Monday, November 24, 2008

What if?



If you haven't seen it already, take a moment to watch this powerful clip about consumerism and Christmas.

It will make you think twice about piling your cart on Black Friday.

34 comments:

Suzanne said...

black Friday? We celebrate Buy Nothing Day.

Nicola said...

we are not religious at all, but the message is still totally clear and totally valid and totally true. thanks for the video link. and i proud that ours is a homemade, thoughtful holiday this year. it usually is, but even more so this year.

Anonymous said...

thanks Meredith. TRUE!

deb meyers

Kathleen Grace said...

I love this Meredith1 How can I get to it on you-tube to send it to other people?

Anonymous said...

This was good to see. Got me thinking!

Anonymous said...

This is so moving! I started crying when I watched it, and I promptly sent it out to everyone I know. When we are buying this year, we are tryign to buy from local people so that the money stays in the community in which we live. We are also making donations in people's honor for Christmas gifts this year.
Gabrielle

Christi said...

I've seen this around several sites the past few days, and it really does put things into perspective.

What I struggle with, and I imagine others do as well - is knowing that my bit is so little. And I get mired in that, thinking how hard it is to make a difference.

Unknown said...

I was kinda (in a weird way) bummed cause I had already finished up my shopping and didn't need to go on Friday. What a great reminder why I set out to do it this way this year.

Thanks!
Hugs!
Gina

Anonymous said...

I get tired of hearing people complain about how commercial Christmas has become, how Christmas has lost its meaning. Because I feel that I have control of how Christmas is celebrated in my home. I don't worry about what the rest of the world is doing about Christmas. I can only affect Christmas in my home.

This video is a great example of what an individual family can do. I love it!

Thanks for sharing!

SB in MI

Christine said...

I love this! I'm posting it on my own blog! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Thank you Meredith. It reminds everyone of the real meaning of Christmas. The 'reason for the season' is not to line the pockets of Walmart, Kmart, Target, etc. It is to spend our time and our love with the family we have. To remember the family and friends who are no longer on earth with us. Blessings to you. Roxie

Nancy said...

Thank you for posting this. I hadn't seen it yet. We are definitely cutting back this year. We may not be wealthy, but I truly want for nothing and need the reminder that I am so very blessed.
God Bless.
-Nancy

Michelle said...

Thanks Meredith! I'm going to share it on my blog too.

We cut way back on our Christmas presents for our family this year so we could adopt another family in need!

Just last night we sat around making a list of things we can do together as a family and ways to can donate to food banks, homeless shelters, etc.

Empty Nest Full Life said...

This is great! So very true, and we plan to do just that. How do I put this on my blog? Jackie

Unknown said...

Thanks Meredith, it is very inspiring. Kudos to whoever made it--the graphical story is excellent and combination of generality and specifics very effective.

Linds84 said...

For everyone who is asking how to share this: All you have to do is click on the video and the youtube site will pop up then look below the video where it says "share" then click on whichever site you use and the instructions will pop up.

Brandy said...

Wow. This so so powerful and says all the things we need to be reminded of every single day. I'm posting this on my blog, too.

Anonymous said...

We love the Lord and we are going to shop this christmas for our family - We also make one present to exchange on Christmas Day -
Whether I shop at the farmer's market or at Walmart will not determine much - just what I can afford -

My children volunteer with us in donating to other families in need.

We love buying for our children - They love giving to others - They believe in the story of Jesus and get excited about it - more than they do Santa - but Santa brings the gifts they believe still -
I think that with a balanced perspective, and what your family can afford, whatever you want to do can be done - within reason.

My children will have a blessed Christmas! It's just the magic of it all that makes mama make loads of food and put of 5 trees in the house in the common rooms!

Merry Christmas and God bless our incoming historical 44th President-elect Obama! Let's continue praying for our country -

Bonnie K.

Anonymous said...

Love the video! We had already planned on drastically reducing what we spend on Christmas gifts. I even talked my parents into setting a limit on what they buy for us. Instead of buying useless things for the various Sunday school/piano teacher in my kids lives, we plan on baking for them. The money that we save will be added to our church's mission project this year. We are collecting money to send to one of our missionaries to buy a small airplane they need to reach their village.

Anonymous said...

Christmas is a pagan holiday anyways. Look up the origins of it - it's not Christ's birth.

Laine said...

Thanks Meredith, that was great! It is so true...we have just really gotten so far from what it is all about!

Melissa @ The Inspired Room said...

Great video! Thanks!

I hope you enjoy Thanksgiving weekend with your family and new baby!

Blessings,
Melissa

Anonymous said...

This is how I was raised and it's how we're doing it with our family. I'm with Suzanne about Buy Nothing Day.
It's a lot easier to buy a gift than to give time.

Anonymous said...

Meredith,

My DH, an engineer, decided that we should support clean water some time ago. He chose this organization:

http://www.playpumps.org/site/c.hqLNIXOEKrF/b.2559311/k.BCFF/Home.htm

I'm not sure if he just chose it because it's a cool engineering solution to the water problem where it's used.

Jora

Creative Life Studio said...

Yep, I'm with you on this one. It's Buy Nothing Day for us too.

Creative Life Studio said...

Oops! I almost forgot! Meredith, I've passed along an award to you. Do stop by when you get a free moment (?!?!) and pick it up if you like.

Blessings to you and a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Anne Marie@Married to the Empire said...

That video is a great reminder about not going overboard on stuff at this time of year. However, I have to say that I get frustrated that there is so much focus on giving to others (charity-wise, I mean) at Christmas time, but the rest of the year, people seem to forget that there is suffering in the world. I firmly believe that there would be little to no guilt over Christmas spending if more people were involved in helping ministries year-round.

Anonymous said...

I haven't gone shopping on Black Friday in about 12 years! But on the other hand, my husband works in retail and that day is very important to his business which employs thousands of people. So I think a balanced approach (as with most things)is good.

Manuela

Sheila said...

Thanks for that! I know we need to shop to keep the economy moving.

But I just can't buy junk.

We support an orphanage in Africa that is in desperate need of towels and cloth diapers for the 100 girls they rescued from a refugee camp. The girls now have 100 babies, born out of rape (but still designed by God). So we're sending a shipment over there.

If everybody did just a little bit, imagine what we could do! We don't have to give up the whole 450 billion, but surely we can give up a little? We buy a little for our kids, but not much for each other. What do I really need, anyway?

One year we bought a well for a village in Liberia. That was worth more than any gift my husband could give me.

Visit To Love, Honor and Vacuum today!

Stephanie Wilson she/her @babysteph said...

Meridith, thank you so much for sharing this!

Steph

Meredith said...

One of the reasons I liked this video so much is that it doesn't say, "give nothing" but instead, "give less" and "give time."

I don't think there's anything wrong with buying gifts on Black Friday, but watching a reminder like this one might keep us from throwing extra gifts in the cart just because they are such good buys.

If most Americans eliminated those stocking-stuffer type filler gifts, that alone would be a huge chunk of change.

Gifts are VERY important to me--they're my love language, a la the 5 Love Languages. For us, who live far away fromm one side of the family, giving is one of the few ways left to make a personal connection, and substituting a charity just wouldn't work for them.

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

Amen, Meredith! What a great video, I may have to share this one too. I'm really on the not buying a lot of presents bandwagon the last couple of years too & I actually have almost NO shopping to do this year. It's so freeing! We could all learn from this one.

Anonymous said...

Looooooved that.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for this post, without having visited your site I wouldn't have known about A.C. I put the link on my Myspace page. Hopefully, my friends and family will see it and make the connection. Can you imagine the pain of watching your child die from a waterborne illness? How many more mothers will have to bear that sadness before we do what we can, what we should do. I wish everyone here realized how lucky they are just to live in a developed country. Sorry for the rant, I've got pregnancy hormones raging.