Why No Presents Santa? Because Your Family Is Poor

What a lot of parents and I do, to take some of the commercialism out of christmas for kids, is we have a kid pick out one of their christmas presents for the poor and give it.

I also take any old toys and give them to the local DSS for children to play with, since many don't have toys at home to play with.

And I make it clear to my child that any unwanted toy goes to a child who needs it more then him.

Originally posted by Amaterasu
It's time to eliminate poverty and greed by eliminating the need for money (in any form).

Introducing free energy would do just that. See My thread here for more: www.abovetopsecret.com...

But then people won't be able to buy a fancier car to show how much better they are than their neighbor. How will people make others aware that they are better than them if they aren't able to buy more expensive things to prove it? I mean, that would actually make us equals for crying out loud! Crazy talk, I tell ya!

Christmas is what people make of it.

We have always had moderate present giving going on in our family. We never went into debt to buy things for the kids that they would be bored with in a few weeks. We would try to choose thoughtful things that the kids would like and appreciate.

It is fun to buy gifts for your family but everyone just needs to keep it in perspective. We typically would not give the latest electronics or the cool item of the year.

We also have kind of traditions about making gifts for others.

To me, the real spirit of Christmas is about family getting to spend some time with each other.

Originally posted by Merlin Lawndart
Think about the poor kids at their schools, seeing all their rich friends and families that are better off, getting all this stuff, all these presents, cool gadgets and what have you. How does that make the poor feel?

Oh good grief, if I have to be tortured with one more "you should feel bad because you have stuff and others don't" thread I think I will hurl. I grew up poor and I was happy with what I had. Did others get better stuff for Christmas? Sure they did. Were they happier than me? I seriously doubt it. Contentment does not come from the quantity or quality of stuff you surround yourself with. It comes from within. You can teach kids to enjoy what they have and they will be happy. Or you can teach them that no matter what they have it isn't enough and they always need more, more, more; and even if they're uber rich they will always be unhappy. Choose your path wisely.

There are a few things I don't like about Christmas, but what really irks me the most are those damn television commercials that give kids the impression that if they are good, or if they keep their rooms clean etc, Santa will bring them whatever they have just seen advertised, or anything else they may wish for. Commercials aimed at children should be banned altogether, imho!
We know how devastating it is for the child who for the week or so before Christmas has lived up to his/her part of the deal as best they could, only to get up out of bed, then rush to the tree, only to find that Santa didn't live up to his! Seeing or imagining kids getting hurt in this way brings a lump to my throat. They are much too young to understand what it means for Daddy to have lost his job due to the company closing, or relocating south of the border.
Then there's Mommy and Daddy! Unless you've been there (and I have), it's hard to imagine the gut-wrenching anguish felt by parents who have tried their utmost to not disappoint their kids on Christmas Day. For them Christmas is a day spent bringing as much joy as possible into the lives of the family, mixed with going off and crying in secret over circumstances beyond their control. Of course this could be any day of the year, but Christmas Day is by far, the worst!
As far as I'm concerned, get rid of all the commercialism that Christmas has become! Bring back the school Christmas Pageants, and if the Muslims don't like it, get rid of them too! Thanks to wimpy governments looking for more votes, Christians have become not much better than vermin, in their own country!

Merry Christmas!

Santa is a part of the 1% so he does what he wants. He gives the wealthy children many gifts while the poor get very few... Sometimes he is merciful and gives essentials like clothing or supplies for school.

Originally posted by flexy123
I remember VERY well when i was still believing in Santa and VERY vividly also when i was told that he actually did not exist.

I didn't experience a trauma or harm or whatsoever by getting told the truth - actually the memories of my childhood where i was still believing in Santa (or bunnies laying eggs etc..) are something which ENRICHED my childhood.

I remember aking my Mum if he was real (to test her - I already worked it out) and she told me the truth.

That was the day I realised that sometimes Mum didn't always tell the truth.

She used to get angry with me after that when she would tell me something and used to give her a skeptical look and ask whether it was another "white lie"...

Originally posted by Merlin Lawndart

Originally posted by Amaterasu
It's time to eliminate poverty and greed by eliminating the need for money (in any form).

Introducing free energy would do just that. See My thread here for more: www.abovetopsecret.com...

But then people won't be able to buy a fancier car to show how much better they are than their neighbor. How will people make others aware that they are better than them if they aren't able to buy more expensive things to prove it? I mean, that would actually make us equals for crying out loud! Crazy talk, I tell ya!

Well... They WILL be able to have any car They choose - and Those whose bliss it is to build cars will gain social currency as They gain reputation for building fine and beautiful cars. I guess They will have to do something to better the planet in some way to show They are better (Betterment Ethic). How awful THAT will be, eh?

[grin]