After writing a somewhat anti-Black Friday and anti-consumerism post last week, publishing this piece today might seem contradictory. It’s not. We will all be shopping for our kids and loved ones, but how, where, and when I partake in the holiday shopping madness is something I can control.
I fully embrace online shopping and Cyber Monday because I can shop from home while not affecting my quality time with family, friends, Sean, and our kids. There’s no long wait as I meander through a parking lot, hoping for a space to become available. I don’t have to stand in lines to complete my purchases. And best of all, I don’t have to deal with the crush of people as they attack displays of folded clothes, forget the understanding of personal space, and gripe at the Starbucks barista because she isn’t moving fast enough.
Rather than suffer through a crush of people and time-consuming activity of shopping in a mall over the weekend, I enjoyed a weekend filled with fun activities and people I love. Sean was here from Thanksgiving prep on Wednesday through this morning. Mom stayed with us until Friday evening. We had a large group for Thanksgiving dinner and an even bigger crowd for dessert. Friday evening was spent with a group of close friends. The rest of the weekend involved decorating for Christmas, and my favorite little girls were playing with my kids between our house and their own. And without adding any stress, I was also able to complete almost all of my Christmas shopping while lounging on the sofa.
What do you do to reduce holiday stress?
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8 responses to “Happy Cyber Monday”
That’s great Kelly. Sounds like you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We don’t have the Cyber Monday here in Canada although, I see it’s starting to happen here to keep shoppers from crossing to the States for ‘deals’. I control my Christmas stress by cutting back on gift giving. It takes away a lot of the pressure to impress etc. We still do stockings for the kids even though they’re all grown up :)
Divorce forced me to cut back on purchasing for the holidays. I find it is less stressful, too. It gives us more time to enjoy the season.
I also had an anti-black friday post last week — I feel the same way. My wife and I do some online shopping for the holidays. But we also shop for the holidays WAY ahead of schedule. We start shpping in stores during the summer and early fall. So by now it’s mostly over for us! :-)
If shopping is done early, you have an opportunity to enjoy the season with all the special activities this time of year brings.
My husband said to me on Friday afternoon, (BLACK friday afternoon), “well, do you want to just go look?” in regards to a store. I’m like, “You want to go LOOK on the busiest shopping day of the year? NO THANK YOU!”
We didn’t go….I’ve yet to buy any presents. Unless you count our vacation.
I am so glad you didn’t have to go to the mall! I took my daughter briefly on Saturday as soon as it was open, and told her it was time to leave when it started to get busy. Ugh.
I handle holiday stress by not celebrating any holidays except Valentine’s Day (chocolate, you know) and OPENING DAY OF BASEBALL. I always make a cake, we have presents, and we celebrate with heartfelt joy.
And the reasons I love you keep growing! The last time I took Aidan to an opening day game, he was sent to school with a note stating “religious observance” as the reason he was absent. We are so alike with our baseball obsession!