Don’t Let the Grinch Steal Your Christmas

By John Towndrow with photos by
Susan Towndrow.

“And he puzzled three hours,
till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of
something he hadn’t before!
‘Maybe Christmas,’ he thought
‘doesn’t come from a store.’
‘Maybe Christmas perhaps
means a little bit more!’

-How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss.

Even though we are still enjoying the full spectacle of fall colours and Christmas, as I’m writing this, is still two months away, the inevitable happened. Here was the favourite conversation opener I got today – “Have you done any Christmas shopping”.

This holiday season is supposed to be about peace and goodwill to all and yet every year, pressure to consume for Christmas and related festivities seems to rachet up, often leaving us far from peace and goodwill, worn out, in debt, and emotionally overextended. For the health of the planet and our sanity, we can choose to get off the consumption train and the commercial message that you can buy a perfect Christmas – and then consider some alternatives.

One of the first things, and sometimes the hardest to do, is to have a talk with family members, preferably before the blitz of Christmas advertising hits us, and to find out what they value most about the holidays. For sure, there will be pushback which can make us fearful of opening the conversation, not knowing how family members will react if we talk about simplifying the festivities, but often we’ll find they are relieved that someone has been brave enough to raise the subject. In many cases, what people value most are simple pleasures, gatherings with friends and family, outdoor winter activities, faith gatherings, local Christmas plays and music concerts, rather than actual presents.

The earth cannot sustain this constant production of “stuff” and most of us cannot sustain the pressure to buy the perfect gift for friends, family, business associates, teachers, and so on. Is this not a good time to consider setting some new traditions? Perhaps consider special experiences, offering a gift of service or a meal for a family or relative in need, a charitable donation, something handmade, holding potluck meals instead of having one family shoulder all the responsibility, even just spending time and listening, and finally, gift giving that doesn’t generate waste (or can be composted).

Many people have already started down this route and are always willing to share ideas but if you are stuck for suggestions there are lots of ideas and resources like the ones noted below to draw from to make your holidays simpler and more fulfilling than the runaway pressure of gift giving. So, open the conversation with your family and friends, and have yourself a more joyful, less stressful and more meaningful holiday for your loved ones and our precious earth.

For more information, check out simplifytheholidays.org and storyofstuff.org and the work of Transition Cornwall+ at transitioncornwall.com