Alright everyone, I want to discuss what the holidays mean to me. That’s it. The holiday season is here! Bring on the sales, shopping and Black Friday madness! Let’s buy everything we don’t need just because it’s on sale! Spend money filling our homes with more stuff just because we can! Just kidding. While that may be a lot of the world’s focus right now, I am beyond over it.
It may seem odd that a blogger isn’t focused on product sales at the moment. I should be posting my holiday gift guides for you right about now, right? Nope. Not I.
Let me clarify. There is absolutely nothing wrong with buying things. We need things. I shop regularly. I also know many people strategically use these sales and Black Friday to purchase items they’ve been saving for, wanting or needing. And I’m definitely not saying not to spoil your kids, nieces and nephews with toys. Do. Spoil them. But maybe with something a bit more meaningful.
What I’m trying to say is I’m frustrated. I love the holidays and Christmas. I love receiving thoughtful gifts, but I find it absolutely ridiculous that we buy each other random things that we know we’ll never use or don’t want or need. I also think it’s absolutely ridiculous that for years, I would make a Christmas Wish List board on Pinterest, usually starting with things I genuinely wanted or needed, but eventually filling with random things because my relatives ‘needed’ to be able to buy me something. I would scour the internet for things I might like and pop them in my wish list. Not because I actually wanted them, but because of this societal need to buy one another things as a sign of love during this time of year (or even birthdays really, but that’s another conversation.)
Of course, this comes in phases too. There’s definitely some correlation between age, price of gifts and how the number of gifts decreases. I wish the new iPhone was as cheap as that Mary Kate & Ashley DVD I wanted when I was younger!
Some people may think I’m crazy, but I’ve moved enough times in my life to know the difference between something I’ll actually value and something that won’t mean a thing. I’ve accidentally become a little bit minimalist as a side effect of moving. That isn’t to say I don’t have a lot of stuff. I do. I have more books and DVDs than most people I know, but these things add value to my life. They genuinely make me happy, because I only keep the ones that I love.
You may be asking: “What does this have to do with traveling, Kristina?”
I know. I know. I’m getting there.
One of my absolute favorite things about traveling is experiencing other cultures. Yes, I love a good picture for Instagram and I love food, but what I love most is people. How they live their lives. Their customs and traditions. It’s what affected me the most about my last trip to Europe and one of the things I love most about Hispanic culture too. The focus is much less on the material, more on the immaterial. On spending time with family. On traveling and seeing the world. On giving back to and truly being a part of your community. Where the gift is presence, not presents.
So this holiday season, give all the gifts. I’m asking that you be aware that the gift of you may be so much more valuable than whatever material item you’d planned on buying, both to you and the person you’re gifting.
As for me, I’m looking forward to spending time with my family, playing games, cooking, eating, and watching tv. We’ve also got a little getaway planned, because the travel bug is genetic 🙂 Family time is what the holidays mean to me!
Happy Thanksgiving!
