It’s no secret that Christmas has long become a consumerist holiday. We are urged to overbuy stuff from every corner. The shops lure us in with their beautiful decorations and festive songs, our close people expect us to give them lots of gifts, the influencers online keep talking about new trends we have to follow, because the old ones have become “tasteless and tacky”, which only means that we have to get rid of all the old ornaments, as they’re no longer useful.

It’s really easy to fall into this trap, because everything looks so shiny and tempting. We all want to have the prettiest decorations, give the best gifts to our friends and family and, of course, buy presents for ourselves as well. And we won’t even notice how we’ve put the materialistic things on the first place and constantly stressing over them.

But I think it’s important to remember what’s Christmas is really about and sort out our priorities. In this post I’ll share some tips on how to have less consumerist holidays this year.

Get inspired from the past

Before you head out to the shop to buy yet another Christmassy thing, stop for a moment and browse through your childhood photos or videos. See, how simple those times were, how little we all had. I’m pretty sure most families only had one Christmas tree and maybe a couple of garlands around the house. And that’s it. But I’m also certain that those were the best holidays we’ve ever had. Which means that the fancy decor doesn’t make the holidays more enjoyable or fun. So now, instead of thinking of upgrading your house even more, think about how you can make the holidays feel like the ones you used to love so much as a child.

Less time in social media

You probably think, what does it have to do with consumer behavior but believe me, it has everything to do with it, cause nowadays social media has become the biggest thing that influences us. I’ll bring a personal example. A week ago I was decorating my Christmas tree and I truly loved how it turned out. Then I started browsing through Instagram and saw all those atmospheric decorations. When I looked back at my tree again, I didn’t find it pretty anymore, because I saw far more beautiful trees online. For a moment I instantly started thinking of how I can change it or what else I should buy to make it more attractive. Luckily, my logical sense came to the rescue and made me realize how ridiculous I was.

That’s when I once again understood how social media can ruin and devalue the good things you have. Yes, it can inspire or provide good ideas, but at the same time it always makes you compare what you have with what you see. So, it’s important to spend less and more conscious time in social media and remember that you don’t have to follow the trends or try to be like anyone else to feel happy or be successful. You can simply get an idea or a motivation from the influencers but nothing more.

Make a list and a budget

Now, I’m not saying that you should completely boycott against buying anything at all. I myself love adding new pieces to my big collection of festive ornaments that I’ve had since childhood. Sometimes I also yield to temptation and get more stuff than I need, but that’s also okay, because we’re all human and we can make mistakes. But if you want to be more conscious about this matter, you should make a list of things you want or need to buy this season and stick to it. For instance, getting only 1-2 new ornaments, no matter how many other gorgeous pieces you see. Same for the budget. Make another list of how much you’re willing to spend on festive food, decorations and presents. This way you won’t get overboard but will still be able to treat yourself and get something you like.

Choose wisely

It gets a little hard when it comes to picking new decorations as there are so many that you can’t make up your mind about it. So, it’s important to choose wisely and not buy every single thing you see on your way. Whenever you want to get something, stop for a minute and ask yourself the following questions: do you have something similar at home? Do you know where you’re going to put it? Does it go well with your other ornaments? Will you use it next years as well? Do you actually like it or is it just a trendy something you want to get in order to not feel left behind? Answering these or similar questions will help you make the right choice.

Another thing that helps me is whenever I see something cute but I’m not sure about buying it or not, I just give it some time. I come home, think of how I can use the decor and if I feel like I really want to buy it, I just do. But at least I know that it was something I truly wanted.

Handmade and reusable decor

Imagine that all your baubles are red. But this year you want your tree to be in blue colors. Instead of buying dozens of new toys which you may never use again, you can simply DIY your old ones. There are lots of paints that will easily come off after washing them, so you can give your old baubles a makeover without any permanent damage. This way you’ll have something new without actually buying it. Handmade projects are really fun and beneficial. Knowing that you made the ornaments yourself will make them 10 times more special and valuable for you.

If you decide to buy something, try to opt for reusable items. For instance, choose fake wreaths, garlands and tree that you’ll use for years and even decades instead of getting real ones every single year. Choose power supply Christmas lights, instead of battery operated ones. Get plastic ornaments instead of glass ones that can easily break. This way your decorations will serve you for years.

Another interesting solution is ornament swapping. A few years ago I saw a video of a shop or a cafe (don’t remember it now) organizing a swapping corner, where people could leave their old decor and choose something else. You can organize something similar with your friends, relatives, colleagues or even neighbors – anyone who’d like to participate. This is a fun way to have something new and also connect more to people.

Less and meaningful presents

To be honest I shouldn’t be the one lecturing about this part, as I really love giving many good Christmas presents to my close ones. Anyway there’s a good way to solve the issue of buying millions of presents for everyone: Secret Santa. I know, I didn’t invent a bicycle now, as it’s a very well-known game. But if you want it to be effective and enjoyable for everyone, you can set a budget and each provide a list of things you actually want. This will be beneficial for everyone, as the buyer will know precisely what to get and won’t stress over it, and the receiver will have something they’ll actually use.

If you don’t have a big group of people to play this with and you have to buy individual presents, try to be minimalistic yet meaningful about it. Don’t get a lot of unnecessary things the other person won’t even enjoy. Buy one single thing they’ll really love. Don’t forget about the handwritten cards, handmade gifts or, why not, freshly baked cookies.

Modest dinner

When it comes to the Christmas dinner, don’t throw a huge banquet with dozens of different meals that most people probably won’t even eat and you’ll end up with lots of leftover food, like every single year. This is actually a big problem here in Armenia, as the holiday table is the most important thing for many people and Christmas and New Year have become a true food cult. Some even get a loan from bank in order to throw the perfect Christmas dinner because they want to impress their relatives and neighbors, can you imagine how absurd that is? Women spend a few days making all those dishes, instead of spending quality time with their family. And everyone’s tables are full of all those extravagant food and fruits and cakes, but no one can eat that much, so for me it’s like money down the drain.

But why spend so much time, energy and money on having the perfect dinner when you can make just a few of your favorite dishes and enjoy each other’s company instead of simply overeating? At the end of the day that’s what this season (and life in general) is all about: being together, having a good time with each other. The beautiful decor, lovely gifts and a tasty dinner are and should remain just nice additions, not the main attraction.