Is "The Big American Christmas" Disappearing?

Originally posted by badgerprints
reply to post by burdman30ott6

 

Don't worry, there are still a few old school holdouts that actually see Christmas as a chance to get together with family and enjoy the holidays.
Iconoclastic disdain is fashionable but not very much fun.

Star for that one, my friend. I love Christmas. I wish it started after Thanksgiving rather than after Halloween, but it's easier to just roll with it than fight it. Plus, now that I live in Canada, there is no holiday between Halloween and Christmas to even act as a breakwater (Canadian Thanksgiving is in early October).

I definitely enjoy the gift giving/recieving aspect of the holidays. But I have NEVER been one to over leverage myself for Christmas shopping. Who are these people that give a gift to every single person they know? All their kids' teachers, everyone at work, everyone in in your extended family, anyone you have had any sort of casual contact with in the last 6 months. I find it ridiculous.

I heard on the radio that the average credit card balance from Christmas shopping doesn't get paid off until March. If it takes you 3 months to pay off your gifts, you shouldn't have bought them!

I told my wife this year that we would only spend money on the kids meaning all adults in my family is a manditory opt out. they are all old and ugly enough to go and buy there own things with there own money. its all about the kids any way, there's nothing like the look on a childs face when they recieve that new shiny toy for christmas. i could remember growing up we would have christmas after christmas it made more sense prices were cheaper and we got what we want at a bargain. i don't forsee anybody maxing out any credit cards this christmas for gifts. because they are already maxed from paying bills. i decided to donate my proceeds to my gift to the harvest food drive i could feed about 30 family's this is my gift for the spirit of christmas and spend time at the mission incuriging people the ther is still good will in troubling times.

Originally posted by MandM
Recent polls reveal that a huge percentage of Americans will be spending less this Christmas, and more Americans than ever are choosing not to celebrate Christmas at all. Is this the beginning of the end for "the Big American Christmas"?:

themoralcollapseofamerica.blogspot.com...

What do you all think?

I hope it will.. Commercialization of Christmas at current levels is just repulsive.

Since I was a little girl, I have lived for Christmas. To this day my father calls me the original Christmas elf. Is it about the presents...no - It is about the spirit or magic of Christmas I love. Haven't you ever noticed that everyone seems to be just a bit nicer?

I do my Christmas shopping 12 months of the year. do I shop for a zillion presents...heck no. I buy mostly very practical presents for my children and my husband. In summer I buy my kids clearance winter clothes from some major teen stores 1 size too big (this summer $50.00 limited too jeans. $8.00 - A matching sweater $4.00, ) Buy 1 get 1 free (that free always goes in a box until Christmas) 50% Yarn sale - couple scarves for the family members. Scrapbook sales - A wonderful project to work on for the year and a great gift for the Grandparents.

My daughters been begging for a teen room makeover - I shipped all year and spent about $50.00 For Christmas there will be a beautiful new comforter, pillows, sheets, curtains, a lamp and an artpiece under the tree for her.

Our Christmas's our magical. We don't spend a lot of money but the thought is there year round. We spend the year together. Doing mom and daughter projects around the table that will ultimately be a present for someone.

Our favorite part is the moonlight walk for the Nativity Story where we all hold hands and really think about the meaning of Christmas. My teenage daughters who are too big for Santa, always slip their hands into mine and tell me that Christmas is the most beautiful time in the whole world.

We sing and decorate the tree together and drink cocoa and laugh at ornaments lovingly crafted in Kindegarden.

My kids know its not about the money, they know that I'm thinking of them all the year through and Christmas is what they call Mom's Magic.

Less people than ever are celebrating Christmas it seems.

We've not put up a tree for the past three Christmases. Last year, we bought gifts and opened them on Christmas Eve. This year, we bought gifts, but the kids opened them as we bought them. We spent about $400 on each kid, but on things they really wanted or needed , not junk filler gifts. I'd rather the kids pick out what they need than to waste money on junk the wife buys that never gets used. Yeah, we've cut down. I think we are done with trees and Christmas, but we'll still get the kids a few gifts from now on.

OH, I hope so. Every year I hate Christmas more and more. When Christmas decorations go up the day after halloween, Christmas advertising and Christmas songs non stop for two months, I am sick to death of Christmas by the time it arrives. I hate the commercialism of it all.

Our family does get together every year. Not always on Christmas. Every other year the kids (my 2 nephews and 1 niece) and their kiddos come to their mom's for Christmas, the year in between they go to the in-laws and we have our Christmas whenever they all can get home at the same time. No matter if it's in December, January or February the whole family spends the day together. Parents, grandparent, great grand parents, aunts, uncles, cousins and dogs! It's always fun and I love spending Christmas with the little ones. Although I do wish their parents and grand mother would stop buying them everything their little heart's desire. Makes it hard for AuntGranma to find something for them that they like and don't already have.

Before the kids got married and when my mom was still alive we really had great Christmases. We drew names for presents and my sis and mom would hide the presents. We had one "present" under the tree which was a "clue" to where our present was. One clue led to another to another, etc.
Sometimes we spent most of the day chasing down the clues over 15 acres.
When everybody finally found their presents, we all gathered around the tree and opened them. It was such fun. We haven't done that since the babies came along and I really miss it. The little ones are getting old enough now - 3 thru 7 - to do something like that. Hopefully, I can get my sis on board and do it next year. I don't think mom, dad and grandma are going to be able to afford to buy 7 kids a truckload of toys for each kid as they have in the past, so a Christmas present hunt might be just the thing to take the sting out of not getting dozens of presents.