'Tis the season

Today is Thanksgiving, the day when we traditionally give thanks to God for the blessings he has bestowed on us, enjoy the bounty of harvest, and watch football. In the past couple of decades, something else has crept into our Thanksgiving traditions. Have you noticed it? It's the annual planning of the Black Friday shopping excursion.

I'm sure almost everyone knows what Black Friday is and why, but I feel the need to give a little explanation tonight. The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is obviously the biggest shopping season of the year. Therefore, if a retail company has been in the "red" for most of the year, Christmas shopping will bring them back up into the "black." As you well know, the media has helped this process along by hyping up the deals that retailers offer and covering the chaos that is Black Friday shopping. At first, retailers would shockingly open at 6am to catch the early birds with great "doorbuster" deals. How could another retailer compete with that? By opening at 5am, of course. This competition has led to what is now being dubbed this year as "Black Thursday," when some stores such as Walmart and Toys R Us are opening as early as 9 and 10pm on Thanksgiving night.

Which is an awesome thing for companies, and for some customers who are looking for great deals. And arguably great for the economy, which we all know could use a little help these days. But is it really so great in the long run?

As I have been gearing up for work tomorrow, I have to wonder what this kind of consumerism does to us as a people, and to us specifically as Christians? I look at my precious little ones and think about how I want to make Christmas so special for them this year, since we've been through so much in the past several months. But when I think about the ways I can do that, it seems none of them really include toys or movies or games. I want to find creative and fun ways to teach my kids about what Christmas really is all about. For me, what that means is carefully explaining why we decorate, letting them play with a kid-friendly nativity set, teaching them to be generous and kind to others, and telling them the story of Christ's birth and our redemption. Of course, the will get toys. There will be puzzles and games, pajamas and sweaters, cars, and maybe a movie (anyone know if Cars 2 is on DVD yet?). But those are extra things. They are not what Christmas is about.

As you are standing in line and getting online for your deals this weekend, please remember a few things.
First of all, be nice to your cashiers and retail workers. Contrary to popular belief, most of them have not chosen this as their life's work. They have taken whatever job they could because they had few other choices. Yes, we all know the downsides when we apply for retail. But you don't have to make it worse for them. Also, keep in mind that since many of them were hired specifically for the Christmas season, they may not be as knowledgeable as you think they should be. Some of us who have been doing this for years are overwhelmed. The newbies are even more so. Be patient.

Secondly, tip well. Did you know that as minimum wage has gone up for most everyone else, the standard federal minimum wage for servers is still $2.13 per hour? And even though restaurants are required to make sure their servers are being tipped enough to equate to minimum wage, many still don't. The industry standard for tips is now 18%. Of course, you will have the occasional rude or hard to find server. But if you can see that your server is working hard to take care of all of their customers, make sure you give them a fair tip. Most of them are working very hard and long hours and need that extra couple of bucks more than you know. Fun fact: It is a well known fact that Sundays are horrible for servers because church people are horrible tippers. Don't be that customer.

Third, make an effort to keep Christmas what it is supposed to be. As I stated earlier, it is NOT about the deals, the presents, the endless lists of friends and family members. It is about Christ, about celebrating family, about being content with what you have (okay, that was today, but it goes for the rest of the year as well). It may sound strange coming from a retail associate to say things like that, as I can only have a job as long as my companies are making money. But it is no less true. So pay attention to what it's really all about. It's so easy to get caught up in the crazy. Don't let it steal your real Christmas joy.