Christmas in October!?!

How early is too early for Christmas trees? I was bemused to see these three at my local shopping centre - and a nativity scene just out-of-shot.

Christmas trees in October? What's really going on here?

It was Monday 29 October, but I'm guessing they went up a few days earlier - before the weekend rush. Does your local shopping centre have decorations up yet? Let me know in the comments.

Reli-gious?

I'd like to believe that the centre CEO or managing staff are just so full of the joy of Christmas, that they just couldn't wait to put out the Christmas decorations. But does anyone even have their home tree up yet?

Or Really-just for money?

I can't help but think this is just a sneaky sales tactic. Decorations prompt shoppers to put something extra in their trolley "for Christmas". The longer decorations are up, the more action they get at the cash register.

While the nativity scene depicts people worshipping baby Jesus, the intent is more about worship of sales figures. Later in the year, look out for news interviews with retail executives declaring this to be a "good Christmas" - but only if sales are more than last year. and significantly more.

What's wrong with this?

The problem is that it doesn't make us any happier. Buying extra stuff we don't need just leaves us with more clutter, more waste, more waist (if the stuff is food), more debt and more stress. Hardly a Merry Christmas!

Write down a list of the things that you enjoy about the Christmas season. Chances are it includes the Christmas movies, the Christmas music, spending time with loved ones and being on holidays. If you're Christian it might be more about Jesus. If you're in the Northern hemisphere it might also be making snowmen. Here in Australia it might be going to the beach or having a dip in the pool.

Do those things more. Do shopping less.

As far as possible, have less stress and insanity. Have more of the joy of Christmas.

Comments

The Latte Factor

For the first time ever I'm reviewing a novel. Latte Factor is a short story - around 120 pages - and is equal parts of inspirational story and financial education. The combination of the two is quite rare, and done quite nicely. The story is about Zoey Daniels, associate editor for a travel magazine. Although she's never been outside the USA - "a travel editor who's never travelled". She struggles with money and is considering a higher-paying job at the company her friend Jessica works for. The job would provide more income, but would also be more stressful and demanding. She already has a nightmare about being on an increasingly-fast treadmill that she struggles to stay on. Her current boss Barbara - aware only of the money situation - suggests she talk to Henry at the coffee shop. This peculiar suggestion is where Zoey's life begins to turn a corner. Spoiler Alert Being a book of fiction, I don't want to spoil the story for you. It's a book you ca...

Dollars and Sense

Dan Ariely is an expert on human psychology and decisions. His book Dollars and Sense is focussed on how to avoid "money mishaps" . That can include paying too much for something; buying something that doesn't provide value; or in some cases not buying something that we really should buy. We can be better spenders of money by avoiding money mishaps. We can get more value for our money - or get the same value for less money. So what are the mishaps? Here are some highlights. Opportunity Cost This is the idea of thinking about what else we could do with money - and whether that's better value. In one experiment, people were given the option of (A) a $1000 stereo or (B) a $700 stereo and $300 cash. People chose option A. Then people where given the option of (A) a $1000 stereo or (B) a $700 stereo and $300 worth of music. Now they chose option B. In the first choice, people gave up the $300 because they wanted the more expensive stereo. But when forced to think of some...

What to do with 128 pens?

I never need buy a pen again. Ever. The pen round-up. I searched the house for pens and gathered them up. We had 128. Woah - that's more than I expected. Then it was test-time. (You can get a lot done watching summer sport ;). Good ones went on the table. Broken ones in the box. Pen operations I saved a few 'broken' pens, by taking working insides and matching them with functional outsides. Particularly much-loved pens, for sentimental reasons, were given a life-extending 'ink transplant'. Final Tally We ended up with 67 broken pens and 61 good ones. And about 10 pencils. What to do with 67 broken pens? In my city Biome recycles pens . It's as easy as taking them into the store and dropping them into the giant collection box. Decluttering and recycling together - I love it. A lifetime of pens An average pen writes 45,000 words. So that dedicated shopping list pen on the fridge could write a 20-word shopping list for 43 years. Our 61 pens repre...

But wait... there's less!

Search This Blog