Skip to main content

Christmas in October!?!

Image
By
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.
Read more about:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Colour me happy

By
One of the great things about reducing possessions is thing called 'helper's high' . It's that fuzzy feeling you get from helping someone else out. I got one recently by helping an old man lift heavy groceries into his car boot when he was struggling. But this is not about that. I was about to put some watercolour paints online for anyone who wanted them. Then I remembered a local community group where people do art therapy. I gave the paints to a contact who passed them on to the group. The next day my contact called me to say how much they were appreciated. One of the participants wanted to do some watercolour painting, but couldn't afford the paints. When my contact walked in with free paints the participant was overjoyed to be able to do her art. As far as 'helper's highs' go, this was a slightly removed one - I never met the actual person I helped. But still it was a buzz.
Post a Comment
Read more

Big motivator for small living

By
It's been a while between posts here - mainly because we've been moving house. It's been a real motivator for downsizing. Packing each and every item we owned, really makes me wish there were fewer of them. Moving everything from the old apartment to the new one made me envious of those people who live in a "tiny house on wheels". For them moving house simply means towing it to a new location. No packing required. The whole process has reaffirmed our commitment to owning less stuff. So we're going to be intentional about downsizing. It will be an ongoing activity. My environmental heart couldn't stomach a spontaneous dumping of things into the garbage, but it's also more fun this way. Selling things online brings in some handy pocket money. Giving items away is also a great community activity, whether it is to friends and family, to charity or to people in the neighbourhood. I'm looking forward to it as a lifestyle rather than a task to do....
Post a Comment
Read more

Top 5 articles of 2019

By
As we wrap up 2019, here are the most-read posts here on But Wait There's Less . 5. Books. Do we need them anymore? Why do we keep books? To read them again? How many do we ever read a second time? I worked it out .For me not many. This lead to a second post on my technique for streamlining my book collection . 4. Living in a converted barn. This was something my wife and I tried on a trip away this year. Check out the pictures . I still reckon it could be possible long-term. We really don't need as much space as we have. 3. What's your retirement age? It's not 67. At least it doesn't have to be. If we spend less, compulsory work can become optional at a very early age . It could even be in your 30s. 2. The automatic guest room On the same trip as number 4, we stayed with a friend who (with some clever furniture ) converts her living room into another bedroom. It's a clever way to be able to have guests, but without paying a heap of money for a bigge...
Post a Comment
Read more