Honestly, Christmas is not even Christmas anymore. It's not about spending time with your family, it's about spending money. It's not about the quality of the gift, it's about the quantity. Christmas is too commercialized to enjoy! The stress, the heartache, the money... it's all just a big rush to give people "things." It can be anything, as long as it's something. People have forgotten that one meaningful gift could mean the world. Instead, people don't think and just buy these silly presents for limited happiness. We are like children with our attention span. Adults reason with children and say they don't want to buy them that toy because they'll love it for a minute, then get bored. However, they aren't any different! This gets me to think why people buy each other anything if it doesn't mean anything.
My grandmother texted my mom the exact shoe she wanted for Christmas, then gave my mom a check for the exact price of the shoe. When my mom opened the check, she was flabbergasted. She asked why we even do presents if it's making no difference in our bank account, or if we could just buy the gift for ourselves on our own. And to that my grandma said through clenched teeth and burning eyes, "It's the thought."
What's the thought?! Sure, maybe for children the thought counts, but they aren't spending money. Why do we even give presents on Christmas Day? There are for sure historical reasons, however I also think the media and commercials make it seem so necessary to give as many nice presents as you can. In every Christmas commercial, there are people receiving gifts and a smile. Does this mean that if you don't give gifts people won't be happy? Pretty much. We tend to give gifts we would like to receive, but honestly these commercials make every present seem like the best thing in the world. Who wouldn't want to buy something that makes the whole family come together and laugh?! The only problem is that it's not real. These gifts will be forgotten in a month, but hey, it was fun while it lasted.
One year, I would like to not give or receive any gifts. Will I fell empty and incomplete? I think I will appreciate the true spirit of the season... but what is the true spirit?
I think that if my family received no gifts or gave any gifts for one Christmas it would bring us together and make us closer because we wouldn't be bothered by wondering what we are going to get.
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