The Christmas selling season is upon us. It is a frenzy of spending money to make one day of the year count.
I find the consumerism of Christmas troublesome. My family gave up giving gifts years ago. We donate to favourite causes instead. It was a slow transition to find what worked for us best. We started with drawing the name of family member to purchase a price limited gift. A few years later we filled shoe boxes with items for children in Africa. Then, we started donating to causes we believe in. This one stuck.
I am glad we do this. I do not go in debt buying things that friends and family don't need, and sometimes don't even like. Mostly, people buy what they need when they need it. I think this is the way it should be. if you see something someone would like, and you wish to gift it to them, it should not be saved for Christmas. If we spread our spending out over the year instead of bingeing in November and December, businesses wouldn't have to hope and pray that that their holiday sales will be enough to carry them through, and individuals wouldn't spend half the year trying to get themselves out of debt.
Then there are the small businesses that can't and normally don't want to compete with the large box stores. With Black Friday, and Cyber Monday and the public waiting for good sales, most small businesses mark ups are not large enough offer huge savings and still make money, making it impossible to compete.
Supporting small business and local business usually means you are supporting living wages, and fair wages, not encouraging the use of slave, or child labour. You can make a connection with the crafter, or business owner on a different level than with box stores.
I have been seeing so many artists, crafts people and small business owners posting about how poorly they have done with sales this year. Most actually saying this is the worst year they have ever had. It is true the economical effects of Covid are finally catching up with us. Inflation and recessions are hitting the global market. Lets start to change holiday spending slowly. Let's move towards thoughtful gifts throughout the year instead of mass buying for one day. I am a firm believer in supporting handmade, small local business, artists, and craft community. I know not everyone is capable of doing this all of the time, but being aware of your local, small businesses and telling others about them is good too!
Let's make a list. I would be thrilled to hear of the small and local businesses you love and support by commenting below!
