 Boycott Over
posted by Dante on 12.27.2004 - 8:13 am
My family and friends think I'm an uncontrollable impulse buyer. If the idea of something crosses my mind I'll be at the store buying it that afternoon. This used to make me a nightmare to shop for during the Christmas season. There was no such thing as "getting it out of the way early" because a gift bought 2 weeks in advance of Christmas was likely to be ruined by my own capricious consumption patterns.
So, unlike my partner here, I have some fairly strict rules placed on my purchases during the holiday season. I enter a virtual 'blackout' for self-purchases once I cross the Thanksgiving threshold. For 4 (and, god forbid, sometimes 5) weeks I am forbidden from picking up the hot new game / system / movie / CD / etc. that just hit the shelves. As many of you might guess, this is a painful time for me. Religion might be the opiate of the masses, but consumerism is my personal crack habit - and my family has an intervention penciled in on the calendar for the day after Thanksgiving every year.
For this entire period I am powerless. Friends are snapping up new toys and telling me all about them. I can only nod my head in silence, biding my time until Christmas has passed. Because of the blackout, I look forward to the day after Christmas almost as much as Christmas.
That said, I do recognize the value of the blackout. As a techno-dork, I speak a language and live in a world that is almost completely alien to my entire family and most of my friends. These people who care about me don't want to be contented with buying socks or a coffee mug because that's the only thing they think I won't buy for myself. As I mature, I recognize that the commercial aspect of Christmas is as much for the gift giver as the receiver. So, I have made it through all five stages, and have finally reached acceptance. There's still some anger, denial, bargaining, and depression thrown in as I pitch a mini-tantrum in the aisles of a Best Buy on December 22nd, but overall I've made it to acceptance.
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