The traditional scene of every Hallmark Christmas card depicts the Christmas tree with its evergreen branches decked out in brilliant lights, wrapped in glittering tinsel, and delicate ornaments of fragile memories dangling from the branches with the golden star topping it off.
Nestled beneath the branches are gifts wrapped in bright colors and ribbons, tied together with a flourish, each of them promising treasures that we can only imagine.
The season of giving is meant to be a time of good cheer, but over the years it has become marketable for businesses to fill their pockets.
Christmas is known as the season of giving and Americans are no strangers to this concept. They spent almost 1.1 trillion dollars on Christmas in 2023 and it’s expected to increase seven percent in 2024.
Despite the season’s festivities, expectations and the desire to go above and beyond often lead to constant pressure.
The holidays are a time meant for family, friends, and festivities; but they also come with financial pitfalls.
The average American spends almost a thousand dollars on gifts and other holiday–related items which is roughly an average worker’s weekly wage.
Every year as the holiday season approaches, every screen and billboard is filled with flash sales of intricate toys the kids will love, deals on candy-cane striped pajamas for the whole family, and cheerful sales with people dressed in Santa outfits announcing deals “You don’t want to miss out on” with jingle bells ringing in the background.
Behind every winter wonderland facade on screen is a greedy businessman behind the screen, smiling as sales steadily rise.
Christmas shopping generally begins a month or two before the holiday to prepare for the stress that usually comes, such as holiday decorations and dinner preparations.
Even when preparing in advance, many people reported feeling financially stressed as the holidays approached.
As the frantic gift-givers rush to find the perfect gift, they are bombarded with bright red signs screaming “Sale! Sale! Sale!” and stock picture families beaming at their delighted child as they hold up a toy that would immediately give the kid all of the bragging rights at the school playground.
It is yet another impossible vision that the desperate gifter works hard for. They want nothing more than to bring that scene to life, but can already feel their wallets getting lighter.
Statistics show that 81 percent of Americans give gifts during the holidays.
In a new Experian survey, 56 percent of gifters reported stress about their finances, 63 percent said that they felt that they spent too much, whereas 68 percent said that the economy would impact how they plan to shop this year.
The giver is expected to be kind and enjoy the gift of giving. They are supposed to be thoughtful, and willing to spend the earnings of their hard work on the happiness of someone they love.
Although the people giving are going out of their way to deliver cheer, it is also a burden for them.
The leading cause of holiday stress is not being able to afford gifts while finding the right gift is also a contributing factor.
Even the personification of Christmas was immortalized in hopes of boosting sales.
The iconic Santa Claus that we know today with his fluffy white beard, cheerful grin, bright red suit, and shiny black shoes was designed by Haddon Sundblom for Coca-Cola.
In 1931, the soft drink company began advertising the cheerful old man with their sales, tying Christmas to Coca-Cola for generations to come. Another rich man filling his pockets during the season of giving.
Christmas is meant to be a season of cheer and kindness, giving because of the goodness of our hearts. Every present under the evergreen tree promises laughter and a thoughtful gift that the receiver will love.
However, over time, the price value of the gift became more important than the actual value, more important than the thought and effort going into the gift.
In a world where time is currency, what better way to show our love than spending our limited time with them?
Perhaps people should spend more time with the people they love rather than spending that time on gifts they hope they will love.