The Giving Season

The Holiday Season is now underway.  Only TWENTY SIX DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS! Let the frantic, panicked shopping melee ensue!!

This is the first December in a long time that I am not working in a retail store.  For the past nine years, I sacrificed time with friends and families in November and December for a paycheck.  I witnessed first-hand how downright awful people can be when fighting for "that perfect gift." In my opinion, Black Friday, the kickoff to holiday shopping, has gotten way, way out of hand.  Retailers competing for first and biggest share of consumer dollars are pushing their store openings back onto Thanksgiving Day itself, in some cases.  I think we all agree that the lady in the Target commercials needs some serious help.  And the scary thing is, that depiction of holiday shoppers is really not that far off.  Perhaps that's why it bothers us all so much. The frenzy of consumer spending might be good for the economy, but man... when has it gone too far?  And is it worth it, just to get a good deal?


Warning: These videos may not be suited for all audiences...

This year, on Black Friday, I slept in.  I did not go to work. I did not get up at an ungodly hour to go shopping.  I did not pass Go. I did not collect $200.  And that was just fine.  I spent the day with my husband.  We did venture out in the evening to go to Havre to enjoy dinner and a movie.  The fact that our date night coincided with Black Friday was purely coincidental.  As a major shopping area for our corner of the state, I expected Havre to be busier when we rolled into town mid-afternoon.  It was no busier than on a normal weekday afternoon, however, and Jeff and I surmised people left town to shop in Great Falls or other larger cities.

This lead us to a discussion on gift-giving.  We both feel that supporting our local businesses is better than driving to support businesses in someone else's town. I feel buying local, giving hand-made, recycled, vintage, or experiential gifts are the way to go.  To tie this in with the rural living theme of my blog, I'd like to also add that failure to shop locally in our small-town businesses is a contributing factor to our small towns disappearing. If your holiday celebrations involve gift-giving, consider where your money is being spent and where it will go, and how the gift you give will ultimately be used or cherished by the recipient.  The best "deal" is a meaningful gift, given with love.

I'm not saying that none of my gifts will be purchased from commercial chain stores, because some of them will. But they will be mixed with experiential giving, such as preparing a delicious holiday meal for friends and family, or tickets to a basketball game or White Christmas musical, in the belief that time spent together is a great gift in itself. I will also likely include homemade gifts I have made myself or purchased through a site like Etsy.  Gifts I do buy in stores will be thoughtfully chosen with the recipient in mind, and not likely to be This Year's Hot Item.

With all that being said... ONLY TWENTY SIX DAYS LEFT UNTIL CHRISTMAS! Let the Giving Season begin!


You can find someone for EVERYONE at Etsy:
Shop LOCAL, HANDMADE, VINTAGE