Expensive Doesn't Make it Better!

As we get closer to Christmas, I find myself reflecting on Christmases from my childhood and got to thinking how the best years definitely were not defined by the explosion of consumerism we see in this day and age.

While my parents were definitely not poor, they never subscribed to the idea that money was something to throw around... even at Christmas. But that still never meant that we ended up with a holiday that felt "less" than it should be. It typically meant that what was spent went to lots of delicious food and treats, rather than to things.

Much of the time we made our own Christmas decorations, rather than buying them at the shops. Again, this had nothing to do with saving money and everything to do with making decorations as a family tradition and simply the fact that it was fun and a good creative outlet.

We also made almost all our own chocolates and cookies and other treats. I'm actually very grateful for that part of my upbringing because it meant that I grew up to know how to do these things, rather than being dependent on buying them.

These days I watch people around me spend money on conveniences like there's no tomorrow, but they don't actually end up with something better than what we have with our homemade versions. And that's a bit depressing, really... seems like a huge waste, at least to me.

We follow the tradition of focusing mostly on the food during the holidays... in part because we happen to love to cook and create. Besides, we have reached that age where we have lost interest in having more stuff, after all we'll likely be moving to a smaller place within the next couple of years.

Now, I am not opposed to spending money on quality items, but there's a lot of stuff out there that is just expensive without having much merit to justify the sky-high prices.

Not long ago I was shopping for new frying pans, and was amazed that a 30cm pan could cost as much as $200+. What does it do that a highly rated $60 pan with excellent reviews doesn't do? I could find no evidence of anything besides maybe "showing off to your friends."

Some of my friends believe I'm some kind bargain shopper, but that's actually not true. I'm more of what you might call a non-shopper, in the sense that I only get things when I actually need them. And that includes Christmas stuff.

Seems like there are a lot of people in this world who have been programmed to just "buy, for buying's sake."

I'm truly not sure what the point of that is.

Well, I'm running late because I need to get to the supermarket before the kids arrive from Seattle, and because we are also decorating the Christmas tree before they get here.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great Friday!

How about you? Do you think expensive things are better? What kind of shopper are you? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 2024.12.20 14:11 PST
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