Green Journal: Gift-less Holiday Vacation
December 17, 2007
Posted by CindyC in : Green Journal , trackback
I admit I am both excited and smug this week. I’m excited because in a few days, my whole family will be on our way to Kauai. I’m smug because I am not rushing around finding holiday gifts for the family.
Several years ago, we reinstated a long-time family tradition: rather than individual gifts, the whole family would go on vacation together and gift everyone only with the pleasure of good company. I know it sounds a bit hokey and possibly scary (to spend a whole week with extended family) but consider the alternative.
According to a PriceGrabber survey, the average American expects to spend almost $1,200 on holiday gifts. While 60% of shoppers start shopping November 1, most say no matter how much they plan, they will still be buying during the 5 days before Christmas. (1) That means the burden of finding gifts will remain on shoppers’ to-do’s until the stores close for Christmas! Per a Deloitte survey, over 60% of people say they enjoy the holiday festivities but try to avoid the crowded shopping experience. Even after braving the holiday rush, 25% of gift recipients return gifts an average of 2.4 times. (2) So basically, people love the holiday atmosphere but spend much of their holiday season and budget worrying about gifting, standing in lines and then spending even more time post-holiday trying to get rid of that undesirable gift. This doesn’t even consider the amount of time and resources that it takes to ship and wrap the gifts. Nationwide, 22% more trash is generated between Thanksgiving and New Year’s than any other time of the year. (3) Is that really what the holiday spirit has become?
So, as an alternative, make a pact with your family and try to have a “gift-less holiday”. Instead of buying trendy gifts and toys, everyone gets to go on vacation. And I don’t mean sleeping on a roll-away in Grandma’s basement.
- Pick out a family-friendly spot with a variety of activities. The closer the destination, the less time and resources it takes to get there.
- Designate one (or several) people to research deals on travel and lodging. Since we generally have a group of 15 or more, we’ve gotten extra discounts. Even eco-friendly options offer great deals.
- Depending on the desired level of family togetherness, you can either share large vacation homes or smaller condos. These are generally less expensive, offer more space and cooking options than hotels.
- Take turns making dinner while on vacation. This frees up time to enjoy the offerings of your selected destination.
- For the younger children, no gifts can be a difficult thing to accept, especially if Santa is still in the picture. We found that a SINGLE gift to use during vacation (like new snorkels) will do the trick.
By the way, you don’t have to take your gift-less vacation right at the holiday season. An off-season trip will be cheaper and gives everyone something to look forward to.
CindyC at Organicpicks
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Source:
(1) Price Grabber Shopping Trends
(2) Deloitte Holiday Survey
(3) Zero Waste Reduction
Copyright 2007 Organicpicks
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Comments»
That sounds awesome! My family is doing something similar this year though the kids are still getting gifts and the adults are doing a white elephant exchange. It’s so much more important to spend time with your family and enjoy them than exchange a bunch of gifts. In looking back at favorite holiday memories, mine revolve around people and events and not things. Have a great time! And enjoy the rest of this otherwise crazy week NOT buying or wrapping gifts.
[...] during the gift giving season. Cindy from Organic Picks shares her family tradition of sharing a gift-less vacation with extended family. Sounds like a great family tradition to me and certainly beats exchanging [...]
You are right…Going for vacations with family in off seasons is far better than going on seasons as you can save a good amount and spend that amount giving gifts to your loved ones and as you have good company of your family, so it will be a great fun; let it be in season or off season.