Christmas Growing Up:
I grew up very poor, but when I look back, I’ve always had a great Christmas. My dad told us, growing up, that Santa came to our house once, and my dad thought he was robbing us, so he punched Santa in the face. He said that Santa was too scared to come back. We still believed in Santa Claus but knew he wouldn’t visit us. My dad did this so that the presents we received would be more meaningful because he worked hard for them. When living with my dad and step-mom, some years, we would go to our grandma Lesley’s house.
At our grandma’s house, there would be a lot of food and a white elephant gift exchange. Along with this, kids would always get a personal present too. At my mom’s house, my older sisters would always help rap each other’s presents with my mom. Then, my sisters and I would gather around late at night and discuss our gifts. The majority of my family has always been either not religious, or they were religious but on a personal level (not going to church). Needless to say, we were very gift-focused, and I would say we fell victim to the commercialized Christmas.
These two photos were taken on the first Christmas after our dad had passed away. That Christmas we got the most presents we had ever received. My stepmom felt a need to make this Christmas special, so it felt like things stayed the same. Because of this, she had to spend even more money and stress so we would feel like we had that Christmas magic everyone else gets. Thankfully, she had the help of a few family members and friends.With Christmas being so commercialized and gifts being such a prominent feature, this can cause much more stress on poorer families. If I’m honest, I have no idea how my parents were able to provide such amazing Christmases. The majority of the year, we didn’t have clean clothes, food, and sometimes electricity. I’m sure my parents felt this social pressure to give us the most amazing Christmas so we could feel like other kids. This pressure is very unfair to low-income families, though. If my parents worried less about how many gifts to give four kids, we could have had more meals or more clean clothes during the rest of the year. Although spending money on necessities would have been wiser, I am incredibly grateful that I was gifted with such amazing and magical Christmases. Christmas was an escape from the harsh realities of life. Looking back, holidays, especially Christmas, were the only times I felt I had a normal childhood. So, although the pressure of gift giving on Christmas should be changed, I am grateful that I received that, especially coming from a poor background.
Christmas Now:
I was adopted in 2020, so I have experienced three Christmases with my adoptive family. My family now is much more wealthy. Surprisingly, Christmas looks very similar to my past in that we are still very gift-oriented. We do limit gifts on Christmas by doing a Secret Santa. One major difference from the Christmas I’ve had in the last couple of years compared to when I was a child is the traditions. When asked in elementary school about traditions my family had on Christmas, I never had an answer. We got a stocking and opened presents. Now, every year, my mom makes homemade sugar cookies, and we help decorate them about a week before Christmas. Then, on Christmas morning, we open our stalking and presents. We also always get our dog Brody a present that he gets to open. After we cleaned up, my dad puts on “A Christmas Story,” and we all watch it as a family. Later, when dinner rolls around, my dad makes a big prime rib meal. It’s very special to have these traditions with my family. My other parents didn’t have enough time to put together these traditions due to working or being unemployed.
Help Where You Can:
For the last couple of years, my mom’s former boss, the owner of Somers Sotheby Reality, has put on a toy drive to provide gifts for 300 kids in lower-income households each year. Any volunteer willing to give gifts goes to 711 Gaffney Road during working hours to receive a tag, which includes a kid’s name, age, and a couple of gifts they want. Then, for this year, volunteers will deliver their presents to the office by December 11th. This is a beautiful way to help low-income households give their kids Christmas magic. If anyone is able and willing to participate in this event, there is a Facebook page called “2023 St. Nik Toy Drive.”
Overall Thought on Chritmas
No matter where a family decides to put the bulk of their focus during Christmas, whether that’s tradition, religion, gifts, or quality time if love is present, it will be a good time. The problems occur only when we compare our lives with those around us. Or when society has set a standard that is unachievable for some individuals. Through community service, helping, and lowering the standard for gifts, Christmas can be more achievable for everyone who chooses to celebrate it.
Madison Sawyer
I agree heavily on your point of lowering the standards for Christmas. This holiday is the holy grail of all holidays it seems. People talk about it the most. Stores stock up months early on the decorations because they know how much people love this holiday. But these factors are really unachievable for some people and that can effect the holidays “jolly-ness”. Christmas is a big seller for businesses and it seems to be that thats the only thing they care about. Christmas should be unachievable for everyone, and this big Christmas that gets commercialized is a Christmas experience that not everyone has the ability to have.
Kaylana Nations
Thank you, Madison, for your reflection. After thinking about this topic more throughout this week, I realized Christmas is similar to any other big company. It takes advantage of the individual so that big businesses/people can get richer. I think this Christmas is the first time I really felt the pressure of it fully. I just moved out this summer, and I’m running really low on money. My spending is catching up to me, lol. Thankfully my family is doing a Secret Santa, so I only have to give one person a gift. But this month, I got a cat who needed shots, a couple of parking tickets, therapy visits, the heat in my car broke, groceries, and all my other bills. On top of all that, I did not get many hours at work because I was busy with school. At this point, I’m way over budget and into my savings, which is very small too. I feel this pressure to get my sister everything on her list, and I want to make sure I get my parents a gift as well. These big companies don’t think about the effects their advertising has on individuals. I do love Christmas because it feels nostalgic, this year it has caused a lot of stress though.