The author reflects on the consumerism of Christmas by comparing her niece and nephew's wish lists to her own dog's. She then reveals her true desires, which are experiences and personal growth rather than material possessions.
When my brother and sister sent me my niblings’ Christmas lists this year – instruction manuals to keep this out-of-state, out-of-touch aunt on a four- and 11-year-old’s nice list – I read them with conflicting warmth and consumerist guilt.
It doesn’t seem like all that long ago that I produced a wish list that was probably strikingly similar: toys designed to set adults’ teeth on edge, video games, bits of plastic that I would have adored for an hour then sent to rot in landfill for the next 5000 years. I’m no Grinch, though (at least not to a four-year-old’s face), so I dutifully loaded up my cart, covered my eyes before I saw the total cost, and hit “purchase”. Because I’m the youngest and most scattered sibling, my family indulges me more than I probably deserve. Soon it was time to send back a wish list for my own dependent: my Samoyed, Heidi. But when I sat down to write it for her – no thumbs, see? – she proved a little trickier to shop for. Given her way, Heidi would request from Santa an endless sunny afternoon at the park, the undivided attention of her girlfriend, a golden retriever named Harriet, and a rotisserie chicken.And then I thought about my own wish list. I find receiving gifts extremely uncomfortable, and I’m not easy to shop for. I have a little disposable income and very little impulse control, so I’m quick to buy myself any and everything that strikes my fancy. When I dig deep and get introspective, it turns out that all the things I really, really want, no elf can make in a workshop. I would love six months off. I’d like the time and peace to get my life together, paint my bathroom, match Tupperware containers to their lids, develop a Pilates habit, work off my sleep debt, fix all the relationships I’ve let fizzle in this last manic year, and finally, finally finish my third book. I want another season of(seriously, does Netflix have something against me, specifically? Why can’t I have anything nice?
Consumerism Christmas Wish List Personal Growth Self-Reflection
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