Week #50 Slow down before Christmas

Christmas time is about family and friends, happy time spending together. However, this idyllic atmosphere is often taken by the stress and manic rush of buying and packing presents, shopping groceries and decorations, cooking and getting everything ready on time and be perfect in every step.

What if you stop for a moment and think about the real magic of Christmas? When did it happen that this time has to be about buying gifts (the bigger and more expensive, the better) instead of mindful time spent with loved ones? Spending all the money (that we don't even have) for something that people maybe don't even want?

Christmas may be a time for giving, but not everyone is grateful for the gifts they receive. A survey for Netherlands-based bank ING found 15% of Europeans were unhappy with what gifts they received last year, while 10% couldn’t even remember their gifts (source).

US consumer website finder.com found 62% of Americans expect to get an unwanted gift this year – which equals 154 million people receiving presents worth a total of more than $15 billion, half of which will be re-gifted or taken back to the store.

For some people, Christmas is a financial strain. ING bank group report that, across Europe, one in 10 borrows or runs up credit-card debt to pay for the festivities. Two-fifths feel pressure to spend more money than they want to at Christmas.

And the unnecessary waste that comes with it.

The UK alone produces as much as 300 million tonnes of packaging waste every year, and Christmas trees are no exception. Every single Christmas tree which is bought in the United Kingdom, on average, if lined up, will reach all the way to New York and back. Along with Christmas trees, we waste 4500 tonnes of that great Christmas staple, tin foil, and about 13300 tonnes of wrapping paper and glass – enough to circle the equator a total of 9 times (source).

If people would slow down during this season and bring more awareness into it, we could avoid lots of stress, money, unwanted gifts and enjoy more this time of the year.