Sanity In The Silly Season

For several weeks we have been saving all the Christmas promotional sales and gift emails that rolled in from ethical and sustainable companies to post here in order to help you, dear reader, with your Christmas shopping.

As the emails kept piling in, we started to feel a little disheartened at the sheer amount of them. Whilst we agree wholeheartedly that it is far better to purchase presents with a low carbon footprint, gifts that benefit others as well as the giver and receiver and luxurious but natural treats rather than the usual tat one can find in most supermarkets and shopping malls at this time of year, it was all getting a bit depressing.

Almost all the goods on offer were far better suited as seasonal gifts in our humble opinion, than cheap plastic toys made by poorly paid, un-unionised workers; so much better than food or wine imported by plane from the other side of the planet and infinitely superior to toiletry gift packs full of skin and immune system damaging chemical poisons that will probably sit in their toxic plastic baskets or boxes at the back of the bathroom cabinet gathering dust until such time as they can be thrown out to lounge despondently on a landfill pile as all those delicious toxins seep slowly back into our soil - yum!!

You get the point, I think! Some gifts are better than others. It’s all relative. However, wouldn’t it be better to not buy gifts at all over the holiday season? Whilst we are mad keen on supporting all the deserving suppliers of goods and services you see listed in our sidebar throughout the year, we don’t feel at all comfortable dancing to the tune of the corporate-economic commercialisation of what should be a special but simple time of year.

So this year, we humbly ask that you join us in celebrating the holiday season with a little restraint; without getting into unnecessary debt; without feeling pressurised to buy unwanted and un-needed gifts; without spending inordinate amounts of time and money on making our houses look more festive than the Jones’; without sending non-recycled paper greeting cards to all and sundry when a thoughtful email or personal greeting could mean so much more and save a few trees along the way and without indulging in huge amounts of unhealthy food when our neighbours (both locally and globally) are going hungry!

Instead, let’s spend quality time with friends and family; share delicious and nutritious meals; make a concerted effort to be with those who would otherwise spend the season alone or unhappily; give generously of our time rather than our pockets to make a meaningful difference.

Whether you will celebrating in the sun with a barbeque on the beach, or snuggled up inside against colder weather let’s be thankful for all that we have that cannot be purchased in a supermarket or on-line. Let’s enjoy the company of friends, family even strangers and let’s spread some love and respect for each other. Isn’t that what Christmas is all about? Have a peaceful one!

Original Post: http://ecomonkey.blogspot.com/2007/11/sanity-in-silly-season.html