The Grinch hated Christmas!
The whole Christmas season!
Now, please don’t ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
It could be that his head wasn’t screwed on quite right.
It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.
Perhaps it was because he was sick of being inundated by commercials with a Christmas theme starting before Halloween?
[dewplayer:http://gritzmacher.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/suddenly-its-christmas.mp3]
Maybe it’s the rising cost of gas and everything that’s going to go up along with it, but I’m getting a little tired of being treated like a cash cow by every advertiser on TV or in the paper. I’m tired of it being insinuated that if I don’t buy everyone in the family the latest cell phone, or flat screen, hi-def TV, or some over-priced fashion that a bunch of singing, dancing models tell me I need, then I’m just not in the spirit.
Well, I’m not. At least not now. It’s barely November. And by the time I get around to Christmas shopping, I’ll be so sick of it all, I won’t enjoy it. The condescending attitude of the advertisers towards consumers just galls me.
I used to enjoy Christmas and shopping. I wonder how many people feel the same as I do. People whose life isn’t just one big carefree shopping spree where they get to play the shopping game with no regard to the cost. I wonder how many people actually avoid Christmas shopping, putting it off until the last minute and just getting some token gifts out of guilt? Is there a backlash where these commercials even reduce spending at these merchants stores? I sure hope so.
I know the last places on my list to shop will be Target, Wal-Mart, Old Navy and their ilk.
Fortunately, my kids are grown up enough to seem to agree. Often, those green gift certificates that spend at any store (you know, the ones that say “In God We Trust” on them!) are the best choice anyway. They get what they want, not what I think they want and they get to shop after Christmas when presumably, the sales are going on.
I think it wasn’t Christmas the Grinch hated. It was the crass consumerism promoted by greedy retailers and their marketing departments that ticked him off!
I’m with you, Grinchy-poo!
