Let’s rethink holiday season shopping

Ka-ching!—the season for shopping has arrived.

According to the National Retail Federation, holiday sales have greatly increased every year since 2008, and this season, holiday sales are expected to grow four percent after Cyber Monday sales reached a record high. We are immersed in a consumerist culture, and materialism seems deeply entwined in our DNA. It can be difficult to control our shopping habits when sales abound during the holiday season. After all, money can buy happiness, right? Unfortunately, the answer’s no.

Our email boxes, radio channels, websites and phone calls are all cluttered with advertisements aiming to lure us into guilty purchases. All our money, time and closet space are gone before we know it. Remember those extra jeans buried in the back of your closet? Or those expensive boots that you don’t have any occasion for? The games gathering dust on your shelves? The scale at which we buy things today is unprecedented in history. Online shopping has made shopping more convenient, and it’s even easier to lose ourselves in the seasonal sale fervor.

Although extensive research has shown that donating toys to holiday drives and spending money on experiences such as travel make people happier, we still prioritize b u y i n g unnecessary material products because we think that they will last longer. However, we find that our desires change over time. Trends evolve, fads die out and new tech devices are pumped out each year. As a result, we cannot rely on objects for our longterm happiness.

As we become immersed in holiday season sales, we should realize that immoderate shopping can also dampen holiday spirit. We may fail to acknowledge the deeper sentiment of the holidays as they become increasingly marred with overconsumption and commercialization. So, instead of going to the mall or shopping online for ourselves, we should spend time and money what is most important to us: friends, family and life experiences. Go on vacation somewhere interesting, make DIY holiday accessories, wear those neglected jeans, buy tickets to a concert, watch a holiday movie, visit a national park, send a magazine or newspaper subscription to a friend—we shouldn’t spend all our time shopping.