If today's monster snowfall didn't put you in the mood for the holiday season, I'm not sure what can. One of my favorite things about this time of year is buying presents for the people I'm close to--I find it so fun to get something really meaningful and special for someone I love. This year, one of those gifts will be for my 9-month-old goddaughter and I know it's going to be books. But some of the things I've read about Black Friday and the growing consumerism in this country got me thinking about just where I want those books to come from.
Seeing videos of a woman pepper-spraying people at a L.A. Walmart to get an X-Box and hearing about the millions of dollars Target grossed in just 24 hours honestly sickens me. I just don't see how these things have become more important than the holiday itself and simple time spent with family. We support these enormous international corporations and never think to look at smaller, more community-oriented stores that put the emphasis on meaning and joy instead of spend, spend, spend. Now I don't think we should refrain from buying gifts entirely or even boycott big-box stores; however, I do think we need to be more aware about where we're spending our money and what we're supporting with our holiday shopping.
Books are such a wonderful gift, especially if you have children on your holiday shopping list. Instead of promoting traditional gender roles with racecars and makeup, you can give a child the joy of literature and promote literacy development with a gift they can come back to over and over. But I urge you to consider where those books are coming from--and what you're implicitly supporting when you buy them. Is it about competitive shopping, consumerism, and status? Or is it about finding a meaningful gift for someone you love, and supporting the local community while you're at it?
If you're interested, you should check out some of these websites and local businesses:
http://www.indiebound.org/
Schuler's Books
Everybody Reads
The conversation about Black Friday shopping took up a lot of my thanksgiving dinner. I think it is so sad that people spend their Thanksgiving sitting in line instead of sitting with their families. I understand wanting to save money, and I understand if people want to go get in line later at night when dinner and celebrations are done. However I think that is sad that people have started getting in line earlier, and earlier. People started camping out the day BEFORE Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteI would personally rather online shop on cyber Monday and more importantly than that, spend time with my family.