Spooked by the ghost of Christmas present

      Faced with the specter of a rapidly tanking economy, frightened consumers may have a tough time parting with the "green" for their holiday largess.

     Consumer confidence is down 23 percent in Buffalo from last year, according to Siena Research Institute.

   "There's this fear that even if [the recession] hasn't hit me yet, it's coming," says Arun Jain, professor of marketing at the University at Buffalo School of Management.

  Will your Christmas pudding be a thin gruel? Or will you hurl  those cautionary  humbugs to the wind?

Comments

[Robert]

Spend your money wisely this Christmas season. Only patronize stores that acknowledge that the holiday season honors Christmas, the birthday of Jesus Christ. As for the rest of them,like Circuit City, see you in bankruptcy court

"Christmas-friendly" retailers — prominent acknowledgment of "Christmas"
Cabela's
Crate&Barrel
Dillard's
Eddie Bauer
JCPenney
Kohl's
L.L.Bean
Lands' End
Linens 'n Things
Lowe's
Macy's
Neiman Marcus

Nordstrom
Pier 1 Imports
Sears
The Home Depot
Target
Toys "R" Us
Wal-Mart
"Christmas-negligent" retailers — marginalized use of "Christmas"
Barnes & Noble
Bed, Bath & Beyond
Best Buy
Borders
Circuit City
Dick's Sporting Goods
GAP
KB Toys
Kmart

"Christmas-offensive" retailers — apparent abandonment of "Christmas"
American Eagle
Banana Republic
Bloomingdale's
Lane Bryant
Old Navy

[BobbyCat]

What we have here is a failure... of institutional memory.

Do you have a relative who lived through the Great Depression? They might have told you that a little ragdoll or wooden toy for Christmas would have brought great joy to a child in those days of hardship. So would a warm meal or a piece of candy.

We have grown so accustomed to excess - spending hundreds on family - that we have lost the spirit of Christmas, as many have so often pointed out.

Give a card for Christmas. On it, write a paragraph about what that person means to you, the joy they have brought to your life and pour your heart into it. They will cherish that piece of paper more than any gilded gift. Forget the money and pricey gifts. Give love. It's priceless.

[pgr88]

When my Father was a child in the 1930's, he received an orange as a Christmas gift.

We still live in an age of incredible prosperity, although we are giving away our freedoms to the Gov't and the Banks for the impossible promise that they will help us live better still.

[PJA]

I remember my mother telling me that during the Great Depression they'd be thrilled with stocking stuffers as simple as an orange, too. They didn't even have their own Christmas tree and had to go next door to celebrate with relatives who could afford one.

My mom called those times as the happiest of her life.

[Ron]

This may a gift. People may start to get back to what Christmas is about instead of what the retail stores dictate. Suprise..... Christmas was NOT invented by J.C. Penny's or Sears.

If people can only enjoy the holiday when they spend a lot of money then it's time to look at priorities.

[Moreland]

I think most people have enough STUFF and are sick of buying more. Did anyone ever consider that?

[Hodge]

Robert, there is more than one holiday being celebrated during the "holiday season." Christmas is simply the most over-commercialized. "Holiday" means "holy day." There is nothing offensive about saying "Happy Holidays," since, obviously, Christians do consider Christmas a holy day. There's also nothing wrong with acknowledging that some people are celebrating other holidays at this time of year. I am not a Christian, yet I am never offended when someone wishes me a "Merry Christmas," so I would hope that anyone who celebrates Christmas would simply reply to "Happy Holidays" as my mother always did: "Thank you, and I wish you the same!"