Time for my annual link to Buy Nothing Christmas, the alternative holiday site run by an old Adbusters colleague, Aiden Enns. It's filled with resources for a nonconsumer Christmas, including printable pdfs for coupons you can give as gifts (for childcare or back massages, for instance), to study guides on the Christian roots of Christmas, ideas from Bill McKibben's book Hundred-Dollar Holiday, and more.
12.04.2005
Alternative X-mas
Time for my annual link to Buy Nothing Christmas, the alternative holiday site run by an old Adbusters colleague, Aiden Enns. It's filled with resources for a nonconsumer Christmas, including printable pdfs for coupons you can give as gifts (for childcare or back massages, for instance), to study guides on the Christian roots of Christmas, ideas from Bill McKibben's book Hundred-Dollar Holiday, and more.
Yay!
ReplyDeleteThis is my third Buy Nothing Holiday, and I really like taking the time to chat with people who ask me if I've finished all my holiday shopping - but they don't get the answer they were expecting.
I started three years ago by participating in the Buy Nothing Day protest for the day after Thanksgiving shopping. Buy Nothing has become one of the most meaningful things I do during the holiday season.
I also tried out the "gift certificate" approach, and designed really nice certificates for friends and family - mini-film fests at my place, dog-sitting, a home-cooked dinner, etc. - and NOT ONE person took me up on the deal. It was discouraging, but also interesting to see how deeply this gift-giving expectation is entrenched in our culture.
What an awesome idea...Thank you very much!
ReplyDeleteJames