What Does Christmas Mean to You?

Each year as Christmas approaches or just after the ‘big day’ I usually say, “next year I will do it differently’.  However saying and doing are not quite the same and the years come and go and hey I’m saying and doing exactly the same thing. So what does Christmas mean to you?  Christmas has meaning for me on a spiritual level but all the materialism and sentimentalism can sometimes minimise the essence of this special time of year. Even if you don’t look at it from a religious perspective it’s easy to get lost in the frivolity.  

Perhaps we need to ask ourselves  

·         What do we want from Christmas?

·         What do we get from Christmas?

·         What is a reasonable amount of money to spend at Christmas?

·         Does how much we spend equate with how much we love someone? 

As a small business owner, I am hoping to sell gifts for Christmas so I am trying to look at the questions with 2 hats on.   

Hat 1 is as a consumer, a mum, wife, gran and friend. What I want from Christmas is a time to think about love, friendships and family along with time to think about what gifts they would like to receive.  I’d also like more time to spend with those I am closest to. 

For me, time is one of the most important gifts we can give to people, yet as Christmas approaches we frequently run out of it and the hopes we had to ‘do things differently’ dissolve into panic buying, rushing around and feeling frustrated and unfulfilled. When this happens we can feel we don’t get much from ‘Christmas’ except stress and a large credit card bill. 

I’m lucky to have lots of people to buy for at Christmas and love to give gifts they like.  I try not to focus on how much they spend on me and give accordingly.  So, to be honest, I don’t tend to buy expensive gifts and do my best to keep within my budget. 

So, does how much we spend on an individual reflect on how much we love them?  I used to get caught up in that but the most important thing we can give those we love isn’t expensive gifts but a bit of our time and a thoughtful present. 

Perhaps I’ll listen to my own words and make the desired changes this year. Any advice would be very welcome! 

I’m putting my 'online gift retailer' hat on now and I can imagine you may be thinking I may contradict myself here! 

Yes, that is a hard one and I'm not going to say I don’t want to sell lots of lovely gifts.  I do!  

At Noah Home and Gifts Online we strive to offer a variety of products from a unique range of suppliers that we are happy to work with.  We offer:

 

·         Gifts that are fair trade and/or recycled therefore supporting others

·         Giftsthat are handcrafted in Scotland / Britain therefore supporting small and new businesses

·         A choice of other unique gifts and home accessories to give customers choice

·         Unique  personalised and bespoke gifts

 

We have recently added to our fair trade shop and our collection of gifts handmade in Scotland. 

So that’s my views with my business hat on but I’m sure you will have your own thoughts on what Christmas means to you, whether they are religious views or not.  

Oh I nearly forgot to mention the benefits of buying gifts online (:-)):  

·         Less stressful than large, crowded high street stores

·         If you start early enough there is no need to panic buy

·         There is no rushing around tiring yourself out

·         You will have more time to spend with those who matter

·       You can browse without anyone constantly asking if they can help you (ok this is a bit unfair – many retailers give you the space you need while there to give advice if you need it)!

 

Another alternative to online shopping is supporting small independent retailers which we have previously blogged about! 

I think I know where I will do my shopping this year! What about you? 

Happy Shopping!

 

Florence

x

 

 

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