Merry Christmas!

Last year in my family we had all come to the conclusion that the stress of buying gifts, that really we don't need, is silly and wasteful, so we stopped. I still exchanged gifts with some close friends because it was kind of too late to back out, as some of them had already gotten things for me. Don't get me wrong, I do think it's fun to pick out a surprise for someone & see their face when they open it. But I've become rather disgusted by American consumerism pretty much every day of the year, and I won't even get started on Christmas. Seriously*. I shouldn't even go there**. Plus, I just can't stand the meaningless "obligated gifts" because they got you something, or the "I don't know you well enough to pick out something you'd actually love, so I got you this uber-generic gift" or the "just tell me what you want & I'll go to the store and get it for you gifts" blah-blah-blah. Growing up I don't ever remember making a list of what I wanted or really even asking for some big thing. My mom just knew me well enough to pick out something I'd like (plus, we didn't exactly have the money to do it any other way). It just seems like telling someone what you want defeats the whole purpose anyway, especially now that we are all old enough & make enough money to buy what we want when we want it. Never mind the fact that presents is not what Christmas is supposed to be about anyway! Gah!

I have decided to individually participate in the Advent Conspiracy this Christmas. It's a wonderful thing! And, I'm so glad it has exploded and gripped so many people this year. So, my group of friends that I exchanged gifts with this year grew much smaller, and in light of Advent Conspiracy, I am giving relational gifts. I bought a board game & Kids in the Kitchen cookbook for a family to use together, a cake decorating class for a friend and I to take together, etc. And it must be getting to other people, too, because I have gotten really great sustainable gifts from my friends this year (either that or they just don't want to set me off for fear of having to listen to hours and hours of my ranting)!

I feel like all of this discussion is leading to more questioning and searching, and eventually deeper relationship. After all, Christmas actually is all about our relationship with Christ!


Okay, I could make a list a mile long, but I can't hold these back:
*We spent $455 BILLION last year on Christmas in the United States alone. Excuse me while I go throw up***.
**Have you seen the Wal-mart commercials? The ones with the message about how shopping at Wal-mart saves you thousands of dollars a year, and that way you can give more at the holidays? Right! If I shop at Wally World where I continue to support the evil empire & oppress more & more people, then I can give Wal-Mart executives even more money for crap that will end up in a landfill more gifts to charity. Isn't that nice of me? Gosh, shopping at Wal-Mart really makes me feel good about myself.
***Did you know it costs about $2500 for a well in Africa? And that divided by the number of people who use it, that averages out to about $10 per person. We spend more than that on stalking stuffers. We could give not only CLEAN WATER, but LIFE, to those who desperately need it, and practically at no cost when you consider how much we overspend at Christmas.