Christmas and consumption: is giving really so blessed?
Christmas and consumption - a controversial issue almost as old as the question of whether Santa Claus or the Christ Child brings the presents. And if at least one of the two did it, you could even save yourself the stress, frustration, time pressure and financial debacle (sorry for the spoiler for our young readers). So every year we are faced with the question: Is giving really so blessed? Or should you simply not give anything at all?
Mothers want presents. fathers too. Sisters, brothers, friends, relatives - and possibly even work colleagues. According to statistics, Germans spend an average of 472.30 euros per person on Christmas presents – and the trend is rising. The turnover of the German retail trade at Christmas time has increased from 82.2 to 100.3 billion since 2005. According to statistics, at least 11 people receive gifts, with vouchers and money (58%), books and e-books (43%), groceries and confectionery (38%) and toys (37%) being the most frequently found items on the gift table. This means that the festival of love is so strongly associated with buying, giving and giving that the human aspect is almost lost.
But what would Christmas be without presents? Probably one with less stress - but also one without gifts. And no matter how great the criticism of consumerism is, in the end giving presents also gives you pleasure. So what to do? We asked our team for individual solutions - to buy or not to buy, that is the question:
time instead of stuff
Our Online Marketing Manager Lena gives away the most sustainable and cheapest (because it's free) gift ideas via the "Time instead of stuff" platform : "The platform shows that giving can also be done differently and inspires you to come up with new (gift) ideas".
Produce fairly... and provoke
Our designer Roman prefers to give something homemade for Christmas - more precisely his sustainably and fairly produced sweaters from his own collection : "I produce my collection in a limited edition and give it primarily to my friends and colleagues. It's always nice to see how just four letters can polarize and do something good at the same time. Plus, I don't have to worry about gifts."
Buy – but makes sense
A Christmas without giving? This is unthinkable for our sales manager Sarina, as she creates masses of lists throughout the year and notes down even the smallest ideas. “I love giving. Without giving, I would be missing something myself. But I like to break the lance for meaningful gifts. For example with sustainable products that donate part of their proceeds to good causes".
What's mine is yours
Our product manager Laura has been getting them herself for months: the organic box . “I prefer to give gifts that I believe in myself. My organic box is not only healthy, but also a new surprise every week". And as we all know, love goes through the stomach.
I'll do it myself
Tinkering is something for people with thick nerves? Not quite, because according to our operations manager San, tinkering with friends and family is not only amazingly fun, but also has a very self-therapeutic effect. “I can just hide the stress of everyday life and my cell phone for a while”. With the right handicraft set, you can also create beautiful gifts for the whole family.
