P.G. Smith Author

Join the movement. Resist the oligarchs the only way we can. The time is now. Already shrill calls of Buy! Buy! Buy! fill the air. Even though we haven’t yet made it through Thanksgiving, the buying season is upon us.

And we have been well trained to respond. OMG!! It’s almost Christmas! I have to get my shopping done before it becomes a madhouse. Soon the Malls will be full to overflowing. There won’t even be any parking places. Better go early! Make that list. Or–if you have children (or grandchildren) they will make the list for you: here’s what I want, want, want–but this is a subject for another blog.

Right now we are all in a panic to get that shopping done before it turns into a nightmare. And the giant corporations are right there to help us do it. ‘We are here for you’ they say, smiling avariciously. That’s what Black Friday is all about. And if that’s not enough, there’s always Cyber Monday.

And it can be hard not to respond. They offer really good deals; and this has been a hard year. Inflation is up. Almost everything costs more, and nobody is making any more money than they ever did, and a lot of people have lost their jobs. So, it’s a tough year.

But here’s the suggestion. Think outside the box. Try to buy local. Go to the small stores, maybe even stores that are not in the mall. The local Mom and Pop places that are struggling to survive. Go to the Christmas fairs and craft fairs, and farmer’s markets.

Maybe, scale down a little. Do you really need new Christmas decorations? Don’t you already have more than you know what to do with? So, don’t buy more if you already have a lot. Appreciate what you already have.

And while we are on the subject of already having a lot, most people already have so much, it’s hard to figure out what to buy them, right? So, why not buy them food, like what you can buy at a Christmas fair: homemade pickles, salsa, preserves, candy. There’s all sorts of interesting treats out there that can be consumed instead of cluttering up people’s homes with even more stuff.

My daughter-in-law actually makes cookies and candy every year to give for Christmas. She is the only person I know who does that, but what a perfect thing to do. My mother once did it. I think it used to be more common. What happened to that tradition? Such a good symbol of the Christmas spirit to actually make something for people. How thoughtful.

I guess you get the idea. It is possible to get through Christmas without spending thousands of dollars online or fighting the crowds at the mall. Think outside the box. Have an old-fashioned Christmas. In this day and age it is an act of rebellion.