By Sarah Kovathana
October 20, 2021
Dear Friends, Family, and Loved Ones:
For the love of all things good, please do not send me any gifts for Christmas this year. I have been contemplating this idea for a few years now, but recent events and circumstances have made me empowered to enforce it now. I am relieving you of the perceived social obligation of getting me a gift. Times are tough out there and it’s time to start acknowledging these realities. Read on to hear more about my reasons. I would encourage you to do the same.
If you absolutely need to get me a gift, consider donating to these charities instead:
Happy Holidays!
Sarah
As many of you know, the American economy has been in flux in large part due to issues made clear by the global pandemic. The demand for goods is high and the need for shipping and delivery of items around the globe has come to an unfortunate head. Many goods are stuck on ships waiting their turn to pass through and various media outlets have begun recommending that folks shop for their Christmas gifts now.
To be perfectly candid, the idea of shopping for Christmas in October is abhorrent to me right now. I can barely make plans for next week let alone worry about Christmas shopping. We don’t know what kind of economic effects this will have and we don’t know if we will be gathering at all. While I have my health, shelter, food on the table, and a support system, I simply don’t have the bandwidth to reciprocate the gift giving so go ahead and save me the gift guilt. That or send me your favorite charity.
I have too much stuff already. I live in a 1.5 bedroom apartment with another person and a dog. We have a lot of kitchen gadgets that we love, but we don’t have space for even those right now. Our dog has enough toys. We have plenty of clothes. We are good.