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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 4:35 pm
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Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 6:30 pm
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 2:36 am
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Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2008 1:37 pm
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Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2008 3:26 pm
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Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2008 7:42 am
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I absolutely enjoy seeing all the Christmas-related items. I love anything having to do with Christmas, especially "Christmas in July" sales... Its my favorite time of the year and I love to see what there is available. My daughter absolutely loves it. We cant wait for our first snowfall, we make people laugh with the quirky hats they sell, by wearing them... It brings smiles and laughter to the senior citizens who walk by and see us having fun.
I dont let the commercialism get to me. Its not worth it. Who cares if the stores set everything up so early... besides, its not the individual stores decision to make, its the corporate offices that run them.
I do all my shopping early, never going out on Black Friday ever. If I need anything, then I go...
Commercialism only hurts you if you let it hurt you. There are much more important things to worry about, and the fact that stores put their merchandise up early is just not worth it to get upset over...
Now, before anyone gets ready to flame me with a post-bashing session, please understand that this isnt meant to be a personal attack against anyone here.. its just how I feel about it...
The people who caused the death of that guy in the NY-Walmart are the types of people who need to learn about what the spirit of giving is.. Like, giving that guy the time he needed to open the doors so everyone could come in safely. People yelled at Police and other employees "Ive been waiting outside since yesterday for this!", and it didnt phase them when they were told they could have been responsible for killing the Walmart employee... it didnt matter to them. This isnt commercialism, this is selffishness... a lack of respect of safety and well being. Completely different than Commercialism.
As far as Thanksgiving goes, it took an act of the President/Congress that made Thanksgiving a religious-related holiday. It was never originally a religious holiday to begin with...
FYI: Commercialism is "The practices, methods, aims, and spirit of commerce or business. An attitude that emphasizes tangible profit or success.
I hope businesses can make whatever they can out of the holidays...
Because.. that means people get to keep their jobs, they arent applying for full financial assistance from Welfare. Most likely they have benefits for their families... They can financially support their household by keeping a roof over your head, food on the table, heat for the winter....
If you look at Commercialism for its truly positive benefits.. its not as bad as you think...
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Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2008 10:13 pm
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Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 12:47 pm
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 10:19 pm
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Lady_Niqui I'm trying to decide whether I want to teach my kid to believe in Santa or not. Sounds weird probably but I'm seriously torn over whether or not I should lie to her and tell her that an old fat man is going to bring her presents. I want to teach her not to lie so isn't it hypocrisy if I do? But if I don't, I'm not letting her experience some of what always seemed so magical about christmas. My parents never taught me about Santa which I actually see as better, especially in our situation at the time. My dad didn't make much and my mum didn't work, so sometimes our Christmas gifts were a bit meager. One year, my dad asked us if we would prefer Christmas presents or keeping our old four-wheeler {which we all enjoyed riding}... because the only way he would be able to afford getting us presents would be to sell it.
Had he and my mum taught us about Santa, he would not have been able to ask us that... and when we hardly got any gifts, didn't get what we wanted, or even didn't get any gifts at all despite good behavior, what would that have done to our self-esteem and outlook on life? I could easily imagine myself feeling that no matter what I did, it wasn't good enough and completely stop trying.
Because I knew there was no Santa, I did what I could do make sure my family had presents... I would use my {small} allowance to get gifts for my parents and siblings instead of depending on Santa to do that.
I know this isn't the case for everyone and most see it as just a fun thing for kids to believe in, but I personally think it's better to be honest with your kids and not lie to them, even if it is "tradition" or "just for fun"... especially if finances are tight. I don't feel like I missed out on anything when it comes to Christmas.
We still made cookies and put them out for my dad blaugh along with eating quite a few ourselves ninja We'd decorate a tree and be surprised by presents under it on Christmas morning because my dad wouldn't put them out until we were all in bed on Christmas eve to prevent us from shaking them around and possibly peeking, though sometimes he would put a few under there sooner and we'd open one on Christmas eve... depending on how many we were actually getting that year. We'd still make lists of things we want so my dad would know what to look for when he shopped.... knowing money was tight also made some of our requests a little more reasonable.
Of course, the final decision is up to you.
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Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 8:41 am
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Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 11:04 pm
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 4:59 pm
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Funny this subject just hit home here in my hometown of Manchester, New Hampshire..
Today's online article: http://unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Economy+woes+hit+home+on+'Main+Street'&articleId=85691a1c-b4c6-427d-abd8-b76c5ebe5669
Our 'Main Street' is Elm Street, and most of the businesses were interviewed saying they wish people would go and shop... It really angered me enough that I posted a comment. Almost all Unionleader.com articles give the reader the ability to post a comment/blog about the article being addressed.
I posted under my first name, "Melanie"... on that article...
Basically the businesses are upset that more and more people are not spending money. Well... Im a consumer that will make the decision when, where and how much I will spend... my post even got a running joke from someone in Nashua, NH that posted. Never cracked up so much...
Ultimately, its up to the consumer to decide the when, where and how much. And if we dont want to, thats perfectly fine. Does the article pressure me to go out? Not in the least bit... just like I mentioned earlier.. Commercialism is only bad if you allow it to manipulate yourself. Its very easy to ignore it.... if you so choose..
Read the article, its actually comical in a weird way...
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