It seems like everywhere I turn someone is complaining about Christmas.

Some grumble that the season has become more about getting the best presents than celebrating the origin of the holiday. Christmas decorations are on department store shelves too early, holiday music invades our radio stations and Black Friday sales are taking too much family time.

As much as the kid in me wants to say, “bah humbug” to all the Scrooges out there, I can’t help but agree with a lot of these points.

It is easy to pass the blame to large corporations and advertising companies using every possible second of the season to make money, but at some point I think we have to step back and realize that we are part of the problem, too.

We can complain all we want about Black Friday sales starting early, but a good portion of us will be out standing in the cold as soon as the dishes are cleared on Thanksgiving. We can say that department stores take advantage of consumers by flooding every form of media we have with holiday ads, but will we stop purchasing gifts from their stores? Probably not.

It seems to me that a lot of people want to complain about Christmas changing, but not a whole lot of people want to do anything about it. Sure, we can take a stand and opt to buy local instead of buying from department stores, and we can stay home and miss the sales the day after Thanksgiving, but will that really make a difference?

Here’s my suggestion: rather than trying to stick it to the man and protest shopping altogether, why don’t we try to tip the scales in the other direction? Instead of taking away from corporations, why not try to give back to our communities?

Imagine how much of a difference we could make if for every hour we spent shopping, we spent another hour volunteering. Think of the people who could benefit from the items we throw away to make room for new sweaters and gadgets. And if you’re going to sacrifice family time to stand in line on Black Friday (or Thursday) to get the best deals, why not donate a little bit of your savings to a charity of your choice?

If you’re annoyed with the economic takeover of a once-cherished family holiday, take a new approach. Don’t let the people (or companies) who have transformed the season allow you to change along with it.

Instead, challenge yourself to embrace the opportunities that come with the season of giving. I’m sure you’ll be glad you did.

 

Ambrosia Neldon is the managing editor at Leader Publications. She can be reached by phone at (269) 687-7713, or by email at ambrosia.neldon@leaderpub.com.