Christmas spirit...wheres it gone?

[Tank]

Apprently this is this years must have toy for your kids for Christmas.

what it is doesnt bother me but what is happening has cheesed me off.

My friend is looking for one for his son for xmas but they are pretty hard to come by. Only to find out people are resevering them at places like argos and selling the reservation numbers on ebay from anywhere from £2 to £10! that or they buy them in bulk from argos and selling them for £115+ when it actually cost £70.

something just seem so wrong about that. wheres the christmas spirit gone??

 

[Melonfish]

wherever the bankers' fat bonus cheques go i'd assume?

sorry for the flippant response but i think everyones feeling the bite nowdays and rather then band together, capitalism works its wonderful magic as every man is litterally for themselves.

 

[sasquatch]

Yarp, it's no different to Americans buying up all those Cabbage Patch Dolls and reselling them in the 80's. Same thing happened here with the PS2 if you recall. People snapped them up and I knew a guy that sold his before xmas for a profit of £200. Once xmas had been and gone they were all over the shelves and he got another for the normal retail price.

There will always be people out to make a buck. Kinda sickens me a bit but I also think fair play for thinking of ways to make money and actually going to the effort!

 

[Tank]

I have known it in the past to happen, but selling the resevertion code just seems too cheeky.

 

[British Red]

I guess everyone else who sells them makes a profit too.

Once any religious festival comes to be about plastic things that go "beep", any semblance of religion, spirit, kindliness, family, etc. is long dead. The price of the article in question is irrelevant.

Here is a thought. Why not make this Yule about spending time with friends and loved ones? Give only what you have made, cook togtether, make the decorations together, and be thankful for another year of plenty rather than asking for yet more?

There is a good lesson here for kids that demand the latest fashion item - you can't always have what you want!



Red

 

[Tadpole]

My Christmas spirit is under the stairs ready to be given as presents. Unfortunately as the booze is homemade half of the people who will get it this year will not appreciate it, unless it’s got a designer label some people in my family will think it is tat. They will keep it or pour it away, or as happened two years ago, give it back to me the following Christmas having forgotten who gave it to them in the first place.
As for giving expensive designer electronics, that is only for the likes of people with shed loads of deposable income something I don’t have.

 

[Toddy]

It's much, much, much easier to do as British Red suggests in a household and family of like minded adults...and Tadpole's experience agrees with that.

Thing is; we can choose our friends but family is either the one we make or find ourselves related or married in to.

I don't watch much tv, but I've sat and enjoyed three programmes recently and the damned telly is full of adverts for the latest must have for Christmas tatt, bombarding children and adults alike with pressure to be part of the season

Call me cynical, but it's hyped beyond reason and simply into greed and big business now

Whether one celebrates a miraculous birth, the rites associated with the turning of the year, a festival of light or the miracle of the temple oils, surely there has to be more to it than a universal orgy of consumerism.

cheers (seriously )
Toddy

 

[Tank]

Call me cynical, but it's hyped beyond reason and simply into greed and big business now

couldnt agree more, and the greed bit is what has bugged me.

as i said its not about what the toy is, or what christmas has turned into i just seems like there is a new way to screw people out of the little money they have.

thankfully my lad is only 18months old so i dont have the issue of what present to buy him as he is not really that bothered, but what we have done this year is get my mother in law over from south africa for the christmas period so she can spend it with her grandson, getting the family together to enjoy spending time with each other.

 

[Hoodoo]

I'm just gonna let Santa deal with it.

 

[DaveBromley]

i agree with you tank that it saddens me but its the age old rule of supply and demand! i used to work with a lad that went all the way to germany with a 13.5 ton wagon to buy a shed load of nintendo wii's when they were in short supply. He had sold ALL of them before he went and the half that he made people pay up front actually paid for the van the travel and all the stock and the other half was all profit when he came back.

He made about 15K out of it but like i said its just supply and demand

Dave

 

[blacktimberwolf]

wheres the christmas spirit gone??

"Bah! Humbug!",

 

[MartinK9]

Yep, I wish we all went back to the cheap and cheerful gifts of gold; frankincense and myrrh

 

[John Fenna]

Where has the xnmas Spirit gone?
I drank it last Boxing Day!

This season I am working both on Xmas day and Newyears Day!
Bah - HUMBUG!

 

[John Fenna]

Yep, I wish we all went back to the cheap and cheerful gifts of gold; frankincense and myrrh

Frankincense and Myrrh I have (reasonably priced essential oils) - it is the gold I lack (though Toddy sent me some a while back for free - an incense... not a metal!)

 

[Toddy]

Very practical gifts for a newborn baby; myrrh, frankincense and gold
Basically it's a first aid and keep healthy kit

cheers,
M

 

[RonW]

For us it's going to be a frugal christmas, at least gift-wise.

Still haven't got a job, so no income and my resources are running low. Friends and family have been left behind, so it'll be just the Mss, the kids and me, hopefully enjoying each other's company in good health, preferably with some snow and a nice and warm woodfed stove. Maybe play some games, too.
And that sounds just right to me; spending quality time with my loved ones. Peacefull and quiet...

 

[Toddy]

Merry Christmas when it comes Ron

What ages are the children ? If they're still innocent enough of the consumer must have greed, Christmas can still be an awful lot of fun

atb,
Toddy

 

[santaman2000]

For a few years now some of the journalists here have been giving reminders of what sort of gifts might be more practical for some of our friends. Not the flashy jewelry, newest electronics or perfumes pushed by the shops. Rather think of some of your older family members. Mightn't they appreciate a gift certificate for a cleaning service more than jewelry? How about a certificate for meals at their local restaurants or pub rather than perfume. Rather than new electronics why not a pre-paid fuel card; or if they no longer drive perhaps a bus pass or rail pass?

Younger family or family with VERY young children? Perhaps a certificate for diapers (knappies) Children not quite that young? Then perhaps a certificate for a child sitter so the parents can have a night out.

I could probably list other examples but I'm sure you get the idea and you know better than I do what your loved ones need and would appreciate.

 

[Samon]

I know what you mean and it's saddening, people who buy items in limited supply or high demand to sell on for profit are just money grabbing greedy vulchers.

I remember the furby crisis years back, people selling them in the trade-it for £300!

Me and my brothers have decided this year we'll spend the £20 we'd usually spend on eachother on some nice grub and booze and spend the quality time together.

I still do and always will love Christmas for being a special time of generosity and happiness.

The other day I found a £1 coin on the floor, I picked it up and said to my wife 'I'll stick this is the dog charity box' then decided to spend it on a lottery scratch card and donate the winnings instead! Lucky for the doggies, I won £10 and bought a large 15 kilo bag of kibble and donated straight to a local dogs home.

I donate tins and bags of food every year (throughout the year too) and I'm happy it will make even a slight difference.

I still have my Christmas spirit

 

[santaman2000]

For a decade or two I've given donations to the Salvation Army to provide Christmas dinner to the homeless (Thanksgiving also) I dearly love spending both Holidays with family; but for the last couple of years I've thought of spending the Holidays at the Sally's kitchen serving them (or maybe serving at the Air Force enlisted widows' home)