Good one Nick. Another idea is to give gifts that have been personally handmade. I agree that businesses are overstepping the mark into disrupting socialisation. To have sales over a couple of weeks so families can have time to enjoy their time together. I loved the secret santa this year and appreciated the rest from shopping and stress. My idea still stands tho - a secret santa but with things homemade. When I was a child we did that and I recall a cut out shape in felt that was a pincushion that I made. There were 11 in my mother's family and that was the trend - not store bought. I know we live in quite different economic times but you make a strong point about family versus commercialisation. Good carton in Herald today along those lines - kids dreaming of cricket, swimming with the adult dreaming of shopping.
Feeling punch drunk after the excesses of Christmas Day now reeling from this onslaught on Boxing Day. Good thoughts Nick, about Mad Men aka ad-men driving money-making, whatever the day
I'm working today, ferrying shoppers from the North Shore to the city and back again, for hours and hours. What absolute fun I will have!
Actually, it'll be fine - I like my job, but I feel sorry for the folk who would love to spend time chilling with their families, but instead have to "man" the shops so the ones who love to spend, get to do that.
Very glad you pointed out, Nick, it's the big shopping names driving ex-holiday and Sunday shopping mania. It's hard on small local retailers. So, if you want to make a difference, shop with them. Ignore the big stores ... they'll have another, not to missed, fantabulous sale of crap, in a month's time anyway and then again, and again ... But are Boxing Day sales a sign of equality? (ref your explanation of its beginnings) i.e. you no longer have to be rich to give and put your hand out if you're less rich. Is that a theory? But you won't catch me at the shops today. Yuck!
Great summation of the commercialisation of all things associated with Christmas Nick. When I emigrated to NZ in 87 one of the great joys was that the country basically shut up shop for the weekends. A time where there was generally only one wage earner and when family time was considered far more valuable than mooching around stores! Alas along came the Lange years with Douglass and Prebble the great wreckers of the egalitarian dream. (Albiet for whites only!) And within a generation everything changed. Now multiple wage earners within a family are forced to work to make ends meet. Van Veldens despicable return to 90 day trials and removal of FPA's is the back to the future nightmare only the meanest employer would be celebrating.
I am personally saddened that many of the reasons I chose to come and live in NZ have been erased and this wonderful peice of godzone is becoming as toxic as any other western 'democracy'
That said, I do still love being able to make a (grown) child's eyes light up...especially Mr 17 who thinks there won't be any surprises since he can buy his own presents now (working part-time). I think I am always going to want to do that...but I'll admit, it can be food-based :D
The best Christmas we had was when a bunch of us with little kids and single incomes decided all gifts must be handmade or second-hand...my kids received satin pillowcases, with their names cross-stitched on (like a bookmark) across the corner AND they still have them (aged 24, 21 & 17)! Mr 17 missed out (not born), but years alter, the same Aunty made him one so he could have one too :D
You had to really think about what each child would love, and use your talents (even if it was op-shopping) to make their day special, and it showed (so, so much more than random gift vouchers).
Boxing Day! Sales and all that, as you say Nick, days gone by – replaced with commercialisation. What else could we expect with the rise to Capitalist society. Its all about the money, not your post though, its about families! Makes me realise only recently, I grew up with no family apart from Mum and Dad, all left behind in England. Maybe that is why I notice family gatherings and perhaps the extent to which we now relate family to the commercial requirements, holidays at the same few weeks, work all other times, to earn the dollars to spend, in the name of Christmas celebration. Now the commercial world grids on to make more money, expand business, psychologically modifying behaviour. All for money, that we do not have anyway, the banks have control of the money we do not have, and the big joke is they do not have it anyway!
All is but a record in computers, all this “money” is nothing more than a digital record, identical to crypto currency. A “tangible form of money used in exchange for goods or services” the main point being a tangible form of a theoretical concept. The currency then becomes “an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.”
We are told we should aspire to the "era of free-market capitalism", which gives argument that a lot on money is desirable; promoted by banks, lotto, poker machines, and the like. It seems very clear, from voting statistics, that a little less than half the people of Aotearoa have a people empathy, and the other 40% have empathy with money, not people.
Will it every end, I can see no alternative, other than it will end at some point in the future, the present economic systems are after all only about 50 years in coming to the present “system”.
Very timely comments Nick! I have traveled to Australia to spend time with my family, some of whom have traveled from California and Argentina to be here. We had all made a loose agreement that we would give consumable presents, except for the children, and light gifts to make it easier for the travelers. However, the collection of presents under the tree grew alarmingly as Christmas approached and eleven people contributed, and they certainly didn't appear to be particularly small, light or edible. Turns out that everyone really wanted to bring presents when we hadn't been all together for five years, so we all went ahead and did it! Maybe next year ...
I'm with you.
No more Xmas presents for the over 8s. Avoid malls on unboxed day.
This year I swapped to 'food' items for gifts (well chocolate, cookies, and/or wine in recyclable packaging) to avoid adding to landfill for evermore.
Christmas is an irrelevant indulgence when the world is burning. That's the ultimate grinch for ya 😏
I like this. I like this A LOT. Thanks Nick!
I'm glad you enjoyed it, and you're very welcome :)
Good one Nick. Another idea is to give gifts that have been personally handmade. I agree that businesses are overstepping the mark into disrupting socialisation. To have sales over a couple of weeks so families can have time to enjoy their time together. I loved the secret santa this year and appreciated the rest from shopping and stress. My idea still stands tho - a secret santa but with things homemade. When I was a child we did that and I recall a cut out shape in felt that was a pincushion that I made. There were 11 in my mother's family and that was the trend - not store bought. I know we live in quite different economic times but you make a strong point about family versus commercialisation. Good carton in Herald today along those lines - kids dreaming of cricket, swimming with the adult dreaming of shopping.
Feeling punch drunk after the excesses of Christmas Day now reeling from this onslaught on Boxing Day. Good thoughts Nick, about Mad Men aka ad-men driving money-making, whatever the day
Yep, couldn't agree more.
I'm working today, ferrying shoppers from the North Shore to the city and back again, for hours and hours. What absolute fun I will have!
Actually, it'll be fine - I like my job, but I feel sorry for the folk who would love to spend time chilling with their families, but instead have to "man" the shops so the ones who love to spend, get to do that.
Some photos of our Christmas 2023 here:
https://www.facebook.com/nrockel/posts/pfbid0n2P8R3qAgFPPP3gLuPYh4pT4X3FdEF3jkAA3zqWdhbkc8F2byZsUdmmmP9eyHnp2l
Very glad you pointed out, Nick, it's the big shopping names driving ex-holiday and Sunday shopping mania. It's hard on small local retailers. So, if you want to make a difference, shop with them. Ignore the big stores ... they'll have another, not to missed, fantabulous sale of crap, in a month's time anyway and then again, and again ... But are Boxing Day sales a sign of equality? (ref your explanation of its beginnings) i.e. you no longer have to be rich to give and put your hand out if you're less rich. Is that a theory? But you won't catch me at the shops today. Yuck!
Spot on!
Love this. Perfectly sums up my Boxing Day sentiment.
Knackered but great to be back home after a lovely time with whanau and friends in Hamilton! 2023 - BRING IT ON!
Great summation of the commercialisation of all things associated with Christmas Nick. When I emigrated to NZ in 87 one of the great joys was that the country basically shut up shop for the weekends. A time where there was generally only one wage earner and when family time was considered far more valuable than mooching around stores! Alas along came the Lange years with Douglass and Prebble the great wreckers of the egalitarian dream. (Albiet for whites only!) And within a generation everything changed. Now multiple wage earners within a family are forced to work to make ends meet. Van Veldens despicable return to 90 day trials and removal of FPA's is the back to the future nightmare only the meanest employer would be celebrating.
I am personally saddened that many of the reasons I chose to come and live in NZ have been erased and this wonderful peice of godzone is becoming as toxic as any other western 'democracy'
That said, I do still love being able to make a (grown) child's eyes light up...especially Mr 17 who thinks there won't be any surprises since he can buy his own presents now (working part-time). I think I am always going to want to do that...but I'll admit, it can be food-based :D
The best Christmas we had was when a bunch of us with little kids and single incomes decided all gifts must be handmade or second-hand...my kids received satin pillowcases, with their names cross-stitched on (like a bookmark) across the corner AND they still have them (aged 24, 21 & 17)! Mr 17 missed out (not born), but years alter, the same Aunty made him one so he could have one too :D
You had to really think about what each child would love, and use your talents (even if it was op-shopping) to make their day special, and it showed (so, so much more than random gift vouchers).
Boxing Day! Sales and all that, as you say Nick, days gone by – replaced with commercialisation. What else could we expect with the rise to Capitalist society. Its all about the money, not your post though, its about families! Makes me realise only recently, I grew up with no family apart from Mum and Dad, all left behind in England. Maybe that is why I notice family gatherings and perhaps the extent to which we now relate family to the commercial requirements, holidays at the same few weeks, work all other times, to earn the dollars to spend, in the name of Christmas celebration. Now the commercial world grids on to make more money, expand business, psychologically modifying behaviour. All for money, that we do not have anyway, the banks have control of the money we do not have, and the big joke is they do not have it anyway!
All is but a record in computers, all this “money” is nothing more than a digital record, identical to crypto currency. A “tangible form of money used in exchange for goods or services” the main point being a tangible form of a theoretical concept. The currency then becomes “an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.”
We are told we should aspire to the "era of free-market capitalism", which gives argument that a lot on money is desirable; promoted by banks, lotto, poker machines, and the like. It seems very clear, from voting statistics, that a little less than half the people of Aotearoa have a people empathy, and the other 40% have empathy with money, not people.
Will it every end, I can see no alternative, other than it will end at some point in the future, the present economic systems are after all only about 50 years in coming to the present “system”.
Very timely comments Nick! I have traveled to Australia to spend time with my family, some of whom have traveled from California and Argentina to be here. We had all made a loose agreement that we would give consumable presents, except for the children, and light gifts to make it easier for the travelers. However, the collection of presents under the tree grew alarmingly as Christmas approached and eleven people contributed, and they certainly didn't appear to be particularly small, light or edible. Turns out that everyone really wanted to bring presents when we hadn't been all together for five years, so we all went ahead and did it! Maybe next year ...
Double bah humbug.