Boycotting the Holidays?

[Mari333]

I am pretty much boycotting the Xmas Holiday, and only making dinner for my family...sure I could go into debt and buy presents , etc, but I feel absolutely NO need to celebrate, when so many are suffering right now from the * economic policies, the unjustified war, and loss of jobs. I also feel a great sense of relief and smugness at NOT buying anything, as the corporate sponsors of the * administration have sunk so low they couldnt sink any lower. Why give them one cent in profit while they send jobs overseas? How do you plan on "celebrating" the Xmas holiday, and can you even afford it?

[demsrule4life]

1. I wouldn't call it a boycott

About ten years ago my wife and I decided we were finished with all the Christmas gift giving. Christmas is now so much more stress free.

[tnlefty]

2. I'm cutting WAY back, but trying to direct the spending

Examples:

My 8th grader had the honor of marching with the high school band starting in the 7th grade. Last year his band fee was $100. We paid for the fees of 2 other kids, who the music instructor said were promising musicians, because their families couldn't pay the fees. The band program received $50.00 from the school budget this year - insulting f*@#^+g joke. So we bought items during a fundraiser to use as gifts.

The elementary school librarian receives almost nothing either. She put a cookbook together and I'll be buying some of those for gifts.

I'll be purchasing things for my kids, but I'm NOT planning a wild retail spending frenzy.

[Kazak]

3. The last few years or so...

we've pretty much only bought gifts for the kids on our family...I'm sure we'll do more or less the same this year...

[E_Zapata]

4. I think it will be very important for ALL of us to celebrate......

Take back x-mas and celebrate and manifest peace and joy and prosperity.

As for the gift-giving.......give it to the local shelters and charities.

Or for those who just LOVE to shop......have your whole family adopt a family for christmas......

Make it special. Make it count. And take a good full heart into the coming difficult year.

Thanks for bringing this up. It's important to think about this in these terribly troubled times.

[Dr Satan]

5. never celebrated it

not a materialist
not a christian
not a capitalist
not even an epicurean.

[donsu]

6. 30 yrs ago I gave up all holidays

it was a vast relief to give up easter and xmas

I side with Native Americans on thanksgiving

valentines are a construct for money raking, same with halloween.

it was too dangerous for me to give them up sooner - family would have trashed me and I had two kids to raise.

[JNelson6563]

7. We'll buy some and get together

with family but nothing very big. I never buy presents on credit. We are not Christian but hubby and I grew up as such. I guess we can go into the solstice column. We do buy some presents for the kids, maybe a little something for each other. We buy for the few other children in our families and a few token somethings for the adults.

After so many years of being quite poor we reach a more stable position but the kids are not familiar with materialism really. My mother-in-law commented on it recently and said her hubby's grandkids always make demands and want things and ours never do. Said my kids were more enjoyable to be around. ;-)

Julie

[kyrasdad]

8. My dad got laid off from Daimler/Chrysler

so he and Mom and I had a talk, I told them that this year we aren't buying anything for each other because I was broke. (He's way too proud, so I made it my idea and blamed it on my finances.) We'll have dinner and do the usual stuff we always do, just without a bunch of gifts...

[LeahMira]

9. Make your own holiday "traditions"... and relax on the holiday!

How do you plan on "celebrating" the Xmas holiday, and can you even afford it?

Afford it! Who can afford it? But nonetheless, I do like to make gifts for a few people who mean a lot to me, so I've sewed a new jean jacket for one and crocheted a shawl for another, and made up some of my famous peach butter for yet another. And so on. It really helps to spread the effort out over the year, also.

My one extravagance is the young man that I sponsor who lives on the Pine Ridge Rez. I've been helping out for eight years now, and until he's eighteen (or maybe longer than that if he wants to keep in touch) I'm committed to making sure he and his family have a special holiday.

BTW, there are groups sending packages to the people of Iraq. I don't know that the people in Iraq care much that Christmas is coming, but maybe it would help to give there or to some of the many people who are poor in this country also. Thinking about it, I would feel really pleased if someone told me that they had made a donation in my honor to help in that way. Maybe your friends would be pleased also... and you certainly wouldn't be "buying into" the craziness.

[VermontDem2004]

10. We can't afford christmas

[Mari333]

11. Neither can I

But Im buying a real tree, like I do every year, and planting it. A little life in a sea of darkness that the world seems to be enveloped in right now.