sustainablesunrise

Christmas for a family as big as mine, is quite an extravagent process. We had our first Christmas today, with some cousins, my grandmother, my great aunt, my other aunt, and my immediate family. Christmas on this side of the family is typically characterized by a specific routine, even with opening presents. We start with the youngest, who open their presents, comment on how appreciative they are, pause for photos, and then pick the next youngest to do the same. When you’re doing this for every gift for 12 people, it becomes quite a marathon… but that’s my little family tradition.

Unfortunately, Christmas has become less about the good things in small packages, hoping to have the biggest gift, or even wrapping all of mom’s presents right before we’re supposed to go exchange them. My earth-loving mindset causes me to question these traditions…and I’ve yet to find a happy medium, though I’m certainly struggling to find one.
On the ride home, I took a mental tally of all that was used, exchanged, given, or wasted. I smirked at one of the personal highlights of my gifts– a small note that said “Now with less plastic” on the packaging.
There were some definite highlights of this Christmas experience: The home-made red velvet cake; sharing experiences with everyone in my family; having everyone in my family (minus one cousin) home for the holidays; watching my cousins (4 and 6 years old) run up and down the stairs in excitment; the usual awkward, politically incorrect, or shocking comments from family as they open gifts; the reasoning for my little cousins behind the gifts they found for each of us at the dollar store.
And then there are all the aspects that go completely against my ideal lifestyle. Wrapping up gifts in expensive paper that is thrown away immediately after opening; the purchase of multiple useless toys in hopes that one will be fitting, though none will be played with for more than a day; the stress to find just enough gifts so you don’t feel gulity for buying too much, or too little… and all those aspect, of which I’m sure I’ll elaborate more later.
At the end of the day, I found myself wondering if I’ll ever find a group of people who think this way. Who think that Christmas is about much more than the crap under the tree, the triple increase in waste that most Americans endure over the holidays, and the stressing about spending more money than you’ll make on presents. Hopefully by next year I’ll have a better idea of how I feel about it all.

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