Pretty much every person I know gives or receives these hugely expensive gifts...iPods, computers, televisions, Wiis, xbox, playstation, dvd sets...In my family, for birthdays and holidays etc, we get maybe 20 dollars or something around that price range. And I'm perfectly fine with that actually, I'm not jealous at all..I'm just wondering, how in the world does everyone afford all that?
2006-12-26 19:52:51 · 10 answers · asked by omgwtf1980 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Holidays ➔ Other - Holidays
It's not just a question of how do they do it at Christmas but rather how do they do it all year long as well....
In our current culture, there is much pressure on people to live up to a certain lifestyle all of the time, whether they can afford it or not. Just remember that in a lot of cases looks are deceiving. Your neighbor might be driving a BMW but he could've went in way over his head to be able to drive it off the lot. Or your friend might have got their kids hundreds of dollars worth of toys for Christmas but she could be working 60 hours weeks to pull it off (or just charging it on her credit cards).
In our society, it doesn't matter how you get stuff (nobody cares about that) ... it just matters how much stuff you have. It's really quite shallow and stupid.
In general I would say that many North Americans are better off then previous generations but I'm also willing to bet that this current generation is working their asses off in order to facilitate this 'well-off culture'. Certainly compared to Europeans we work far too damn hard. In other words, we're sacrificing our most precious commodity in life - time itself - in working so hard just to be able to get more stuff.
If you only work 40 hours/week and make a decent income and you're happy with your life, don't feel bad at all. I gladly count myself in that crowd. Who cares if you have all kinds of toys and look like you're keeping up with the Joneses if you have to work insane hours to pull all of that off. Is it really worth it? I would say no. It's far more important and freeing to live within your financial limits whatever they might be. People need to learn to be more content with what they have instead of saying... well... only if I had a 2nd ipod or a brand new sports car... then I'd be happier.
Don't worry about what other people think or about what other people have. He who dies with the most toys doesn't really win - they certainly can't take their toys with them but rather have to hand those toys off to someone else instead! There is more to life then accumulating more and more possessions.
2007-01-03 10:58:20 · answer #1 · answered by ? 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
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2016-10-19 00:50:46 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
depends on the parents jobs, some parents save for the holidays so their kids can have whatever they want. it all depends on the family
I also know that banks have some sorta christmas account too, where it starts like in january, and u just put whatever extra money into it, and u CAN NOT get it out till november, and so if parents put in 50 bucks a month, thats 500 bucks at the end of the time period.
2006-12-26 19:56:10 · answer #3 · answered by scion_xb_girly 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You obviously know the true meaning of Christmas. It is not all about the gifts we receive. If I was your mother, I'd be very proud of you. Most parents can't afford those gifts, and they spend the following year trying to recover financially from spending money they don't have.
2006-12-26 20:20:55 · answer #4 · answered by Tiff 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Christmas has become just as much about materialism as it has about Christianity. In my family, we don't go to church on Christmas and we buy each other expensive gifts. I'm pretty sure that defeats the purpose of everything. The answer to why: people in America have been taught that more money equals more love.
2006-12-26 20:02:34 · answer #5 · answered by trueblue88 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I know exactly what you mean. I'm minted and never get anything for anyone because Christmas is on 25th December and I've spent my collosal salary long before then.
I've always wondered how other people, often people who earn a pittance compared to me, manage to stack up presents for their relatives - then on Monday, in the midst of my heinous hangover, it struck me... I really couldn't give a flying £µ(k.
2006-12-26 20:43:28 · answer #6 · answered by Diarmid 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover cards
2006-12-26 20:21:14 · answer #7 · answered by judy_r8 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They go in debt, plain and simple. Any kid this Christmas who had a PS3 under their tree has parents whose credit cards were begging for mercy.
2006-12-26 21:57:26 · answer #8 · answered by chyanther 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They max out their credit cards, and spend the next couple of years paying for it.
2006-12-26 19:56:36 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
It is sad but they feel they don't have anthing else in the world to give, so they have to give a lot of money.
2006-12-26 19:57:20 · answer #10 · answered by jm 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋