Buy Nothing Christmas

For many people Christmas means stress, overspending, overconsumption and a debt that they will end up paying off for the rest of the year. An international movement to reconfigure the consumer-based Christmas is gaining ground around the globe – Buy Nothing Christmas.

The anti-consumer ideology started in western Canada in a Mennonite community in 2001 and has continued to spread to new communities around the world. The Buy Nothing Christmas movement encourages people to rethink how they spend their money, time and energy during the holiday season.

We caught up with Anna Weier, one of the Campaign Managers for Buy Nothing Christmas, to ask her what it takes to reclaim Christmas as a time of family and love.

What is Buy Nothing Christmas?

Buy Nothing Christmas is a way of thinking about Christmas that allows people to re-evaluate how they spend their time, energy and money around the holidays. It manifests itself in as many ways as there are people who are involved in Buy Nothing Christmas.

For some it means only making gifts for people. For others it means giving no gifts and spending quality time with family and friends. For others still, it means cutting back on the amount of gifts or only buying used gifts or ethical gifts. The idea behind Buy Nothing Christmas is to show people that Christmas can be different than the advertisements say it is.

When did it start?

It started in October 2001, when a group of friends took out a full-page ad in the Canadian Mennonite. The movement started with some people who are involved in the Mennonite community, but the idea is open to everyone. There are also lots of other people and organizations that have independently come up with ideas along similar lines.

Has it grown in popularity?

I think that Buy Nothing Christmas has grown in popularity. We have received e-mails from people all over the world. We have received e-mails in languages that we do not even understand. I think that the idea resonates with a lot of different people.

Is Buy Nothing Christmas part of Buy Nothing Day?

There is no official connection between Buy Nothing Day and Buy Nothing Christmas, but the spirit behind them is very similar. Buy Nothing Day occurs on the busiest shopping day of the year. In the United States it is said to be the start of the Christmas shopping season and buying nothing on that day signals peoples' concern about the consumptive nature of Christmas. Buy Nothing Christmas encourages us to treat all days in the Christmas Shopping season as Buy Nothing Days.

Is the idea to give/buy nothing or not to use money?

Buying nothing for Christmas does not necessarily mean giving nothing. We can give of our time, love, ideas and even physical things without buying anything. In fact, sometimes we give of things that are more valuable or that we would not normally give, when we step outside of the shopping frenzy. I think that for some the idea is to not spend money, because often when we are spending money we are buying into an economic system that does not serve everyone very well or equally.

For many people, gifts are the centerpiece of Christmas. How can they imagine Christmas without the gifts?

I think that I would encourage people to think back on Christmases past to wonderful memories that they have had and I am sure that not all of those memories revolve around gifts.

Will people feel unloved without store-bought gifts?

I sure hope that people will not feel unloved without store-bought gifts. There are so many ways to show love and I think that most of them are far more powerful than store-bought gifts.

Is the idea for people to cut back on spending or rethink what Christmas means?

I think that the idea is to rethink Christmas and that, in turn, might lead to cutbacks in spending. On the other hand, a cut back in spending might also force a rethinking of Christmas.

Why should people consider having a Buy Nothing Christmas?

I think it will make people happier. It is important for people to slow down and spend time with loved ones. It is important for people to think differently about the way that they live their lives and the impact that they have on others.

Is the solution just to consume differently?

We need to consume differently and a big part of that is consuming less. Christmas is a good place to start.

What advice do you have for someone who is going to try Buy Nothing Christmas for the first time?

I think that it would be a good idea for people to sit down with family and friends and talk about what parts of Christmas are really important to them. People also might start slowly by drawing names and only making or getting one gift for one person. It might also be a good time to start an important family tradition that does not involve gifts or buying things. My family has made a beautiful gingerbread house, church or Taj Mahal, every year together for the last nine years.