’tis the season for gift giving alternatives!
November 20th, 2008 § Leave a Comment
We are still having our wonderful MasterMind group, but I’d like to write about something that’s more for the season, this season - you know:
Holiday muzik in the hardware store. Advertising overload. Pressure.
Gift giving.
Guess what? I stopped going shopping for Christmas presents 4 years ago and life is soooooooo much simpler…
And NO, I am not a Scrooge or a Grinch or just plain mean. I was just tired of the stress of it all, the money for gifts that, honestly, were probably forgotten by New Years, and suddenly, (light goes off!) I realized that I have a choice and I can make my OWN decisions. OMG! ( Gee, I am back on that 100% responsibility kick again aren’t I? )
So 4 years ago I quit giving presents to friends and family. Instead I selected charitable organizations that I resonated with and made donations to them.
Then I gave everyone on my gift giving list a beautiful card telling them where “their” Xmas gift had gone.
Of course I told everyone beforehand what my plans were for Xmas morning – showing up bare-handed! I encouraged others to donate instead of gifting me with a present too.
And YES, even my young niece and nephews got a card. I figured this was a really cool way to gift them with a broader perspective.
You know what? Everyone LOVED IT! and I got some great cards too saying that my gift was a donation to a particular charity. It felt awesome too.
My family and friends have so much. I have so much. Don’t we all have so much? Oh quit whining, check out this site if you don’t think you are blessed beyond belief with the life you have: www.wvexperience.org/
And I know this is not the right thing for everyone, and you certainly don’t have to “go all the way”, you can lean into it, not get as many gifts and donate part of your Xmas budget.
Perhaps this post will just help you realize that you are not stuck, that you do not “have to” buy, buy, buy, and that you have options. You can step out of this holiday frenzy with a little skip and a jump and gain a huge sense of relief and freedom. Try it, see what happens…
