Today is Halloween in America.
It’s a fun day—one I always look forward to.
When I was a kid, I LOVED trick-or-treating with my brother and sister (even in the cold October 31st weather of South Dakota). Nowadays, in Phoenix, we host a party in our driveway on Halloween night for our friends while our kids gather candy from the neighbors. It’s a fun holiday—I do enjoy it.
However, in my mind, Halloween also marks the beginning of the longest season of excess in our country:
I think of it this way:
- Halloween is…
- followed by Thanksgiving…
- followed by Black Friday…
- followed by Cyber Monday…
- followed by Christmas…
- followed by New Year’s Eve.
No wonder everybody in the country decides on January 1st they need to make changes in how they are living. Halloween through New Year’s has just equaled 64 days of excess.
Look at some of the stats:
For Halloween, Americans are expected to spend $12.2 billion on candy, costumes and decorations this year—that’s $108 for every person who plans to celebrate.
That’s $3.6 billion on candy (for a one-day holiday!), over $4 billion on costumes, and 3.9 billion on decorations. I’m not sure when big inflatable Halloween decorations in our front yard became a thing, but apparently that’s what people are doing now.
Thanksgiving is famous for three things: family, football, and overeating. Meals are important and so is celebration. Thanksgiving is a special day in our home with good food and meaningful traditions. So please don’t read that I disapprove of the holiday.
But let’s be honest, when the average American consumes a staggering 6,300 calories in a single day (almost twice the recommended daily intake), it’s easy to see how the holiday contributes to this season of excess.
Thanksgiving gives way to Black Friday (with some stores choosing to open on Thanksgiving Day). Black Friday gives way to Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday. All told, Americans will spend $51B shopping for unneeded items the weekend immediately following a day being grateful for all the things they do have.
And then of course, we have the Christmas season and all the excesses that accompany the holidays celebrated during the month of December.
The calendar is full of scheduled events (work parties, church parties, dance recitals, band performances, family gatherings, and community events). Billfolds are opened wide and often—50% of holiday shoppers either overspend their holiday budget or do not set one at all and 28% of holiday shoppers enter the season still paying off debt from last year’s gift shopping.
One week later, we’ll gather again to celebrate the start of a New Year (or in this year’s case, a new decade). We’ll eat more, drink more, attend more parties, and stay up later than we normally would.
When everything is all said and done, on January 1, we’ll stand on the scale, open our credit card statement, or take one look around the house and realize that change is necessary.
We will resolve to lose weight, get out of debt, organize the house, or overcome an addiction that began in moderation but grew into excess. We’ll know we overdid it the past couple months and resolve to do better going forward.
Seasons of extended excess often lead to the realization that change must occur. And that season of excess starts today… on Halloween.
The upcoming months are a wonderful time of year filled with family, traditions, and memories to be made. We honor our faith, our past, and the communities we live in.
But if you are often swept away by the excesses of the upcoming season, resolve today to not make the same mistakes of the past. You don’t need to wait until January 1st to make that decision.
Set boundaries on your spending. Know your financial limitations and develop your budget now for the entire season. Don’t let November & December ruin your January thru October.
Set boundaries on your celebrations. You do not need to embrace excess to enjoy this season of the year. Halloween can still be enjoyed without an inflatable black cat in your front yard. Thanksgiving can still be enjoyed without a stomachache. Christmas can be appreciated without falling into consumerism. And New Year’s can be enjoyed in moderation.
Set boundaries on your expectations. Too many of us fall into the thinking that the perfect holiday requires us to overextend ourselves. We want everything perfect for our kids (regardless of their age), our friends, and ourselves. And we think that means mountains of decorations, gifts, or sugary foods. But your perfect holiday season doesn’t require your excess. Many times, it simply needs your presence.
I will enjoy myself this evening out in the driveway handing out candy, visiting with my neighbors, and celebrating a simple American tradition.
I can enjoy this holiday (and the next one) without falling into the trap of excess. Most of those excesses are entirely manufactured by those who profit from it anyway.
Veteran’s Day was missed on your list. What an excellent day to think of others, give of your time and abundance to recognize the sacrifices others made.
Veterans day falls within that time frame but isn’t considered a holiday of excessive spending. All the the other holidays, including New Years has become ridiculous.
Excellent article! Excess is a horrible thing to overcome in January. My daughters birthday is the 30th. I was always broke when she was little! Now, I turn to the ways of when my folks were younger and didn’t have everything. They also didn’t give us everything either. The best present I could every have is this reminder and memory. Happy Holidays!
Yes holidays are crazy. To much of everything. Keeping up with the Joneses is a horrible thing for people. I did not decorate this Halloween. My mum gave me a Halloween candle. The rest of the stuff I sold many years ago. I bought my kids one skull each filled with candy. They were happy with that. To many wars and people in need around this year to be dressing up in horrible costumes when kids actually look like that in real life after all the bombing going on. A minimalist life style is also a caring heart full of compation for yourself and others. ❤️.
Very well said.????????????????????????
I’m with you on that!
Thanks for the great read! Consumerism ramp up time of the year.
Wow! Great article and very true and inspiring. I needed to hear this today!
Great article! Thanks for the reinforcement of moderation.
I work in a liquor store, so imagine what I’ve recently witnessed. Between football season and Halloween, our sales have begun to climb… and the bigger celebrations are yet to come! Most of my customers are regular weekly shoppers, but the excess they buy this time of year for ‘family get-togethers’ is shocking. No family needs that much booze flowing. The economy/inflation is not slowing their spending; they complain about the prices, yet find a way to pay it.
I have been following you for a long time and I just learned you are a fellow South Dakotan! So I looked for more info on you and learned your grandfather is Harold Salem, a pastor I have watched many Sunday mornings and still follow his ministry on Facebook. You have been a blessing to me and now I feel more of a connection!
Awesome Donna!
Dear Ellen,
Your post was spot on! To much war, and yes the part about kids truly looking like or are dead, is true.
I want joy and the Lord’s presence in my home this holiday season…not a bunch of stuff no one will care about three days later.
Thank you for reminding us of that.
Great article! However, as a non profit worker, I wouldn’t lump Giving Tuesday with Black Friday. The two couldn’t be further from the same
I think giving Tuesday should happen 2 days before Thanksgiving. That way we give from our abundance and with gratitude instead of giving leftovers ????
This! ☝️ Best. Idea. Ever. Giving Tuesday BEFORE Thanksgiving!!
I agree with regard to the over the topness of this period. But we don’t throw the perverbial baby out with the bath water! We carve and paint pumpkins with the kids and now with our new baby grandson. We put up cornstalks and use our long ago kid made pumpkin faces hanging at the windows. We bake pumpkin everything from muffins to pies to pumpkin butter sometimes with fun tasty result and others disastrously laughable! Our grandson is too young but we all look forward to the day we hang up a white sheet and a bright light and we make scary shadow puppets.
Thanksgiving is the one day of the year we go all out on yummy foods we only make once a year. Eating one time with a lot of stuff is not the devil for goodness’ sakes… we all look forward to those once a year specialties. We always take a big family picture that usually includes friends as well as all are invited if they want – neighbors too. We are all family that day. The kids make paper turkeys with hang on fishing line over the tables too.
And we love Christmas/Solstice though we are not religious celebrants. Lots of gifts but nothing big usually. Some bought and some home created depending on the skill and tastes of each of us – nothing is criticized. We decorate with lots of homepoured beeswax candles and ornaments, felt garlands and shiny old balls handed down from all our parents and aunts et al. Carols, solstice and funny songs all have a place.
I personally never make it to midnight on New Years but I love to wake up briefly to hear the horns and shouts of a brand new year ringing out. Such a lovely positive sign in anticipation of good times ahead and good times last remembered.
I think it’s a bit sad that you and most commenters are so down on
such a joyous fun family period. We don’t go in for a ton of useless overkill shopping either but do some especially our local shops or pop up Christmas markets. We do only want is fun and not stressful and turns out there can be a lot of fun involved.
Hope you all can find it in yourselves to find a way enjoy this wonderful season instead of such whinging and negativity.. hope you all find your inner child and wonderment again. Cheers!!
Agree! Sheep followed by sheep. Long live insanity. Made up holidays to get us to buy the same as the rest. Herd mentality at it’s worst. Last year I sold of my Halloween box. It felt Great. Still Trying to sell carnivals and halloween costumes. And every year downsizing xmas stuff. Trying to put mostly usable and eatable drinkable gifts in the calendar, stockings and under the tree. No more stuff!!!!
Fab comment & spot on. Well said!
My comment was to Merf59
Fab post, spot on. Well said!
I think the article is saying to live within your means and not get caught up in consumerism…he is not saying that you can enjoy each holiday just live with your budget or what you can afford not what you credit card can afford…IMHO
Here’s my question if the foods are among your family’s favourites why only make them ONCE a year? my mom used to make layered salad for holiday, Well I make a smaller version of the salad and have it with leftovers during the Summer or with cold cut sandwiches during gardening season when tomatoes are fresh , I eat pumpkin pie and apple pies during all four months of Autumn, not just 2 or 3 holidays, I make deviled eggs monthly for my husband not just during Easter. Corn bread gets made all Winter with soup & beans not just January 1 , enjoy the foods that bring good memories all year round not just during the holiday.
Many years ago I embraced a tradition of spending the weeks between Halloween and the New Year taking stock of the past year, all I had hoped for, all that came to be, and all that fell by the wayside. I used the time to let go of “things” (i.e. experiences and feelings and habits) that were not serving me so that I could make room in my life and my heart for the new. I found space to meditate regularly to discover these truths. Somehow, I drifted away from that practice. Thank you so much for this article! You have reminded me of how much that benefits the soul! It is only November 4th. Time to light a candle and focus inward. I have a very good feeling about this holiday season. : )
I just returned from an October vacation in Spain where I spotted a “Black Friday Sale” on a car dealership in a small middle of of nowhere village. Madness.
Usa used to be alone celebrating halloween and Valentine and having the Black friday. Now it is unfortunatly all over the world.
Ellen, your ignorance is showing. Canada celebrates Halloween and Valentine’s Day and has been doing so for a very long time.
BTW the first Thanksgiving was in Canada.
Black Friday is a US invention complete with the riots at Walmart. We do not have Black Friday and do not riot in Walmart or Giant Tiger or Canadian Tire etc.
I just returned from an October vacation in Spain where I spotted a “Black Friday Sale” on a car dealership in a small middle of of nowhere village. Madness.
Thanks for the article! We are not “holiday” celebrators in general. We don’t celebrate Halloween in any manner. Thanksgiving is family getting together and sharing a meal. Christmas is family gathering, song singing, church attending. No gifts, cards and minimal, usually hand crafted, decorations. And I love the Christmas carols! For several years, I sent out family newsletters, but haven’t for a while. I would rather receive newsletters from friends and family at Christmas, than cards with just a signature on them, which means very little.
This may just be your best article yet and I believe I have read every
single one you have written! As someone who has worked in retail for 36 years, I really have to roll my eyes at the term “Holiday Season”. It is not a holiday for those of us who work in retail. Holiday
implies fun, having a day off, spending days doing what you like etc.
Working in retail is literally months dealing with fabricated ‘holidays’ where as soon as Hallowe’en is over, it’s suddenly Christmas, it’s
Valentines Day, it’s Easter… It’s actually sacrificing family time, alone time, true holiday time to serve grumpy, greedy, customers whom no
one can make happy! And yes, I sound like I am biting the hand that
feeds me. My favourite day of the year is the Day After Boxing Day. It’s all over. I live in Canada and I used to blame much of this ridiculous excess on the US. But now both countries are equally to blame for this season of wretched excess. I passed a truck yesterday that had a sign that read, “The Christmas Light Guys”. This really hit home to me as a symbol of all that is wrong with our distorted “holiday season” thinking. My mum used to put up one uneven string of coloured lights along the front of our house. She was a single parent and this was a real labour of love as she had to
get up on the rickety ladder and nail the string of lights up in the cold. But she did it to make her girls happy and that it did. I don’t remember any presents I received but I remember the joy and comfort I got from seeing those lights outside my bedroom window when I was a child. That love and devotion symbolized the holidays to me. And she didn’t have to call a professional Christmas light installation firm…
Cathie B, You are so correct! I’ve also worked in retail in the past when it wasn’t as crazy as it is in today’s world. My favorite memories from holidays when I was a kid was having the whole family over and the exceptional homecooked meals my mother made for all. Sadly, many have passed on and the others are not able to get together. Still, we forge ahead with our smaller family unit of my son and his family.
We start to absorb and accept over the top things as normal – for instance, the company you mentioned created solely to put up Christmas lights/decorations on your house so you can compete with the neighbors down the block who decorate their entire property for (every) holiday. It really is silly, and I am striving to simplify, simplify my life as I remember how much simpler things were when I was a child in the 70s.
The one advantage many of those decoration companies offer is the freedom to not store tons of decorations, the tools needed to put them up, and the time to spend doing things you love. We don’t go all out to decorate at all, but if I were indoor health, or older, or lived in a two story house, I might utilize a service like this because seeing the lights and holiday decorations is one of my favorite parts of December. Without that, it would just be January–dark, cold, and depressing.
Thanks for this. I few days ago I posted something less defined regarding the excesses of Halloween thru New Year’s. My friends and family excoriated me for my supposed negativity. I’ve shared this post as a kind reply
For British, there is one more shopping holiday called Boxing Day. For Chinese, Singles’ Day (a shopping festival designed to “cure” loneliness by “self-love” shopping) and might be also Lunar New Year to look at. What a consuming world!
Holidays weren’t always this outrageous with spending; people didn’t have the money for one. It’s what it evolved into, overuse of credit and everything sickeningly commercial. Gluttony is something I just don’t understand, 4500 calories?! I didn’t grow up with any of those ideas. Look at the roots of these holidays, and find balance in your own traditions. The heck with the merchants.
I have always limitedmy spending on the holidays. For one thing i cant afford it. I decided many years ago not to use a vredit card for christmas. We had a christmas club account. Thats what we used for gifts. One year we used it to go to disney for christmas. That was more fun than buying presents. Now i dont buy anybody anything, except my living parent andmy friend. We decided on my husbands side it was getting too expensive. So we just have dinner.
Well said! I have twin sons who have a birthday in early December too. It is too much. This year one wants to go to a concert for his birthday instead of asking for any stuff and I am super excited about this. They are finally getting on board with me that experiences and memories are far more enjoyable than more stuff that just turns into clutter.
I guess I was lucky growing up. My paternal grandmother was very frugal and she learned the life style from her parents. Her mother was the daughter of a British minister, and her father was Native American (Blackfoot). She grew up on a farm in Rhode Island and their family of ten always had enough to eat and most importantly share with others. They made their gifts throughout the year so that when the Christian celebration of Advent was to begin, they were already prepared to focus on the birth of Christ, Living a life following the understanding of the true meaning of the season was the part of their families foundation. Also, from November through January was birthday season. So she and my grandfather, who was a first generation child from Norway, taught their children and their grandchildren the old ways; to be frugal, creative, and to plan ahead financially. So when December 1st arrived, we could relax and be able to celebrate the true meaning of the season. Every Sunday we would have the lovely family dinner after church then the extended family would gather together to celebrate someone’s birthday. Our Christmas tree did not go up until December 20th, after my father’s birthday. When it came to gifts, we had to buy a child in need 1-2 gifts before we could purchase any gifts for friends and friends. Everyone gave 1 or 2 small yet thoughtful gifts to each person. To this day most of us still try to follow their example.
Hear, hear and amen to everything you’ve said here. And, given two end of month birthdays in November and December in our family, it is all the more tempting to succumb to consumerism and excess, as we’re asked what we want for those occasions too. I’ve been trying to suggest more experiential (day trips locally) and membership (museums) or services (car detailing, computer repair) types of things we’ll use and enjoy. It sure is a challenge. Here’s to a simpler and more meaningful rest of 2019 (and this rapidly concluding decade).
I definitely enjoyed this read for sure! It breaks it all down and puts everything into a clearer perspective as to how much is so unnecessary. We do tend to over indulge. I’m going to definitely giving myself boundaries!
All the Holidays plus our little nuclear family has 4 birthdays from mid November to early January. Makes my head spin. I was so Happy when my MIL told me they were cutting back on gifts this year. Finding a happy place of moderation is hard. Enjoying all the celebrations without either going overboard OR being a Scrooge is the goal.