A Critique of Consumer-Driven Culture

This guest post was contributed by my daughter Kristina Gundersen.

"This is just what I wanted!" the three year old me delightfully shrieked in an old home video of Christmas past. I had just unwrapped a small gift from Santa: my very own purse. "To put all your things in, Kristina." Part of me wonders if that's how my whole handbag fetish began... I was socialized to believe that I needed that purse to carry stuff in. Just like we are all socialized to believe that we deserve and need expensive gifts for Christmas to be happy and celebrate the season properly like the rest of America. After all, materialism is the Western way.

We are definitely a consumerist culture, one that often places the importance of inanimate objects over people. When asked about the meaning of Christmas, most young children still reply with a gift-oriented response: "I got an Xbox for Christmas!" Or, "Santa brings me lots of toys!" Most fail to recognize the special time spent with family, friends, or even food - it's all about the presents. Their happiness depends on toys. Sadly, many of us grow up to hold these same consumer-driven expectations. A happy and successful American Christmas is typically defined by the quantity of gifts given and received, and sometimes the dollar value of those objects. Nobody likes a stingy gift giver.

But shouldn't there be more emphasis on the thought behind those gifts? Should it really matter what we give or receive as long as there was some conscientious thought put into each person's present? I am one of the few among my circle of friends who is still impressed by a homemade, custom gift. To me, the time spent on the gift is worth a whole lot more than the money. Nearly anyone can go purchase a gift card on their credit card in a matter of 30 seconds or so. Not everyone has the thoughtfulness and creativity to carry out a custom gift idea.

Don't get me wrong, I like Christmas shopping just as much as the next person. It is a wonderful feeling to be able to give generously and receive in return. I just think the materialistic approach to the holidays has gotten a little out of hand in recent years. Each year we are spending more and more, even during a recession when we are earning less and less... And we continue to perpetuate this consumerist ideal for our children through the myth and tradition of Santa Clause. Sure, a Santaless Christmas would suck the magic right out of the holiday for some kids, but whatever happened to being honest with our children? If we preach to them that honesty is the best policy, shouldn't we practice it ourselves? There are still plenty of other fun holiday traditions aside from Santa and his toy-making elves, like decorating the Christmas tree together, preparing the holiday meal, baking cookies, and singing Christmas carols. If society would start putting more emphasis on quality time together and less on quality objects, most people would probably be a whole lot happier over the holidays. Not the fleeting sense of happiness that exists after opening a cool gift, but the soul-penetrating kind of happiness that is enough to last you until the next Christmas.