As you put away the Christmas decorations…you have put them away I hope?…and put the imitation tree into the attic or took the real one to the recycling centre, did you pause for a moment like I did and think “Was it really worth all the fuss?”
And when, with shaking hands you scanned all the items on the credit card bill that the postman popped through your letterbox this month, did you wonder why you spent so much and stress about how you’re going to pay it all back?
If December is the ‘Jovial Uncle’ of the Calendar family – the month of parties, gift-giving and good will to all men, women and non-binary persons – then January has always been the grim-faced elderly Aunt dressed in black, who ‘Tuts’ disapprovingly while shaking her head at your over-indulging and overspending.
If we all know these bills are going to catch up with us, why do we stress so much about Christmas, especially when we’re going through a cost of living crisis?
Between December 25th and January 31st we might de-stress for a while, but then stress even more as we wait to find out how much we’ve wasted…and I use that word deliberately…buying things for people who don’t need them with money we can’t afford.
Some of you might think I’m a curmudgeon for saying all this, but the harsh truth is, a lot of my readers have lived through seven recessions over the decades and this current one has given many people, who managed to just get by previously, a real kicking.
We’re living in a world in which the not-too-badly-off can chomp their way through Christmas cakes, selection boxes, tins of chocolates and other calorie-infused confectionery, while just down the road, in our own towns and cities, food banks are struggling to fill their shelves, such is the demand from people on their uppers who can’t provide basic nutrition for their families.
Many of these people are in full-time employment but are still struggling.
In the run-up to next Christmas, try and remember this article before you reach for your credit card to buy gifts for people who’ll be using their credit cards to buy gifts for you. Call a truce. Tell each other not to bother.
Come January 2024 you could be glad you did.