Do you hear that growing rumble? That’s the sound of Christmastime excess ready to rocket through your world in just a few more days. From gifting to gathering to gobbling grub, we will soon be in the thick of it, so hold on tight.
The circulars and airwaves are currently awash with entreaties to buy things for ourselves as well as for others. And in advertising, as in Christmas, the old saying was never truer: it’s all about the children.
Do you hear that growing rumble? That’s the sound of Christmastime excess ready to rocket through your world in just a few more days. From gifting to gathering to gobbling grub, we will soon be in the thick of it, so hold on tight.
The circulars and airwaves are currently awash with entreaties to buy things for ourselves as well as for others. And in advertising, as in Christmas, the old saying was never truer: it’s all about the children.
Adults annually climb the mountain of acquiring glorious goo-gahs in hopes Junior and Sissy’s eyes light up. And who could blame us oldsters, given the retail reinforcement we receive?
So it will be that parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, godparents, and others will endure crowds and long lines to score those most-coveted toys. Store ads provide a message we adults wholeheartedly embrace: purchase these items and the children will not only be happy, they will love you.
Thus, we shell out sheckles for game consoles that promise family fun, but are too-soon underwhelming to any but the youngest. We give hand-held gaming systems, then mourn the kids’ lack of family interaction once they have them. We buy into commercials’ hype over board games, action figures, scooters, phone accessories, cheesy holiday movies, fantasy play sets, trampolines, karaoke machines, and more, all in the hopes of giving the recipients the joy we think we deserved but so seldom realized all those years ago.
I suppose this kind of consumption has its place. We all want to feel the joy of giving and of receiving. The happiness of opening that shiny, new package is something we all want some little one somewhere to associate with our presence in their lives.
Unfortunately, we seldom allow past experience to deter our decision making, even though we know in our hearts the excitement about that remote control vehicle will not last as long as the battery therein. We rarely recall the short shelf life of little Jimmy or Judy’s obsession with Star Wars or Angry Birds or Hello Kitty or any number of other licensed characters. Too often, the Disney Dream Castle, Barbie sheet set, or Batman utility belt begin to gather dust shortly after thank-you’s are coaxed from the young recipient’s lips.
My advice this year – go ahead and give a name brand item or two, something flashy they can tweet or facebook their pals about. But don’t miss the opportunity to give the kids something else – the gift of you.
Make arrangements – and block out time on the calendar – to lavish the children with that rarest of presents – your time. What museums can you take them to (and, no, you don’t have to spend all day)? Maybe it’s been years since you visited an art gallery; you’ll see things with new eyes by bringing a youngster along. How about a day trip (and this is an easy one for your Angelinos) to the biggest body of water available? When’s the last time you went to the zoo, sat on the observation deck at the airport, or watched ships unload at the port? Sharing yourself for any of these activities would be a gift they’d long remember, you know.
So, good luck with the shopping and gifting. If it makes it feel more Christmassy, by all means, go through the ordeal of mall madness. But be sure to make this giving season memorable for the children in your life by giving the gift of something timeless.
And if all else fails, pass along the cardboard boxes their stuff was shipped in. Heck, kids will play with those things forever.
Pat Grimes, a former South Bay resident, writes from Ypsilanti, Mich. He can be reached at pgwriter@inbox.com.
