Dear World
It’s that time of year where we do the traditional thing of gift giving.
For some this maybe an absolute must and for others it may not be the case.
What is it that makes us subscribe to this Christmas Gift giving thing every year?
UK
2024
£88 BILLION Christmas sales forecast
£88,000,000,000 (1)
74% Christmas Gifts online purchases (2)
Hello
This is one small country and for those that need a reminder – One thousand million is One Billion.
£88 BILLION is just the Christmas spending going on – where is this going?
Do numbers bother us or do we simply Ignore as this is Christmas and this is what we do and not something that we are ever going to cut back on or stop?
We have created a new way of shopping – click, click or tap a keyboard and bingo it just arrives on the doorstep.
We have demanded that waiting is not our thing, so deliveries now come around the clock with more errors, more wrong deliveries, more returns than ever before, more items not what we ordered and the list goes on.
We see it on a Screen or a tiny phone screen and we want it and we are convinced it is exactly the Christmas Gift we must buy.
Expectations are high and we feel that sinking sense when it arrives. Wrong size, poor quality, not at all what we thought it was and so different from the Screen image we are still holding on to.
Hey ho – no problemo, back on the Screen more taps and another gift coming tomorrow.
Did we communicate and consult our bank account?
No – it’s Christmas and we just let loose as that’s the way to go.
We go a whole year to pay it off and forget last year is still lingering as it’s not fully paid.
Hey ho – bit more Debt, we can live with that.
When did Christmas change into a multi-billion dollar industry and has it delivered any more festive joy – really?
What are we subscribing to if we are buying Christmas Gifts “Because We Can” and money is not our issue, or we run up the Debt as that’s what we do at this time of the year?
If we just take a look at the State of Our World today – are we adding to those Statistics in any way or are we asking some sensible Questions?
Giving our statisticians even more to report big numbers on is not the sign of a healthy and evolving world.
Our Christmas Gifts spending is off the scale and good old fashion, one gift or a simple gesture to thank someone for the year is no longer trending. It has been hijacked by Social Media platforms and the frenzy of spend, spend, spend and keep spending, as that’s what is ok and the new norm.
USA
$1,638 – average Christmas shopper expected to spend on gifts, travel and entertainment. (3)
The most desired Christmas Gifts
Cash or Bank Transfer most desired Christmas present in the United States.
45% of women and 34% of men would personally like to receive money.
2nd – clothing, textiles or shoes, followed by vouchers/gift cards. (4)
Hello
What is this telling us?
It is very Simple – this is spelling it out for us.
WE WANT MONEY – CASH BANK TRANSFER OR GIFT VOUCHERS OR GIFT CARDS.
WE DO NOT WANT food, drinks, jewellery, toys and board games as a gift. (4)
We want to buy our own smartphone or tablet – just hand over the money.
Women are not really asking for the perfume or cosmetics – money please.
Books that you want to gift are not what we want to read dear Nice gift giver.
Let us buy our own electronics or household appliances so we get what we want.
You want to go to the event and that is not a Christmas Gift we want so cash please.
Furniture is the last thing we want to receive as a Christmas Gift so no thank you.
And there are those of us who do not want to receive anything.
Do we know that but still go ahead as it’s Christmas and the Happy Holidays season?
Do we just subscribe to what everyone else does and Ignore the No Thanks request?
Is the above telling us something or do we want more research, more evidence and more dis-honesty to continue?
The majority in the U.S. do not want Christmas Gifts – they want cash or another form of cash, which is a Bank Transfer or gift cards and gift vouchers.
Is this super clear or are we not wanting to get this as it would mean we have to end our habit of spending on Christmas Gifts that are not really wanted and so zero appreciation for the time and effort it took us to buy it, wrap it, mail it or wait in anticipation for them to thank us?
WHY would we want to bring on Stress during the Holiday season in the name of “Christmas Gifts” if most would rather not receive them?
50% worry about affording Holiday Gifts.
90% wish that Holidays were less materialistic.
87% saying the Holidays should be about Family and caring for others and not giving or receiving gifts. (5)
If this is the Truth, then why are we continuing with our Christmas Gift buying?
Are we trying to uphold something that is not Real or needed or is there something more here to Question?
84% agree that acts of giving and receiving gifts are awarded too much importance during the Holiday season.
2.3 MILLION pounds in weight of gift wrapping paper ends up in landfills.
$158 BILLION of goods sold during the Holiday season to be returned, according to the National Retail Federation.
$8.3 BILLION wasted on Un-wanted gifts each year. (5)
Hello
Can we join the dots here and make some sense?
$158,000,000,000 items returned
$8,300,000,000 – UN-WANTED gifts
The majority are asking for a form of money – cash, vouchers and bank transfers.
9 out of 10 wish the whole Happy Holidays thing was less materialistic.
8 of 10 are saying we give the gift giving thing too much emphasis and that means a ton of effort goes into it all.
So WHY are we all not stopping the game and questioning all of this now?
What is behind our behaviours when it comes to buying Christmas Gifts?
How many of us can relate to any of the following real life situations –
Would love to skip the whole Christmas Gift Stress that comes with buying.
Feel obligated and pressured to do what is done and never dare Question it.
Book a Holiday overseas in the hope that the one big spend will cover the small Christmas Gift giving that we get sucked into.
Happy Holidays mode seems to be making others Happy even if we are grossly miserable and unhappy because un-necessary Christmas Gift buying is going on.
Moan and groan but go along with whatever the wife wants as it’s that time of year where we just fork out the hard earned money and bite our lip – it’s Christmas.
Stand in line and not say a word as we trail from shop to shop with the wish list of Christmas Gifts we are expected to deliver.
Spend days and nights with Online Shopping and the Christmas Gifts seem to be doubling up and we don’t want to know the consequences with our bank account.
Ignore all the practical and sensible common sense advice and just go ahead with our spend spend spend when it comes to Christmas Gift buying.
Avoiding the constant Tension we feel at the very thought of Christmas Gift shopping because we know we are living way beyond what we can truly afford.
Splashing out and being stupid and extravagant as we just want others on our Social Media circles to know what we can do when it comes to Christmas Gifts.
Finishing our Christmas Gift shopping in the summer and then adding more and more as we cannot settle with everything being complete back then.
Buying in the sales and then struggling to find storage space for a whole year because we think we are saving and into bargain basement Christmas Gift discount shopping.
Planning and plotting what we think will be over the top, unusual and unique and what no other can do, is what we spend our work time doing for Christmas Gifts.
Putting our days and nights before the big day that only comes once a year into strategically planning the chimney and fireplace for our Christmas Gifts.
Making sure we look like we have made great effort with our Christmas Gift purchases as we want the photos under the Christmas tree to look amazing.
Saying we love it with the “Ah this is great” when we unwrap and see the Christmas Gift that we just want to leave and not even take back to our home.
Being over the top Nice when accepting a Christmas Gift and immediately after saying what we really feel to another.
Doing the usual Fake and Phony behaviours with all things Christmas and that includes buying Christmas Gifts.
WHY WHY WHY are the majority of us still swept up in the Christmas behaviours that are not aligning to how we truly want to BE and live in this world?
We just keep on going… doing the same stuff and wondering why it all feels a bit old and dated, Fake and Phony and frankly a bit too much Stress at the End of the Year.
Is it time to STOP and PAUSE and QUESTION absolutely everything that sucks in our life and that includes the stresses that come with all things Christmas and that includes Christmas Gifts?
AND finally – great articles on this website to read on the topic of Christmas:
References
(1) Sabanoglu, T. (2024, November 4). Total Value of Christmas Sales in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2016 to 2023, with a Forecast for 2024. Statista. Retrieved December 16, 2024 from
https://www.statista.com/statistics/792411/christmas-sales-forecast-united-kingdom-uk/
(2) Bashir, U. (2024, November 28). Popular Purchase Locations for Christmas Gifts in the UK in 2024. Statista. Retrieved December 16, 2024 from
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1192185/popular-purchase-locations-for-christmas-gifts-in-the-uk/
(3) Kumar, N. (2024, October 23). How Much Money is Spent on Christmas. Demand Sage. Retrieved December 16, 2024 from
https://www.demandsage.com/christmas-spending-statistics/
(4) Fleck, A. (2024, December 13). The Most Desired Christmas Gifts in the U.S. Statista. Retrieved December 17, 2024 from
https://www.statista.com/chart/29001/most-desired-christmas-gifts-in-the-united-states/
(5) (n.d). Stats & Facts. Center for Biological Diversity. Retrieved December 17, 2024 from
https://simplifytheholidays.org/stats-and-facts