Disgusting News.

I did not participate in Black Friday shopping today, for two reasons.

#1- I had to work.
#2- I have decided that EVERY gift I give this year will be either handmade (by me or someone else) or bought used.

The possible exception to this is clothes for David, because he needs those and it is hard to find good used men’s clothing. But everything else, for any readers who expect a gift from me, will be used or handmade. So you can expect, like, a necklace made out of bottle caps. Or a purse from the 80s. Or a well-worn book on acrobatics. Something like that.

Because of the economic climate, I have seen many emails, books, articles, and blogs about emphasizing the “spirit” of the holidays over what has become a tradition of rampant consumerism. And even though I don’t have any children, I can honestly say that for the last five or so years Christmas has been a terrible time for me, because I have felt pressured to spend beyond my means. Now my means were tiny, as I have been a student for most of that time, and relative and friends never expected me to buy for them– but the guilt of receiving without giving can be a holiday ruiner.

I’m not someone who refuses to shop at big box stores as a matter of principle– in Cleveland I was in Wal-mart at least once a week, pretty much had to be. But lest we forget that the consumeristic spirit can get really really ugly, check out this article that David emailed me about a Wal-mart employee killed in a stampede when doors opened this morning. He was employed by a temp agency to do maintenance at the store, and he was trampled so that shoppers could get discounted rates on flat screen t.v.s, digital cameras, and Incredible Hulk dvds ($9- an actual quote from the article). When shoppers were asked to leave the store because of the death, they bitched and moaned because they had been waiting so long to get in. This, my friends, is the sign of a society that has, in some regard, miserably failed.

So sure, get your grandma that fleece throw produced by Martha Stewart. But don’t forget, too, that there are lots of goods out there that can be found in less traditional places, that your grandma might appreciate a home-cooked Christmas brunch or a little face-time even more than a throw, and that craftspeople and artisans would appreciate your business at holiday fairs or online.

Here’s to bucking the system, rogue Santa-style.