The holiday season has arrived… My (unofficial) favorite season. Since I was a young child I’ve felt a sense of comfort and warmth associated with the season of food, warm clothes, exciting decor and good company. Also giving us an opportunity to spend extra energy (and resources) materializing the special bonds we have, whether it be through quality time together, phone calls, letters or exchanging gifts. In the 21st century, the special essence of the “relaxing” holiday season has been clouded by the importance of imposed consumerism. Black Friday has turned into more of a “gray weekend,” with new ways to shop right after Thanksgiving dinner, and most sales lasting for the weekend instead of the day. While the days of staying up late or waking up early and shuffling through chaotic crowds are not particularly over, there are more comfortable ways to engage in spending, like through online shopping.

This magnificent blending of spending quality time and spending on quality gifts, has added a stressful dimension to the holiday season. Targeted ads on social media have taken the old “TV commercial” to a new extreme. This year amazon is sending some of their packages in preprinted envelopes with their own ads; as a reminder with new purchases that the buying season is never over. Mixed with the ever-present TV commercials and mail ads, the reminder of ways to spend your money is very prevalent over the last chunk of the year. Recovering from the pandemic has led to a stretched out holiday season. The stress is no longer limiting store capacities, but managing supply chain issues, driver-shortages, closed ports and inflation. It’s being encouraged to shop even earlier. The spending potential is never limited, just adapting to become more accessible. 

The responsibility not to overspend, is all on the consumer. The cyclical nature of the year usually goes something like beginning the year developing better healthy habits, fixing your spending and diet. This is preceded perfectly by the holiday season, which embraces large amounts of shopping, eating and indulging in comforts and commodities. While this cycle can seem like a slippery slope for buyers, businesses meticulously fuel it. By enabling this inevitable cycle, marketers have taken a lot of control over society telling us what we need and when we need it. The year starts “getting back on track” from the overeating and overspending. This gives other companies such as gyms, supplements, consultants and coaches, their time to shine at the beginning of the year. By the second half of the year, these advertised services usually get overshadowed by the season's hottest products and comfort-food. There’s also a strategic influx of credit card offers leading up to autumn and winter. Falling into this blind cycle can make the year seem shorter and the holidays bring on more stress than ever before. Extended shopping seasons have promoted collective stress. 

It is up to us as buyers to become aware of this. Companies hide behind sales and discounts, to present themselves as doing the consumers a favor. In doing so, they leverage over telling the public what they need and when they need it.

Here are some tips and alternatives that can give consumers a better sense of control over their holidays spending habits.

1. Consider a gift swap with friends and family.

   Speak with loved ones and friends about your mutual expectations and understandings. It can seem like you must get everyone you love everything you can, when in reality it may be a more loving gesture to come to agreements about what would make each party the most comfortable. You’d be surprised how many people would prefer to take off the pressure of spending money on each other and swap it with creating special moments. In bigger groups, a preplanned gift swap could be a great way to make sure there is a clear budget, everyone can focus on one quality gift opposed to an accumulation of smaller/lower worth goods, and everyone involved ends up with a gift while giving and receiving within their means and needs. 

2. Look for deals, but don’t get wrapped up in them

A good discount is nothing to look past, but sales can be a sneaky way to get consumers to buy more than they were intending. Buy one get one half off, or buy 3 get one free types of sales can lead buyers to getting more of something than they would’ve actually wanted, all while being under the impression of catching a deal. It can also waste valuable time and resources going to many different places for very small proposed savings. It is also worth a shot to see if stores will price match a deal that you have found somewhere less convenient for you.

3. Plan and prepare

Planning your spending and gift guide before starting your shopping is important. It is critical to budget based on what works for YOU. Write out who you are shopping for and what you can spend on each person before. Then, consider different gifts and ways of shopping based on this criteria. Don’t just go out and get whatever catches your eye. By not getting clear on your limits, you can easily overspend on a couple gifts, and accidentally take away from the rest. 

The holidays are about so much more than giving and receiving material goods. The reciprocation of love and support can be done through time well spent, meaningful words of gratitude and acts of service. In the dynamic digital age of today, the pressure to spend during the holiday season comes from every direction. This cycle doesn’t seem to be ending, given companies need and look forward to these habits all year. With so many ways and places to spend, the responsibility of budgeting, planning and conversations about gift-giving is needed more than ever. 

By Monique Micek