The High Price of the Holidays

When the winter wind bites at your skin and snowflakes twirl through your backyard, a festive feeling can overcome you. Holidays are a time to give thanks, enjoy family, and most importantly, gain a few pounds. However, human connection and gratitude are becoming increasingly rare. In recent years, rather than fully experiencing the holiday season, we’ve become more preoccupied with scrolling on our phones during Thanksgiving dinner, searching for so-called “sales.” Except, when stores slash prices up to 80 percent and still make profit, what’s the real value of these items? Markdown culture around the holiday season causes shoppers to go into a frenzy of impulse-buying, forcing them to spend money they don’t have for products lacking in value.

Additionally, not only are consumers being scammed out of their money, but they are being scammed out of their time. Around the holidays, Americans should be more focused on making meaningful connections with their families, nature, and religion, not on the “hottest deals.” Moreover, holiday overconsumption isn’t just destroying your family bonds. Rather, holiday overconsumption damages both humans and the environment. As purchases spike in November and December, shipping rises in conjunction with carbon emissions that damage the environment. During the holiday season, household waste also rises 23 percent according to King’s College London, exemplifying that overconsumption is not just unnecessary, but extremely harmful.

So, how can we move into the new year with gratitude and a sense of connection without “holiday hangover?” The key is scaling back on overconsumption, finding happiness without being materialistic, and not falling for so-called “holiday deals.” In ten years, you most likely won’t remember the Nintendo Switch you received, but you will value the memories you made with your loved ones for many holidays to come.