11/14/2012
The holidays are about love, family, and goodwill to men, right? I have never heard the caroler sing, “silent night, corporate greed is alright.” Or “Jingle bells, buy your mama something she don’t need.” I have an idea! Let’s BUY NOTHING!! A consumption free holiday, is it possible? I believe so.
There are plenty of things you can do to show your loved ones that they are appreciated without spending money. Clean their house, make a craft, help with a chore, wash their car, make a meal and do the dishes, mow the lawn, w**d the garden, shovel the drive, give a hug, the list is endless.
If you feel you must spend some money, perhaps you have loved ones that live out of town, you can spend money, give a much appreciated gift, and all without buying more useless crap that only feeds our already broken system. Pay for a maid service from one of their local providers, get an oil change for their car, pay their water; gas; electric; car insurance; etc. bill, buy a craft from your local farmer’s market or etsy.com, check online; maybe their grocery store has a delivery service, or buy them a share in their local CSA’s upcoming crop.
Alas, maybe you have that one special person in your life that just MUST have the coolest gadget or toy. Buy it used! Try Craigslist, you could end up buying your loved one their dream gift, while supporting your neighbor and making their holiday great as well. You could also try pawn shops, thrift stores, independently owned used electronics stores.
The notion that without us trampling over each other just to blow our savings this holiday season, we are not helping the economy is a flat out lie! If we do all of our holiday shopping at the big box store, just as we have always done, we are only making our economy worse. We would be filling already full wallets, while leaving our friends and neighbors with empty pockets. The best way to support our economy is to support our neighbors and start shopping local ALWAYS for EVERYTHING!
Give your love, your time, and your friendship not more crap! Let’s make this holiday, make history!
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