“Ladies, I’ve got the
perfect gift for your husband this Christmas.
Why not buy him a new deck for your home? We’ve got a special on decks this Christmas
season. ”
“But we live in
northern Canada. You can’t put up a deck
in winter!”
“That’s okay because
we can ship all the material you need for that new deck, and have it there by
Christmas Day if you order today.”
“What good will that
do? What are we supposed to do with all
that material sitting around?”
“Just think about all
the fun your husband will have next summer putting up your deck.”
“Forget it! My husband couldn’t build a house of cards.”
Have you noticed that just about every retailer has the
perfect gift for someone? And some of
their gift ideas get downright ridiculous.
“Hey Honey! Guess what I got you for Christmas? A new wall to wall carpet . . . black . . .
shag . . . for the bathroom. Isn’t that
great?”
The airways, the newspapers and the mailboxes (community or
door-to-door) are filled with ads for “the best Christmas gift ever.” Every wife/husband/child/
mother/father-in-law/dog/cat must have one of these for Christmas. Every retailer from big box stores to mall aisle
vendors has a Christmas gift idea for you.
“So, what did you get
your Mother-in-law for Christmas?”
“We got her an all-day
session at a paint ball park. They had them
on special at the mall.”
I guess you can’t blame retailers from trying to make the
most of the holiday season. They say
that a large part of their annual revenues come during the Christmas shopping
period. But sometimes you think that
they are trying too hard. Every year you
hear the same story that Christmas is a “success” only if sales exceed last
year’s.
For the poor consumer/Christmas shopper, this leads to a
sense of panic that they are not doing their best in the cause of that “successful”
Christmas. They become desperate to find
even more unique gifts; hence decks, shag carpets and paint ball sessions. One of my favourite Christmas ornaments shows
a harried shopper with the caption “Spirit of Christmas stress”. It just seems to capture what has become the
spirit of Christmas. So you Christmas shoppers
get out there and see what outlandish gifts you can fine for your loved ones this
year.
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