Loved it, as always. I agree that shopping is still shopping. But I do think there are voices out there besides Marie Kondo :o) I see this in the form of individuals and small groups rather than strong political agendas, to be sure. Buy Nothing and FreeCycle groups, the efforts of people in our community towards a circular economy (for profit), certain Instagram hashtags, you, me! There are opportunities to influence one person at a time to turn down or turn off their own personal consumer spigot.
Thank you! And yes, indeed! I love Buy Nothing and have gotten and given away good stuff on it! And my annual clothes swaps are popular. I guess I was thinking about the political voices. When it comes to climate change, most people (with some remaining glaring exceptions) agree that climate change is an issue, but they want to find solutions that let us keep living as we have been — even though that way of life isn't good for us in so many other ways. Few influential political voices suggest a whole different system and way of living.
Another good one! My boss is great — she only wants consumable gifts, if she accepts a gift at all. In other words, food. I brought her sea salt from a shack we found selling it on the coast of Oregon! Sending people experiences is also nice — a gift card to a beloved restaurant is often a gift for my nephews.🤷🏻♀️
Yes! If you have to do gifts, edible ones and/or experiences can be the best. I've gotten gift certificates for massages, which is always a great gift.
I have tried for many years to stop the Christmas gift train. But it’s so hard to get people to agree. Honestly for me presents are the worst part of Christmas. It feels like an obligation, especially if you are getting something for someone you don’t know well. Even people in my family, I don’t know what they would like.
One year I got my mother to agree that we would just get each other one gift. I came down Christmas morning to see a big tower of gifts for me wrapped up in a single ribbon. 😁
Haha, your mom sure was clever! It's hard to stop them.
Love your Medium story. Your family's gift giving is hilarious! The velour (yes, I know what it is and remember it all too well)! The photography book! The Amish-adjacent ducks! A great argument for not buying more stuff if I ever heard one!
Well said! And thanks for the always glorious Tom Lehrer. We too stopped buying Christmas presents in the usually expected way some years back. Oh, we may surprise each other with a book or two. If there are children in your life and you know what would truly please them (and they're not already swamped with stuff, which is rare), that is a joy. But there's no Shopping List to be checked off.
Thanks! He's the best. Isn't it great not having a shopping list? I'd rather get people presents when I happen to see something that makes me think of them.
Haha, glad to have them! Yes, food is a great gift. And the best gift I gave my parents, long ago, was born of necessity. I had very little money, but I had a friend who worked at a copy shop. I bought a $12 calendar and had him make some enlarged color copies of family photos, then pasted them into the calendar and marked important family dates. They loved it! Later, all the photo printing places stole my idea and made money from it! ;-)
Loved it, as always. I agree that shopping is still shopping. But I do think there are voices out there besides Marie Kondo :o) I see this in the form of individuals and small groups rather than strong political agendas, to be sure. Buy Nothing and FreeCycle groups, the efforts of people in our community towards a circular economy (for profit), certain Instagram hashtags, you, me! There are opportunities to influence one person at a time to turn down or turn off their own personal consumer spigot.
Thank you! And yes, indeed! I love Buy Nothing and have gotten and given away good stuff on it! And my annual clothes swaps are popular. I guess I was thinking about the political voices. When it comes to climate change, most people (with some remaining glaring exceptions) agree that climate change is an issue, but they want to find solutions that let us keep living as we have been — even though that way of life isn't good for us in so many other ways. Few influential political voices suggest a whole different system and way of living.
Another good one! My boss is great — she only wants consumable gifts, if she accepts a gift at all. In other words, food. I brought her sea salt from a shack we found selling it on the coast of Oregon! Sending people experiences is also nice — a gift card to a beloved restaurant is often a gift for my nephews.🤷🏻♀️
Yes! If you have to do gifts, edible ones and/or experiences can be the best. I've gotten gift certificates for massages, which is always a great gift.
I wrote about my family’s spotty history with gift giving: https://medium.com/the-memoirist/gifts-of-the-non-magi-fc8e6ed1051d
I have tried for many years to stop the Christmas gift train. But it’s so hard to get people to agree. Honestly for me presents are the worst part of Christmas. It feels like an obligation, especially if you are getting something for someone you don’t know well. Even people in my family, I don’t know what they would like.
One year I got my mother to agree that we would just get each other one gift. I came down Christmas morning to see a big tower of gifts for me wrapped up in a single ribbon. 😁
Haha, your mom sure was clever! It's hard to stop them.
Love your Medium story. Your family's gift giving is hilarious! The velour (yes, I know what it is and remember it all too well)! The photography book! The Amish-adjacent ducks! A great argument for not buying more stuff if I ever heard one!
Well said! And thanks for the always glorious Tom Lehrer. We too stopped buying Christmas presents in the usually expected way some years back. Oh, we may surprise each other with a book or two. If there are children in your life and you know what would truly please them (and they're not already swamped with stuff, which is rare), that is a joy. But there's no Shopping List to be checked off.
Thanks! He's the best. Isn't it great not having a shopping list? I'd rather get people presents when I happen to see something that makes me think of them.
My fave thing to do is to give homemade stuff like jams or stuff bought from farmers at the farmers' market...
So glad I "made" you get those boots! hee hee
Haha, glad to have them! Yes, food is a great gift. And the best gift I gave my parents, long ago, was born of necessity. I had very little money, but I had a friend who worked at a copy shop. I bought a $12 calendar and had him make some enlarged color copies of family photos, then pasted them into the calendar and marked important family dates. They loved it! Later, all the photo printing places stole my idea and made money from it! ;-)
Love the boots Rosana!
Thanks, Antonio! How could I resist? ;-)