After Gina told me about the latest movie she saw, “What would Jesus buy?“, I started thinking (again) about how much money I spend daily, weekly, monthly and throughout my past. I typically spend hundreds of dollars on presents for only a few people. In the end, do these people feel more loved because of that? The modern consensus would be no. However, it is difficult to find a happy medium between not giving and going insane with presents.
In the movie, as Gina and the website say, Reverend Billy (from the church of stop shopping) does not want us to not spend money (well, maybe spend less), but instead think about how those dollars negatively affect other people, such as childern in sweatshops, and positively benefit a select few at large corporations.
With today’s constant movement to go green, there is a group that takes it farther with “Buy Nothing Christmas“. They want you to use what you have and make gifts for everyone. While this can be difficult, it is usually possible to an extent.
Since my family is spending Christmas in Detroit, we are all getting each other small presents, which is kind on my small pockets. I’m going to buy very small things and then make a few things as well. But, my parents are buying both Mallory and I new laptops, how could they do this without corporations, in my case, Apple?
Although Buy Nothing Christmas and even everyday stop consumerism efforts are strides in the right direction, I still think it is hard to detach yourself from large companies. They basically run our lives and tell us what to like, and they have infiltrated and are very hard to get away from. And what about gas stations? It is a constant struggle to replace our daily habits with less spending and more conscious spending. In the end, unless we are going to be like No-Impact Man, we can simply think about each purchase more cautiously. (especially if we are poor like I am)
How to make homemade Christmas gifts:
