Christmas Commercialism
It isn't Thanksgiving yet. Every year I seem to gripe about the fact that as soon as kids go back to school, the Christmas "stuff" comes out. That poor holiday of Thanksgiving suffers because everyone already has Christmas on the brain. As I sit here in my house, I can look out my front window and see my nutty neighbors who not only have their Christmas lights up, but on. So despite that it is only mid-November, Christmas is everywhere. Now it is going to be on my blog too.
Besides, I am quite a sucker for the holiday.
I remember as a kid, maybe 6-10 years old, my brother and I would fight over the J.C. Penny's Christmas catalog as soon as it arrived. (Remember when J.C. Penny's had toys?) I would make an extensive list of every possible thing in that catalog that I might have some desire to play with, and hand it over with a hopeful grin to my mom so she could do her Christmas shopping. I most certainly did not get all those things on my list but my parents always tried their hardest to get me that one thing that I wanted most of all, and that always made Christmas special and magical to me. And now as a parent, I understand that seeing the amazement in my eyes was one large part that made Christmas special and magical to my parents.
A couple weeks ago we were driving through town and one of the kids noticed that in an abandoned storefront there was a big picture of Santa leftover from a previous year. I started asking what they wanted Santa to bring. I was hoping to get a little bit of an idea so I could surprise them with that one thing that they really truly wanted. Marcus said, "What do I want? ...I know! Shoes." Will said, "I want shoes too." I've been trying to remind the kids about Christmas, about the presents and being with family, and mostly about the presents. Yet for the past month, every time I ask what they want Santa to bring, they say shoes.
In talking with other parents of kids the same age as my kids, I have found that their kids have a good idea of what toy they want for Christmas, usually what toys they want. I have heard stories about kids cutting out pictures in catalogs and making a collage for their wish list of toys that they aren't even sure they know what they do. I gave my kids a toy catalog. Will wasn't the least bit interested. Marcus just went through and tried to find as many pictures of trains as he could. Maybe my kids still don't "get" Christmas. Or maybe... maybe I am doing something right. Maybe I am somehow teaching my kids in some way that Christmas is really about a whole lot more than getting toys.
Likely it is something far more basic (and far more logical than me being an awesome parent). My kids don't watch commercials. They most certainly watch their fair share of TV, just not commercials. They mostly watch PBS, which doesn't have commercials during the shows. We record everything on our DVR and as soon as it is over, we either turn the TV off or put on a different show. They have avoided being bombarded by those flashy commercials.
My kids just don't normally ask for things. Probably because they learned quickly that the answer is almost always no. When we go to the store, it is usually just for groceries. They have never picked up a toy in the toy aisle and said they want to take it home, because that is just something we never do. I better write this all down and cherish it because I have a feeling that this will be one of the last years that my kids won't be completely sucked in by the commercialism that is Christmas.
In my own commercial view of Christmas, I want to make this Christmas special and magical for my kids by buying them something. Thankfully they are young enough to fall for the power of suggestion. For the past few days Marcus has decided that he wants a camera for Christmas. No idea how he might have got it into his head that having his own kid friendly digital camera would be a good idea... Up until today, Will was still sticking with his desire to have shoes. Today he said, "I want a camera too." How wonderful! You know, since Santa and I chat all the time and I just happen to know that my kids are going to get that one present that they really truly want this year.
Besides, I am quite a sucker for the holiday.
I remember as a kid, maybe 6-10 years old, my brother and I would fight over the J.C. Penny's Christmas catalog as soon as it arrived. (Remember when J.C. Penny's had toys?) I would make an extensive list of every possible thing in that catalog that I might have some desire to play with, and hand it over with a hopeful grin to my mom so she could do her Christmas shopping. I most certainly did not get all those things on my list but my parents always tried their hardest to get me that one thing that I wanted most of all, and that always made Christmas special and magical to me. And now as a parent, I understand that seeing the amazement in my eyes was one large part that made Christmas special and magical to my parents.
A couple weeks ago we were driving through town and one of the kids noticed that in an abandoned storefront there was a big picture of Santa leftover from a previous year. I started asking what they wanted Santa to bring. I was hoping to get a little bit of an idea so I could surprise them with that one thing that they really truly wanted. Marcus said, "What do I want? ...I know! Shoes." Will said, "I want shoes too." I've been trying to remind the kids about Christmas, about the presents and being with family, and mostly about the presents. Yet for the past month, every time I ask what they want Santa to bring, they say shoes.
In talking with other parents of kids the same age as my kids, I have found that their kids have a good idea of what toy they want for Christmas, usually what toys they want. I have heard stories about kids cutting out pictures in catalogs and making a collage for their wish list of toys that they aren't even sure they know what they do. I gave my kids a toy catalog. Will wasn't the least bit interested. Marcus just went through and tried to find as many pictures of trains as he could. Maybe my kids still don't "get" Christmas. Or maybe... maybe I am doing something right. Maybe I am somehow teaching my kids in some way that Christmas is really about a whole lot more than getting toys.
Likely it is something far more basic (and far more logical than me being an awesome parent). My kids don't watch commercials. They most certainly watch their fair share of TV, just not commercials. They mostly watch PBS, which doesn't have commercials during the shows. We record everything on our DVR and as soon as it is over, we either turn the TV off or put on a different show. They have avoided being bombarded by those flashy commercials.
My kids just don't normally ask for things. Probably because they learned quickly that the answer is almost always no. When we go to the store, it is usually just for groceries. They have never picked up a toy in the toy aisle and said they want to take it home, because that is just something we never do. I better write this all down and cherish it because I have a feeling that this will be one of the last years that my kids won't be completely sucked in by the commercialism that is Christmas.
In my own commercial view of Christmas, I want to make this Christmas special and magical for my kids by buying them something. Thankfully they are young enough to fall for the power of suggestion. For the past few days Marcus has decided that he wants a camera for Christmas. No idea how he might have got it into his head that having his own kid friendly digital camera would be a good idea... Up until today, Will was still sticking with his desire to have shoes. Today he said, "I want a camera too." How wonderful! You know, since Santa and I chat all the time and I just happen to know that my kids are going to get that one present that they really truly want this year.
posted by Annie and Greg @ 7:12 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
My brother has always said that Thanksgiving is his favorite holiday because all you really have to do is eat and hang out. There's so much less pressure than Christmas.
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