Black Friday and its corollary Buy Nothing Day are this Friday. Are you ready?

You won’t catch me in the malls on Black Friday. As far as I’m concerned, it’s called that because it causes a dark mood for shoppers and retail employees. Have you ever noticed how you feel after a day of shopping? Tired, gross, depressed, worn out, and depleted are some words that comes to mind for me. Black is definitely the right color choice.

Buy Nothing Day is a campaign to encourage people to avoid shopping on Black Friday. As one website describes it:

The idea behind this massive effort to not spend is to take a break from the mass consumerism that fuels rampant capitalism, inequality, materialism and results in things like environmental ‘unsustainability’ and climate change. If it sounds a little too anarchist or communist, just think of it as a chill out day; like an eco-friendly Sabbath where we abstain from being wasteful and see if we can enjoy ourselves without spending.

All over the world there are events on Buy Nothing Day promoting things like making homemade gifts, cutting up credit cards, and renouncing the evils of consumerism. That last one makes me think of my favorite church from NYC: Reverend Billy and The Church of Stop Shopping. Check out Rev Billy here:

I will admit, the one place I’m tempted to shop on Black Friday, or at least this weekend, is our local Ace Hardware. They have an awesome Saturday deal that we may take advantage of like we did last year: Any one item under $30 for 50% off. Given that we still have some home renovation projects going on and “need” materials for them (depending on your definition of need), it’s hard to pass up a deal to get things we were going to buy anyway for cheap.

But for the most part, people getting into the Black Friday shopping craze, lining up the night before, pushing and shoving people out of the way to the best deals, even trampling an employee to death in my own hometown back in 2008, are not doing it to buy one item at their local hardware store. So why all the hype about buying cheap stuff on sale on Black Friday anyway? Oh, right. The gift-giving season is coming up.

I say maybe it’s time to question the whole gift giving craziness.

Year after year I hear people lament, Don’t get me anything for the holidays (or my birthday, etc.), I don’t need any more stuff!  I wholeheartedly agree. I mean, who really wants more things in their life anyway? First of all, getting stuff as gifts is laden with obligation: I have to store it or use it, keep it clean, make sure it’s visible when the person who gave it to me comes over, pack it up when I move, or, if I don’t want it and decide it’s finally time for a new home, I have to donate it, give it away, or trash it. And if I received a gift from someone and didn’t have one in return for them, I have to deal with all the above stress plus some added guilt!

Secondly, most people in middle class American society already have more than their fair share of the world’s resources that have been turned into stuff. For example, in 2004, the 1 billion residents of high-income countries consumed more than 80% of the global total. The United States accounted for 4.6 percent of the world’s population and 33 percent of global consumption–more than $9 trillion U.S. dollars. This seems an appropriate time to link to an important video that I encourage you to watch if you haven’t ever seen it: The Story of Stuff.

But I digress. Let’s get back to the gift topic for a moment. There are many ways to avoid gift-related stress.

In my own family we practice brutal honesty – it’s okay to say when we don’t like/need/want what we received as a gift and ask the giver to take it back. We also believe in telling our family exactly what we want. Typically practical gifts fit the bill. Underwear and socks are the norm. Batteries. A calendar for the new year. Consumables like food, vitamins and water filters. In recent years I have specifically instructed my family: don’t buy me anything I didn’t ask for. This reduces the risk of getting some random unwanted gift and then offending the giver by telling them you don’t want it.

My own personal gift buying habits that help keep me sane, save money, and hopefully make the receiver happy:

• Buy used. If you bought it at a thrift shop, you supported the local reuse economy, and it’s likely that you saved a lot of money by not buying new.
• Buy local. From art to clothing to food and wine, support your local artisans.
• Buy something you like. In case the person on the receiving end doesn’t want/need/like the gift (and is honest enough to tell you), then you can keep it for yourself! (While you figure out something else for them, if need be.)
• Give nontangibles. A subscription to a magazine, tickets to an event or show. Gift certificates for a massage, to the movies, or a favorite restaurant.
• Don’t buy anything. Make homemade gifts like some of the great ideas here and here.
• Wrap with homemade wrapping paper. It’s fun, cheaper than buying wrapping paper, and gets your creative juices flowing!