Wednesday, October 22, 2008

64 Shopping Days: Are you gearing up for Christmas?

It’s not visions of sugar plums that dance in my head.

I see:

More coal being shovelled

More plumes of dirty smoke in the air

Millions of tons of cheaply produced goods being loaded into crates


[Photo by GAH from 'Matchbox Labels']

Ships thirsty for diesel fuel being readied at ports around the world

People singing “It’s beginning to smell a lot like Christmas.”


I prefer:

A touch of snow on Christmas Eve

A walk through the neighbourhood with friends and a few Christmas carols


[Photo by GAH from 'Matchbox Labels']

A small Christmas gathering with as few gifts as possible

A can of cashews


My ‘gearing up’ (I’d better start soon) will include:

Telling my family and friends again what I prefer

E.g. “Let’s gear down. I have everything I need, except for a small can of cashews.”

Making small gifts in the workshop out of reused and recycled materials

Putting some wood aside for the fireplace

Buying a few supplies for my killer egg nog.


***

I’ve been in the gearing down mode for several years and it’s getting much easier.

My wife and adult sons are certainly catching on.

Are you gearing up or down this year?

.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice blog! This year we are gearing DOWN for Christmas. As a small business owner taking the economic slide, we're cutting back drastically. Luckily my kids are all teens so they can comprehend the idea.

G. Harrison said...

hi sheila,

just returned from a short holiday in Bracebridge, Ontario, home of Santa's Village and more importantly my two older sisters.

they both talked about a smaller Christmas incl. fewer gifts for the grandchildren. seems to be a trend and i bet we'll enjoy the holidays more because of it.

cheers,

gord h.