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View Full Version : Am I A Grinch, or Am I Right?



KristineS
11-23-2009, 03:07 PM
I will admit, I'm not a huge fan of the holiday season. There are a lot of reasons why, none of which I want to go into here, but I've never been a big holiday person. That's why I'm wondering if the fact that it bothers me that they started putting out Christmas stuff the day after Halloween makes me a Grinch, or do I have a point?

I mean I get that retailers are concerned this might be a down gift giving year, and I understand they want to maximize shopping days, but I think it's getting a bit ridiculous. It used to be that the Friday after Thanksgiving (Black Friday) was the first official Christmas shopping day. Now it seems like Christmas shopping starts in August.

Does this annoy anyone else, or am I one step away from sitting on my porch in my rocker yelling at kids to get off my lawn?

billbenson
11-23-2009, 03:23 PM
Ideally, I'd work the holidays and celebrate in July

phanio
11-23-2009, 04:09 PM
I am with you to a point - it is getting earlier and earlier each year. I like the holiday seasons - but not the you have to buy everyone something idea. I like the season as it pertains to festivities and family - not going into debt for the latest and greatest gifts.

For my wife and I - christmas starts the day after christmas - this is when we go out and buy all the stuff on sale - then hold on to it until the following christmas. It is a joke around our house that we are always a season behind - but, it takes the presure off. And, if our family and friends don't like - they don't have to come around.

My problem with the holidays is that the meaning is going out of the season - I am not talking religion or the likes. But, the holidays when I was a kid were always so much fun - being around family and friends and being happy - gifts were always secondary and a bonus.

Now, it seems it is just about gifts or being political. If this is not the christmas season - then what are we celebrating? Just my thoughts.

cbscreative
11-23-2009, 05:06 PM
Bahhh, humbug!

Oh, that was Scrooge and not the Grinch, sorry. I generally like the holidays, but my sentiments are much like those above. There is an irrational silliness to much of the gift giving which I would not miss if it were eliminated.

I sometimes think of all the worthless junk that people buy just to fulfill an "obligation" and it's both funny and sad at the same time. The recipient doesn't want the gift, the giver is just doing their "duty" and buying something that will soon end up as landfill, and the retailer is making money off something both parties could live without.

There, that sure sounds Scroogey, doesn't it?

I think there is a lot of obligation and pressure surrounding the holidays. For many people, it can be a very depressing time.

With that said, I mostly like the holidays. I like the family time, the food, the Christmas story, the trees and lights, the music and festivity, and the real spirit that is intended. I even like giving and receiving gifts, but it wouldn't bother me to eliminate that part. I think gift giving should be spontaneous and voluntary throughout the year, not expected just because it's Christmas.

Here's an idea, let's let everyone choose their own date(s) they want to give away gifts so it doesn't have to be on Christmas.

Business Attorney
11-23-2009, 05:55 PM
I have to say that while I am a horrible shopper (thank goodness the stores are open on Christmas Eve) I personally know people who make sure that their holiday shopping is completely done before Thanksgiving.

As long as there are people who start their Christmas shopping in early November, the retailers will not want to miss out their chance to be on the early shoppers' radar.

billbenson
11-23-2009, 06:52 PM
Christmas is the highest suicide day of the year. Knew a cop who hated working Christmas day because he was always finding somebody dead.

Now, I think I may have just one the Scrooge award.

nealrm
11-23-2009, 07:21 PM
What the store are doing has nothing to do with Christmas. I'm not sure what you would call it, maybe x-mas or fake-mas. Christmas is a time to get with family and friends, attend a church service and celebrate with a good meal and some simple gift giving. To many people stress over fake-mas and forget the most import aspects of the season.

Spider
11-23-2009, 08:40 PM
I always get a chuckle out of this annual complaint. Which complaint has been expressed as long as I can remember - and that's a few more years than most on this forum can remember!

YOUR Christmas is what YOU make it. if you find Christmas is too much about junky presents, then don't give junky presents and it won't be about junky presents. If you find your Christmas is not about family and friends, then make your Christmas about family and friends. What everyone else is doing has nothing to do with you. Let them celebrate Christmas as they please and you go ahead and celeberate however YOU please.

You have my permission!

Evan
11-23-2009, 08:53 PM
The only place that gives the turkey some attention is the supermarket, because it is a profitable holiday for them. For all other stores, after pushing out Halloween, the next dollar sign is for the holiday (Christmas) season.

What baffles me is when you flip through channels in say July, and you get those "Christmas in July" sales on QVC or HSN. That really irks me!

Steve B
11-23-2009, 08:56 PM
I'm with you on that Frederick.

I've had my family and friends trained to never give me a gift for the last 20 years. It was the best thing I ever did (O.K. that's a figure of speach, but you get the point). I NEVER have to pretend to like something and I have ZERO pressure to give useless gifts (I only give presents to kids). I also have no guilt about filling up the landfills with all that stuff.

However, I love the holidays and look forward to them each year. Thanksgiving is my favorite because it is so oriented around the family and gift-giving hasn't crept in to commercialize it too much.

KristineS
11-24-2009, 09:41 AM
I agree that the holidays should be what you make them, I guess it is the commercialism that bugs me. I'm already seeing news stories about how many people are depressed because they can't buy as many gifts this year. It shouldn't be about what you get or even about what you give. I just don't understand why everything seems to be about material things nowdays.

Dan Furman
11-24-2009, 12:02 PM
The holiday season has been commercial as long as I can remember. I suspect it was like this for a long time - hey, even my grandparents looked forward to Christmas as children because that was a day they got sweets and a toy. Ok, the scale is much bigger now (like everything else - nobody here works for pennies an hour anymore), but I don't think it was any less commercial.

People talk about the "real meaning". I always laugh at that one. Most historians feel Jesus was born in the late spring / summer. It's really just the extended celebration of the Winter Solstice - the days start getting longer. And any ancient celebration evolves over time.

All that said, I'm a big fan. I love the Christmas season, and I love giving / getting gifts. I go overboard - all my nieces and nephews get something nice from us, I always want to raise the "limit" that my wife and I agree to for each other, I'll show up to the party with the best ales and a fine bottle of scotch, etc. I love a nice tree with lots of lights and presents under it. I love decorating the house the day after Thanksgiving (and I bought some new decorations last month, so I'm egging the retailers on, obviously.) I'll start with the Christmas music on the XM radio on Friday (my wife loves the "Christmas House" we make our home into.)

I feel the holidays are a time to enjoy yourself, enjoy your family and friends, and share the fruits of your life and labors. I don't advocate going into debt or anything, but there's nothing wrong with a solid month (and maybe two months slowly leading up to it) of celebration.

I truly enjoy my life all year long - every single day. I'm very satisfied with prettymuch everything. And, to me, the holidays are a culmination of that feeling.

KristineS
11-24-2009, 12:46 PM
I'm not religious so the "meaning" of the season doesn't really mean anything to me.

To be honest, I'm not sure what my issue is with the whole thing. Maybe it's my attitude that needs to change. I have some bad associations with the holidays and that has tended to sour me on the whole experience. I guess maybe I need to look at things in a new light.

Dan Furman
11-24-2009, 01:22 PM
I'm not religious so the "meaning" of the season doesn't really mean anything to me.

To be honest, I'm not sure what my issue is with the whole thing. Maybe it's my attitude that needs to change. I have some bad associations with the holidays and that has tended to sour me on the whole experience. I guess maybe I need to look at things in a new light.

That's probably it.

This is easy for me to say, because I've always done it all my life, but I tend to always look at things in a new light if they deserve to be and it was helpful. For example, if I had a bad experience in a relationship, I didn't automatically expect that from a new one (I never felt it fair to make someone pay for something someone else did.) This isn't to say I didn't learn things from bad experiences, but I didn't associate the bad thing with the event/place/time, because it was irrelevent.

Same w/ the Holidays. I had a bad experience one Thanksgiving. But it wasn't Thanksgiving's fault. So I still like Thanksgiving :) (a lot).

I hope you enjoy your Holidays, Kristine. They really can be fun.

KristineS
11-24-2009, 05:34 PM
Thanks Dan.

I'm generally of the same mind as you, or I try to be, in terms of being positive, but I guess the holidays somehow slipped my net of positivity.

Blacktalon
11-24-2009, 06:19 PM
The joys of being pagan.

Christmas to me has a special air about it. For one day a year everyone finds it within them to extend a hand in some sort of harmony. Wars are put on pause. It's the only time of the year where peace actually rings throughout the world.

Being the snowflake I am, I love the cold and tranquility of the snow. The silence it brings is utterly incredible. Have you ever stood outside while it's snowing? You can actually hear nature breathe. It's that stunning.

We shouldn't be criticizing commercialism because, as business owners, we prod our customers along to buying our services and we line up at the Wal-Marts of the world to get chinsy merchandise for our families. IF you really want to criticize it, stop buying sparkling underwear and bamboo cutlery.

It's as simple as that.

greenoak
11-24-2009, 10:16 PM
i kind of agree personally....but i have a store and go with the flow and we have our big christmas openhouse the first week in november.....thats what works ...and the customers dont seem to mind....... we totally skip thanksgiving.....its a cold business decision...trying to sell christmas in december would very risky ...as we see it...
some very big places had their open houses before halloween....

huggytree
11-29-2009, 06:03 PM
for me Christmas is just for the kids....I only exchange w/ my parents and usually give them 1 large gift per year(this year it was a Toto Toilet)(WOW!!)

We typically just pick things out on AMAZON.com....were done shopping in a couple of hours....i think its crazy to stand in line for anything...Amazon.com is close enough to the same price...my time is worth alot to me...

Me and the wife dont exchange gifts.....when i want a new toy i typically buy it and give the wife a similar amount to go and buy new clothes...it happens a few times a year and works well for us...She doesnt want toys, just clothes...She did get a new food processor and vacuum this year though....for her those are toys...she practically washes/waxes the vacuum like a new car....its funny how domestic she is.

Spider
11-29-2009, 09:30 PM
....its funny how domestic she is.Hang on to her, Dave. My wife is so UN-domestic we joke frequently (half-joke, that is) that we BOTH need a wife! Preferably, one each!