Don't ask for anything this Christmas

It all started when my rather precocious 12-year-old cousin asked for an iPod and a $200 Dooney and Burke purse for Christmas last year. Not only did I receive a flustered call from my grandmother asking me what exactly an iPod was, but a tongue lashing for putting thoughts of such expensive gifts into my cousin's head. Tempted by such overblown statements as, "back in my day," and "kids these days," I refrained, truly hit with the realization that things have changed in the past decade.

The holidays have always allowed us to dream big and imagine what sorts of magical gifts will be left for us come Christmas morning (or throughout the eight days of Hanukkah). But how big have our dreams grown when total spending for the 2004 season is estimated at $219.9 billion? That's enough to buy every man, woman and child in the United State two iPods, or increase our security in Iraq four-fold, just in case you were wondering.

While pundits speculate as to the cause of this absurd degree of transaction -- the decline of the nuclear family, the rhetoric of politicians which deem it our patriot duty to spend, or merely the increased needs of a generation raised in the wealth and prosperity of the 1990s -- I argue a different basis. We've simply lost touch with the spirit of imagination that Christmas entails.

Dusting out the recesses of my own childhood desires, I realized that A) as a 12 year old I would have never been ostentatious enough to ask for such expensive gifts, and B) when I was 12, all I really wanted was the newest Ace of Base album and a pair of purple Converses. Consequently, I received both these gifts and enjoyed them to their fullest extent, but in the end, these weren't the gifts that made me remember that Christmas. What I remember most was the small used camera that my grandparents gave me, which fostered a love of photography that exists today.

Times may have changed, but I argue that the spirit hasn't.

According to a recent Gallup Poll, more than two-thirds of Americans say they prefer a gift that is a surprise, rather than a gift they know they are receiving because they specifically asked for it. These Americans understand the Christmas spirit of imagination.

Why should we look forward to Christmas if we already know exactly what we're getting? The reason young children await Christmas morning with such agonizing anticipation is promise of a surprise and finding something under the tree they never expected. As we grow older, however, we become so jaded with the ritualistic compulsion to fulfill our own needs and the needs of others that the promise that existed for us as children seems almost a consumer chore.

The National Retail Federation's 2004 holiday spending survey estimates that, on average, consumers plan to spend $702.03 over the holidays (18 to 29-year-olds spend $548), up 4.5 percent from last year. And while I could go into the fact that $702.03 is the income per capita of Afghanistan, I'll refrain. This level of expenditure is ridiculous, but to be expected from the most consumer-driven society on the globe.

As sickeningly cliche as it sounds, with each passing year, I realize that Christmas becomes less and less about getting and spending and more and more about the time spent with others (and recovering from finals). The pictures I carry with me of holiday's past, even after my Ace of Base album breathed its last gasp due to overplay, are gift enough.

I offer you a challenge this holiday season: Don't ask for anything this Christmas. Reclaim that childish spirit of imagination, wonder, excitement and surprise; take a leap and trust those you love. Sure, you might end up with an outrageous reindeer speckled sweater or a few pairs of ugly penguin socks, but you might also end up with some of the most meaningful and surprising gifts you've ever received.

Oh, and keep the sweater. Just refer to it as "the conversation starter."