Tuesday, March 12, 2013

xmas 2013


Idea for xmas 2013

I will set it straight I am totally bah humbug when it comes to Christmas for various reasons, the main one being the fact that I have not been brought up in any religion let alone a Christian one. By not brought up, I mean (and this is illegal I believe) I did not attend a single Assembly, RE lesson or meeting where my elders closed their eyes and made wishes to gods. I was even booted out of the cubs on the first day for not doing the lords prayer.
However religion is not the be all and end all to Christmas and I understand the celebration of family and friends is important to some people and it overrides all the religious claptrap.
Now not being of a religion does not mean I have no morals, I can see from one step removed a lot of the tropes in the religious dogma’s trouted out is just moral guidance of how to be good wrapped up in a fairytale.
Which leads me back to Christmas, this is suddenly turned into a capitalist arms race, find a gift , receive a gift, but these gifts are just things, is an Ipad enough, is a Tie enough, the answer is probably no, yet we struggle through November and December bankrupting ourselves for a fleeting moment of happiness and then spend the early part of the following year skint.
Who benefits, well you feel good for buying the gifts, the recipient briefly feels good, but if you are really honest, it is the shops and the banks that benefit most.
The biggest waste at Christmas though is the gifts people call stocking fillers. You know the ones, they cost £10 and they sell them in the queue at Topshop and Next. Mini shot glasses sets, Knicker hankies, table tennis bat sized fly swats, Stylophone’s FFS Stylophones no one wants a Stylophone surely!
Well the idea is to do away with these stocking fillers and the answer of how is really easy.
Charity Shops.
For Christmas 2013 I urge all Secret Santa’s, gifts for in laws and cousins who you would normally spend less than £20 on, be bought from a charity shop….and with gift aid if you can.
Who gains.
You do, you will spend less money and enjoy the shopping experience
Charities do, your money will not go to the bottom line of a big store
The recipient does, plus, if they do not want it, they can always re-donate the gift they receive.
It is after all the thought that counts.
So who is in?

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