Rant #2,771: Pressure

Funny, but this year, without even Halloween put to bed yet, I started to see Christmas ads on television.
 
And now that we are two weeks away from Thanksgiving, the rate of these commercials have picked up tremendously.
 
Heck, the turkey isn’t even near the oven, and we are talking about Christmas already!
 
I could almost see it if we were talking about Hanukkah alone, because this year, the “Festival of Lights” is really, really early, with the first night beginning at sundown on November 28.
 
But Christmas? By my calendar, we have 43 days yet to get to the cherished day … why rush it?
 
I think the reason is many-folded, to be honest with you.
 
All of our holidays and seasons are rushed, nowadays, to get the maximum bang for the buck on the part of advertisers and retailers.
 
This way, they really extend the season, which means they extend the buying time, with the commensurate extension of the dollars flowing to them during the season.
 
This year, there is seemingly another problem, and that has to do with the supply chain, which is being bottled up for a variety of reasons, including the lack of personnel to service what is coming into our country.
 
Of course, if you buy American the problem isn’t as bad, but when your kid desperately wants Nintendo, I guess American isn’t good enough.
 
So we are being told to shop early—because we will be delayed in getting our purchases because they aren’t coming off the ships fast enough—and ship out your gifts early—because the Postal Service is now slower in delivering the goodies to their destination.
 
It almost seems like a vicious cycle, and I guess it really is just that.
 
Me—and my family, for that matter—we are done with our holiday shopping.
 
Yes, you read it right, we are DONE.
 
During the past number of years, as the kids got older, all of us simply decided that gift cards were the way to go, so that is what we purchase for the holidays.
 
Gift cards—and before them, gift certificates—were once looked down upon as the “lazy man’s” gift, something that takes absolutely no thought and just serves to take the place of a “real” gift.
 
But in today’s world, I would prefer to get a gift card than anything else, because then I can get the gift that I really want rather than something somebody thinks I want.
 
So my wife, my son, my mother and myself only purchase gift cards for gifts, and they are just as welcome as buying a gift would be …
 
And there are no supply chain issues, no problems with returning or regifting gifts, none of that.
 
And you can use the gift card whenever you want, which makes it even a better holiday gift.
 
In fact, my family was done weeks ago with the gift card purchasing, so we don’t have to even think about it now.
 
And the personalization that might be missing from the gift cards is found in the cards that we do buy the individuals that we are giving the gift cards to, and since holiday cards were in short supply when we purchased the gift cards, that is something we still have to do, buy those cards that fit the person.
 
Now that there are plenty of cards out there—again, Hanukkah is right around the corner—we are going to have to buy those cards pronto, but it is better than having to buy gifts and wondering if we will ever be able to get them to the person on time, or even get the gift at all in the first place.
 
We are so gift-driven as a society during the end-of-year holidays that we kind of lose focus about what Christmas and Hanukkah are really and truly about.
 
But on the other hand, we have gotten through another year, another horrible year, so why not get presents for those that we love, to show our appreciation for them being there when we have needed them the most?
 
It is kind of a double-edged sword, but you do what you feel is necessary.
 
And in my family, we have an extra-added wrinkle to all of this, that being that my sister was born on December 26, so she gets a birthday gift for her special day.
 
And yes, in the current environment, she will get a gift card too.
 
That is just the way my family does it, and there is nothing better than being the proverbial kid in the candy store when you get such a card on your birthday—you can get whatever you want, within the cash amount, of course.
 
Have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday.