Consumer Christmas

Here is my girls' favorite movie at the moment.
Doesn't this eary morning smile show all her glee.
She is truly captivated by the marketing machine that is Twilight.

This Christmas was a great time.

Full of parades, carolling, traditions, dinners, crafts, family and friends.

With everything we did, the hampers we put together, the toys we donated, the baking we shared, over all added up to a true Christmas full of spirit.

But it left me considering many things.

How much of the things we got do we really need?

I am not being ungrateful in any way and I am the first to say I am in love with everything I received, but I mean in the overall sense of consumerism and materialism.

How many people lose the real meaning of the holidays and become greedy, un-enjoying spendy elves?

I spent the better part of yesterday reorganizing the girl's room and the house to accommodate the new things.

We really didn't need anything but you cannot fill the tree with homemade gifts that I make all year anyways.....they would have a pretty good idea that Santa wasn't real if that happened.

So toys and trinkets were stuffed under the tree and spread all over the livingroom before long.

We recycled and burned copious amounts of rubbish and packaging.

Why is there such a need for 3 times the plastic packaging than the product is itself?

As we can burn and recycle most of this I consider ourselves fortunate but I wonder what everyone in the city does.

How much of all this goes into the landfills?

I have decided that next year we are sewing bags for Santa to place our gifts into and I am going to practice the fine Japanese art of fabric wrapping, Furoshiki.

I have more than enough beautiful fabric and although it will be hard to part with it, I see the benefits.

Maybe we should start a wrapping revalution and practice kindness to our earth.