The stresses of Christmas

The Christmas season is upon us, and along with it, an over abundance of stresses to dampen the holiday spirit. Life’s like this! Even with what should be the most joyous season of the year, you can count on stress to cause anxiety and unnecessary frustration. Instead of embracing the true spirit of Christmas, to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, millions of American’s are rushing to spend their hard-earned money on Christmas gifts, that will soon be forgotten after they are unwrapped. I am not suggesting that the birth of Christ is not celebrated, but I am frustrated with the over-commercialization of Christmas. Everywhere you turn: on TV, radio, newspapers, mall posters, direct mail — someone or something is telling you where to spend your money. And then the consumer must decide how much money to budget for gifts, if you even follow a budget. Unfortunately, the plastic card is used to pay for those gifts that you can spend a year or more paying off. We feel so much pressure from advertisers with slick advertisements and a flood of “deals” that we get lost in a spending frenzy that can cause many of us needless stress and depression once the new year begins and the reality of the debt you incurred settles in.