My Christmas Wish
World Peace, of course.
But seriously, My wish is that no one feel obligated to buy me a gift. I am old enough, and affluent enough, that I own everything I need, and most of the things that I want. Many of the things that I "want" I don't even have room to store. This is a serious problem if you live in an urban environment and want a sea kayak or an expedition-length canoe. I barely have room for a mountain bike.
But I am forced to come up with lists for loved ones to demonstrate their love for me through commerce. Oh, well. I am just one person, crushed by the unstoppable onslaught of capitalism.
Consider this a discussion thread: Christmas wishes, anyone?
posted by Number Three @ 4:34 PM
3 Comments:
Peace on earth and goodwill to men is always a given, but I guess a simpler wish for us would be to celebrate Christmas in Italy (but unfortunately this year it's no more realistic than peace on earth).
I agree completely with the sentiment. The last thing we need is more stuff. We don't even have our stuff from California yet and we're still awash in too much stuff.
and I find listing wants for relatives to make buying things easier a bit much.
It's a more difficult path, but I think that giving gifts is an important ritual, an important part of relating to one's family and friends. but it should me more organic than we make it. it should be something one does because something makes you think of that person. or you think they'd like whatever it is. or something of yourself that somehow intersects with something of them. selecting a gift should be an art form. short circuiting it with cheat-sheets from the person receiving makes it somehow slightly less of a gift.
I also think receiving gifts and remembering gifts is important. I don't mean the graciousness with which one receives gifts, thank-you notes, etc., which is of course important. I mean the on-going remembrance of the gift-giver that gifts encompass. from: oh, my aunt gave me that pair of earrings--I think of her every time I put them on...to: my friend gave me a dress that didn't fit and so I returned it and got this other thing, but oddly it's still connected with her in my mind...
gifts (and philosophers in the house can fill in the references here) are important modes of exchange, but we lose that (like so many things, no?) in the overwhelming shopping-centred culture of Christmas. we are forced into artless gift giving, and we then fail to give gifts artfully for the rest of the year. those that can be the exception to this and maintain the art even in the holiday rush for the latest gadgety gadget--those people. wow.
I wish for juicy, fresh pears. Pears for everyone!
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