I went shopping for interesting gifts in one of my favorite, funky odd-lot stores. But where there used to be overstocks of Hawaiian shirts were pallets of Christmas decorations. It bummed me out.
I went to a holiday party, and one of my dearest old friends got so polluted so early we had only a brief, garbled discussion.
‘Tis the season to be jolly.
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, if I heard one “news” report about holiday shopping, I heard 100–and all implied that Americans need to spend their money or this tottering economy is going to sink lower than Britney Spears’ hip-huggers.
Retailers are looking to us to make America great again.
Plus, there’s a war looming.
And great uncertainty in the land.
Not to mention 128 million cell phones.
I heard a guy say how all he wanted for Christmas was a plasma television–assuming peace on Earth wasn’t available.
Depressed yet?
There’s nothing like getting an early start on the inevitable.
I don’t want to sound like a complete grouch. I just want to let all of you know that you’re not alone in your anxiety about the holidays, which have become one long binge of shopping, consumption (both the conspicuous and the quiet, drunken kind), stress and ridiculously high, Martha Stewartesque expectations.
We get sucked into it every year. We’re expected to be more generous, more joyous, friendlier, more grateful and more concerned with others.
Some people just love the whole thing. God bless them and the Prozac they take.
Others get caught up in the thorns.
I say chill on all this. The economy will be just fine if you don’t max out the Visa. Give yourself a break this year. Look for little moments of peace.
Treat yourself to a cup of tea.
Scale back expectations and revert to a quiet celebration. It’s legal in all 50 states.
Keep your gift list short.
Instead of dashing off too many greeting cards, get up early one morning, make a pot of coffee and write a few letters.
I’ll tell you what means more to people than gifts: a personal visit to someone you haven’t seen in a long time. Do one drop-in this season, and in one hour you’ll make someone feel very special.
You might feel pretty good about it too. You might even want to do it more than once a year.
