Ellington

Whatever you’re celebrating this holiday season, make it simple. It may only be mid-November, but soon we’ll be buried under a mountain of lame ads, cheap decorations and holiday cheer. I’m prone to call it holiday sneer, because nothing provokes my ire more than an early crop of plastic trees and chirping elves on the radio.

The Christmas I’m celebrating this year and the Christmas that I used to celebrate look like two different things. As a kid, I wanted a ritual burial beneath a mountain of toys come Christmas morning. I guess that was normal, because the holiday ad regime demands nothing less than sheer greed from its constituents. The mail is rife with full-color catalogs of frivolous trinkets and TV ads heap up promise upon promise of purchasable happiness.

I have a hard time enjoying the holidays, because every year I’m reminded of what a greedy twit I am and how much I’ve demanded from my family in the past. I’m ticked, to be honest, because I see that cycle of greed repeated in younger children, spurred on by the red tide of winter consumerism.

You won’t be able to watch TV this season without being scoffed at by an imposter Santa. He’ll be hawking candy, hygiene products or cars from a local dealership. Wasn’t he supposed to represent generosity for the needy and be a fatherly figure to children everywhere? These days, he’s just a deadbeat uncle who comes around your house to borrow money he’ll never pay back. Like Cousin Eddie from Christmas Vacation, Santa’s soon an unwelcome guest, and by the end of the season he’ll be peeing in the flowers and leering at your mom. At least that’s how he is to me.

Spending money is not the spirit of Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. Aside from the religious significance of each holiday, this season is about acknowledging the people you love.

I think I’m having a change of heart, as is my family. This year, we’ve decided to completely scale back our Christmas spending. We’re going to spend a small amount on each other and aim for intentional gifts instead of lavish ones.

Intentional gifts are the ones you remember. A great gift is determined by three factors. The giver’s knowledge of the receiver, the gift’s cost to the giver — not just financial — and the receiver’s lack of merit to earn the gift. That way, the gift isn’t a reward for good behavior or persuasive collateral ­— it’s simply a gift.

Typically, the cost to the giver of a great gift is just financial. But there are other ways to give. How much thought and effort can you put into your gifts? What talents can you utilize to make something special?

My family gives quality-time gifts, in the form of “time-certificates.” The giver treats the receiver to a fun day-trip, or something as simple as an afternoon coffee. It costs the giver time and requires thoughtfulness.

Handmade gifts have tremendous value as well. If you can write a poem, draw a picture or make a special meal for someone close to you, they’ll never forget your gift. It’s certainly better than trolling a noisy shopping mall to find expensive diversions.

A friend of mine once gave her parents a coffee tin for Christmas. Inside the tin were many small slips of paper. On each little piece of paper, she wrote different things she appreciated about her parents and the sacrifices they had made. They were brought to tears, because it was the most precious gift they had ever been given.

I encourage you to find your inner gift-giver this holiday season. It doesn’t matter what you celebrate. Give a creative and unique gift to someone close to you. Give a gift to someone that only you could give. Let them know that they are special with the time you put into it. Rebel against the greed-driven holidays. Your family, friends and most of all, you, will be tremendously thankful.

Reach columnist Jackson Rohrbaugh at opinion@dailyuw.com.