The Holiday Season has begun.  Everyone is excited.  There’s a buzz around the office – people are decorating their cubes with festive items.  A low hum has started that carries the happy chatter of co-workers.   Everyone is eager for the food – for the shopping – for the extra time off.

It’s close to the same for me, except for the shopping.  I hate shopping.  No, hate isn’t a strong enough word to describe my distaste for this holiday activity.  I detest it.  I loathe it.  Why you ask?  The simplest explanation is – I think holiday shopping has cast a shadow over the true purpose of the joyful activities ahead.  I’m not a religious person by any means, and I won’t be quoting scripture or babbling about the Bible and what these days represent.  No.  I won’t be doing that.

However, the fact that the holiday season has become so commercial sickens me.  To death.  It’s more about what you buy for who.  Outdoing the Jones’.  The more you spend the better a person you are.  I can express my opinion of this cultural norm in one word – Bullshit.

This craze for spending money instead of time is like a mushroom effect.  I can’t even remember when it started, but I do remember that I was shocked to find out that Walmart was pushing Black Friday up a day, so that people could start their mindless spending on Thanksgiving Day.  Seriously.  There weren’t even many stores that opened that same Thanksgiving that Walmart did, but the next year, it ballooned out.

Because of the sales that Walmart earned, a bunch of other stores hopped on the bandwagon, and before you knew it, Thanksgiving Day changed.  It was no longer about spending time with family being thankful for what we DO have.  No.  It’s about being thankful that you can go buy that 60-inch plasma tv for $300 bucks cheaper, IF, and only IF, you abandoned your family on Thanksgiving Day to wait in lines for 4, 5, or 6 hours.  Never mind that employee (a single parent of two children) who had to give up time with their family to make sure your purchase happened.  Never mind the two women who are now rolling around on the floor, assaulting each other for that last Little Elmo doll.

Get a grip people.

I will not be partaking in the holiday shopping.

I intend to be safely snug at home, listening to my husband chat about how he is cooking the turkey bird; what spices, what temp, how long.  I will be baking pies, chatting with my family, drinking eggnog, and eating cheese and crackers.  Nothing will make me happier that reading my daughter’s latest poem, or having a deep discussion with my son about the latest conspiracy theory, and whether he believes it to be true or not.

I won’t be spending a single cent on Thanksgiving – instead, I’ll be investing every second of my time on the people who are most important to me.  How about you?