For centuries, bright lights have been posted outside people’s houses, with decorative trees, festive floral arrangements, and an inside filled with presents, all to celebrate Christmas. However, as the years pass, people continue to buy more gifts and spend significantly more than they should. As prices begin to drop and companies push those “limited edition” items, people panic and spend far more than they intended.
For many, Christmas has shifted away from spending time with loved ones, having gratitude, and showing how much they care for the people around them. It’s become a holiday of high gift expectations, futile searches for the best deals on useless objects, and seeing who cherishes someone more based on how much they spent. The activity that’s supposed to be fun has been overrun by advertisements from well-known companies and social media, which promote various items to catch a person’s eye.
“When there’s a sale, it makes me wanna buy something because it’s cheaper. This Black Friday, I spent around $400 on stuff because of the sale. Another factor that influences my decision to buy products on sale is the quality of the products themselves. I’m not just going to buy random products that I don’t like because they’re 20%-30% off,” junior Kali Stinger said.
Not only can the pressure to give back finer gifts come from commercials and influencers, but it can also come from a person’s own family and friends, often unintentionally.
“If my friends or family give me gifts, I feel like I have to give back to them. If they buy me more high-end products, I do feel the need to do the same back,” Stinger said.
Teens around the world share the same underlying pressure to gift, but not all can fully acknowledge different perspectives on gift-giving or hold back when they know their limits.
“I don’t think I buy an excessive amount of product because of the sales, but if I find a good deal, then I buy it. However, I would say that once in a while, if I go shopping with my friends, I can overspend my budget. A lot of ads influence me to buy things around Christmas time, but I think the internet is what influenced me the most,” sophomore Dwija Sharma said.
As more people start to focus on the presents and create elaborate slide shows for what they desire, younger generations begin to assume that Christmas is all about getting free presents instead of focusing on its history.
“My little cousin always expects more gifts because she knows that Christmas is coming and she associates Christmas with gifts more than its actual meaning,” Stinger said.
As we continue to celebrate the holidays, it’s important to remember the backbone and history of Christmas that brings us all together, rather than spending hundreds of hours and dollars on gifts that will be gone in a decade.
