Why All the Spending?

Are you shopping today? Are you out “saving money” while you’re spending money? Sounds ridiculous right? Yes, the Christmas season is upon us, and yes, we feel the compulsion to purchase gifts, and to do so at a savings (if we’re going to buy gifts then we should save money). But let’s think about what we might be teaching our children.

Did you leave the dining room table yesterday while the turkey was still hot, and your guests had just had their first nibble of stuffing just to get a deal? This is my opinion, so don’t take it as gospel or fact, but by doing this are we teaching our children that getting a deal is more important then spending time with family and friends? Not are we losing possible family time to this so called “Black Friday” business we are losing our minds just thinking about it.

I believe that saving is important but I believe more strongly in creating a holiday that is stress free. Wouldn’t be fun to spend a “Black Friday” crafting with our kids and family? Okay, it might not be depending on the family type but I feel that we could have a game day, a movie day, a jammie day any kind of day besides “Black”. Trust me, in a society that is consumer based if we, as consumers, stop running out the door at 8 pm on Thanksgiving to get a deal the retailers will create another day further down the road like….I don’t know; “Black Monday” like the internet retailers did, and leave a very important holiday that is more heart driven (Thanksgiving) alone.

Real gratitude, love, and well wishing as a precursor to Christmas and the holidays seems a much better way to spend our time and our lives. Trust me, I’m not an angel. Heck; I left my Thanksgiving celebration early this year because I just wanted to be home where it is quiet. I’ve lived alone my entire life, and family chaos can be a little hard at times; so don’t think I stand in judgement but let’s really try to teach our children from the get-go that Thanksgiving, and Christmas are equally important, and that deal finding is good but not more important then they are.