Welcome to The Mudroom, a joint commentary series of Rumble Strip Vermont and The Dooryard.
In time for the holidays, we bring you a commentary about Buy Nothing Day, an annual day of protest against buying stuff.
Jessamyn West is a writer, blogger, librarian, and knower of many things technological and digital. She lives in Randolph, Vermont, and here she is standing on a bed.
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It IS notable that to buy nothing is political, where buying SOMEthing is an act of patriotism these days. I, admittedly, am in the throes of Christmas shopping, and found this commentary enormously comforting somehow, or neutralizing? or un-super-sizing? Dunno. But thanks for writing it and saying it.
Being a single mom for many years eventually cured me of any significant holiday guilt trips, most notably my Christmas shopping which dwindled down to mostly art supplies & books for my kids. They joke about it, now that they are in their twenties, while advocating we toss Christmas out or transform it radically. None of us enjoys roaming stores for stuff. What we do enjoy is watching me slowly hand cut up to 1,000 bookmarks printed with self-penned poems, & and glue pressed flower petals gathered the preceding summer onto each, one at a time. This has become a focal point of our family giving, one that can be embraced with joy and pride. As we send out cards & a family photo to our extended network, the bookmarks go along. Small gifts, whose simple gestures echo the mountain rivulets, coltsfoot on the roadside and anything else that money can’t buy.
Love it! Buy nothing day; Let’s make it a national holiday!
Catching up on Rumble Strip today and I am reminded that the best things in life are free. Um, except, maybe I should make a donation to pay the producers?
I just listened to this on Serius XM – PRX remix! Just mulling over the financial and emotional impact this holiday season will have on my family. This was a fun story- thank you!