVE to live this way, it was a CHOICE.

That article got me to thinking. How much money is going out the door that we don’t really realize? How many DVD’s are still sitting on our shelf without ever even being opened? As society becomes more and more obsessed with the latest trends and become more and more disconnected from each other, I find myself being more and more turned off by the whole thing. Now, I love to shop, don't get me wrong. But I usually don't NEED to shop. The time I spend shopping could be used to play with my son, read one of the millions of books already on my shelf or perhaps finish my wedding scrapbook....finally. It's come to the point where some nights I just turn off my cell phone, computer and TV and just spend time by myself or with Owen. And you know what? These nights are the most relaxing and fulfilling.

So, Tim and I talked about all of this, the "things", money and lack of overall Christmas spirit and we decided to attempt to stop spending as well. Now, this sounds a lot worse then it really is. Of course we aren't going to not buy food, needed clothes, etc. We are just going to stop buying things we don't need (no matter how much we WANT them) for one year. We aren't perfect and I already know several things that might appear frivaless that we've already committed too. But once we've wrapped up our committments, we are done (or at least are going to try to be).

For example, we will not be going out for my Birthday in Feb. Instead, Tim is requesting off that day and we are going to be spending a quiet night in. And you know what? I am most excited about that then anything else. We've even already agreed to make our presents for each other for the next year. We aren't doing this for lack of money but by choice as an attempt to change the way we live and to lay a better ground work for teaching our son that it's not all about material things. How can we possibly instill these values in our son if we don't lead by example?

I am not telling you all this because I want to make you feel bad about your decisions or to come across as "preaching" about society as whole. I am simply telling you this as an attempt to share our new endeavor with you and to explain where we are coming from with it. But we also need your help by simply being supportive and understanding. I know not everyone will "get" what we are trying to do. I know that. And I know some people will think we are just being cheap when we decline invitations to go out. But this is a commitment we are ready to do and would appreciate your support in doing so.

And hopefully, by this time next year, I would have recovered my "Christmas Spirit".