Dear Minions!
First up, since I seem to never post on a weekly (or even monthly) basis, I've decided to at the very least post on the Sabbaths ( the equinoxes/solstices/cross quarter Sabbaths)! Alright, now that that little promise has been made, on to the post!
'Tis the season is supposed to be a happy sentiment, invoking thoughts of hot chocolate by the fire place on a cold winter night, but more and more I find myself using it in a negative way, ie. comment, "That woman was so mean", response, " Well, 'Tis the season!". I work in retail, and see that with every day we draw nearer to December 24th, people are more short tempered, ruder and stingier. Whatever happened to the season of peace, good will and hope? It seems these days the focus of the season is on getting every toy on a 6 year-old's Christmas list or burying your teenager in the newest electronics and trendiest fashions. It kills me a little inside to see people pulling their hair out because they have 34 people to buy for. For (enter your deity's name here) sake, people were shot on "Black Friday" so that someone else could get the best deal!!! By no means do I want to get into a war over which ideology is right, but where is the God in that?!?!?!?!
When did we lose our grip on the widespread meaning of the holiday? Whether you celebrate Christmas, Yule, Chanukah, Kwanza, Saturnalia, or any other religious holiday this time of year, they all have the same message in their core; being with family/people you care about (sometimes families aren't all they're hyped up to be), giving to those in need, building community, rejoicing in the longer days to come and wishing peace upon those you love for the coming year! Not this materialistic brain washing that is rampant in our society! I found a perfect example of this today on my Facebook feed, a woman I know put up a post asking if anyone had ideas for Christmas gifts for a 4 month old! SERIOUSLY? A FOUR MONTH OLD!?!?! It just goes to show the rampant consumerism of our generation and the obsession with "things" that drives many people to bankruptcy in our damaged economy.
I may sound hypocritical for this 'anti-consumerism' rant considering I work in retail and I don't mean to say that you shouldn't buy gifts for your loved ones, I'm simply trying express that you don't need to buy $100 worth of stuff for everyone in your immediate family, extended family, your cousin's best friend's family's cat and everyone/thing in between! How about we all trim down our lists to buying a few gifts for our immediate family, a small trinket for the extended family closest to us and lovely Holiday themed cards for our friends ( you could even throw a $2 scratch ticket in there!)?
When I was growing up my family wasn't well off financially, my mother had to make a lot of sacrifices for us to have food on the table most days. At Christmas time we would get a new dress, a stocking full of things we needed ( like underwear, socks, travel toiletries for when we visited family), Santa/Sinter Claus (we're Dutch) would get us a few small gifts ( maybe a stuffed animal, a puzzle, a sweater, a new pair of shoes for the spring) and our parents would give us the really special present! The special present was generally the only gift we got from our Christmas list and was always reasonably priced ( usually between $25-$60). A couple years after my father passed ( sadly his passing relieved a great strain on our finances) my sister and I each got a Gameboy Colour! Other than a very used Sega Genesis, which was a mostly a gift for my dad, it was the first piece of electronic/gaming equipment we ever got and we cherished them! That year Santa got us each a big pack of value brand batteries that had to last us the whole year.
My best Christmas memories aren't of the gifts I received, they're of the times we spent together as a family. I remember my mom bundling us up Christmas Eve to make the 3-5 hour journey (depending on the weather) to my grandparent's house, whom we only got to see about 4 times a year. I remember sitting around the big table at my Aunt's house chattering away to any grown up who would listen. I remember scarfing down my chocolate letters so fast I got a tummy ache. I remember running around the back fields on the farm with my little sister and playing in the big Elm tree behind the house. I remember making snow angels and tobogganing with my older cousins. I remember sleeping in the great room and trying my hardest to stay awake and catch a glimpse of Sinter Claus, I remember my grand father reading us fairy tales while we ate cookies my grand mother had made. I remember staying up late to watch the Lawrence Welk Christmas Special and Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer. I remember making little gift boxes out of old Christmas cards with my aunt and uncle for the small gifts I would give to my grand parents and friends. I remember making bird feeders out of pinecones, peanut butter and seeds and hanging them outside on Christmas Day. I remember waking up early on Boxing Day, not for the sales, but to see the cardinals and blue jays eating from the feeders we made as my grand mother made breakfast for us. The novelty of the toys would wear off after a week or two, but the memories I made with my family are still a comfort to this day!
I guess the whole point of this tirade and fond recollection is that there are many ways to make the Holidays memorable besides spending obscene amounts of money on material possessions. I generally make all of my gifts, it often costs me significantly less than I would spend if I bought all my gifts and my family and friends appreciate the thought, the time and the effort I put into picking out a fabric and making a unique gift for them! My mother always told me that the best thing you could do for your kids is spend half the money and twice the time on them! Cut your Christmas shopping in half, spend less time in the malls fighting your way to the toy section, waiting in line to pay for your insane amount of items and spend that wasted time surrounding yourself with your friends and family! Take the half hour you would spend looking for a parking spot and teach your children that possessions are worth a lot less than memories and fun! Bake cookies with your children to give as gifts to your co-workers, your co-workers and kids will appreciate it more! Take your kids out to the woods and collect pinecones to make bird feeders for their grandparents, aunts and uncles. By not buying so much for your children, you will inadvertently make the gifts they receive that much more special!
If you aren't a talented seamstress or don't know how to knit, there are still lots of ways you can make meaningful gifts for friends and family, the internet is full of craft blogs, cookie recipes, and easy DIY projects that cost a lot less money and take less time when you add up all those holiday line up wait times! It's amazing how quickly someone's expression of mild disappointment can change to sheer elation by simply telling them once they open their gift, "I made that for you"! When you give a truly thoughtful and meaningful gift, rather than a 'Made in China' piece of junk that someone thinks they 'want', it makes a big difference and that thing you made becomes cherished because it shows how much you really love that person. Every year when I ask my aunt what she wants for Christmas I get "Pajamas" as a quick and fervent reply, I've made her pajamas for the last 8 years and every year she's excited!
On the flip side, I know sewing enthusiasts who run themselves ragged trying to make ALL of their gifts while working full time and running a household, you don't have to go to that extreme either, buy a gift and make a gift, do a project that you know you can complete quickly/in an afternoon. START YOUR HOLIDAY SEWING IN OCTOBER! That's the best piece of advice I could possibly give to any new/veteran holiday crafter! Make something useful! Pajama pants/nightgowns are always appreciated, a stuffed toy for a niece/nephew, an iPod/iPad/e-reader case/laptop bag could be good gift ideas for the teens in your life, a little bit of thought goes a long way!
I know this has been a bit lengthy but this has been heavily weighing on my mind since the Christmas music started piping into the store and stirring everyone into a gift crazed frenzy! I hope this has been a bit of a wake up call to some and a reinforcement of values for others. I hope at least a few people ponder on the history of the Holiday Season, no matter what their cultural or religious beliefs, and try to reassert the old adage of 'less is more'. In the true spirit of the season I plan on donating a bunch of stuff to local organizations like thrift stores that donate their profits to local charities, as well has donating to the local Food Bank and Women's Shelters. There are lots of people who have a lot less than I do, that probably deserve a lot more. This is the time to give what you can and expect nothing back! If nothing else, it might quell my stash a bit too :)
So, Blessed Yule, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Kwanza and Merry-Whatever-The-Heck-Else-You-Celebrate!!!! And don't forget, as always my darlings.......
Keep kreepin'!
Missa Deadlove xoxo
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