Holiday Hype; Store Tricks To Get You To Buy?

[heydude]

This time of year, I suddenly feel like buying a whole bunch of stuff. Does anyone know why?

Please list what you think is being done right now as it seems every trick in the book is being played. If I know what the tricks are, I can avoid them better.

This is what I see:

1. A Season of Abundance
(by making everything red, green, and flashy and bright, it seems the stores have taken the message of christmas and turned it in to a season of abundance. therefore, my expectations have risen as to what I need in order to fill abundant. shopping is the answer. i am being told right now that i need to fill over happy and over filled......

Answer to Avoid: Find activities, people, friends, to fill yourself up in abundance. Talk to family you have never seen in awhile. Do activities you haven't in awhile. Book your calander up full with non-shopping stuff.

2. Sales Sales Sales!
(everything is on sale and seems to be a once in a lifetime opportunity. remind yourself of what you have actually wanted to buy and then actually look to see if that exact thing is on sale (HINT: IT ISN'T, lol). Most deals are actually cheaper versions that are actually only marked down a small amount. (example, Jcpenney has like 2 dollar towels on black friday. but these towels are actually only like 5 bucks normal).

3. Everyone is doing it; Rare opportunity.
People parked out in front of stores MUST MEAN there is something cool. There isn't. Get it now before it is gone? These things will be on clearance in January. Don't get caught in the hype.

[Zoebird]

don't go to stores. don't watch television. don't look at junk mail. guess what? none of it exists. seriously. it doesn't.

it's ok, live in a bubble. :D

[Simplicity]

I kind of live in a bubble too Zoebird. lol. We have no TV and I am amazed at the difference that makes! DH does miss it a bit in the winter when it's dark at 5:00 pm and too cold to do anything outside. His relaxation is watching TV or a movie or playing a video game. But I haven't missed it a speck! :)

I do look at the sale flyers that come weekly, but I don't often see anything that I want that I actually make the effort to go buy. Laziness and dislike for shopping helps! LOL

I never just go wander around in stores and shop. If I'm in a store, it's because I'm there to get something specific.

[rosarugosa]

I'm finding the Black Friday hype particularly offensive this year. It makes me wonder if some day soon Thanksgiving will be thought of as the day before Black Friday, the holiest of days in the Church of American Consumerism. You couldn't drag me to the mall tomorrow even if everything was going to be free!
We've got it down to the point where we do very little in the way of xmas gift exchanging. Even at the height of my days as a recreational shopper, BF never really had too much appeal. I always tried to finish my shopping before Thanksgiving because I don't like shopping in crowded stores. I like the idea of Buy Nothing day.

[mtnlaurel]

New to me this year is Small Business Saturday and there's Cyber Monday too -- which I actually have taken advantage of in the past -- I have an unspoken vow to never pay shipping ever.

https://www.facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday
http://www.forbes.com/sites/deborahsweeney/2011/11/22/5-benefits-to-shopping-on-small-business-saturday/2/

You literally couldn't PAY me to get out on Black Friday.

I can live with companies trying their hardest to make a dollar during Christmas season - if they don't make it now when people loosen their purse strings a bit in this tough economy, when will they make it? (Now that doesn't take into account that most of what they hawk is a far cry from necessities)
What bugs me is they want to start pimping Santa before Halloween these days!

This is totally true -- I was running errands with my 7 yo son a couple of weeks ago and he looks up and honestly asks,
"Have they deleted Thanksgiving this year?"
Me: "No, why?"
Him: "All I see is Christmas stuff."

from the mouths of babes...

'The Wanties' for me are an extension of not being in the moment, not enjoying the now, not wanting what I already have.

Actually I think it's quite naturally human to want to congregate with others in a festive atmosphere -- maybe look for holiday celebrations, christmas caroling, etc. to get that fix instead of the malls ???

[loosechickens]

mtnlaurel.....out of the mouths of babes, indeed. Although I did get a smile out of "Have they DELETED Thanksgiving...etc..", at the choice of words from the younger and very much a computer generation of kids. ;-)

I kind of like the "small business Saturday" one, and think I may actually support that....but I rather have all my teeth pulled without novocain before I'd step into a store tomorrow........

[Blackdog Lin]

Zoebird: I live in your bubble.

They DO try to push all my buttons, but I will resist. I will make Christmas a time of ..... I don't know, but it won't be consumerism.

[redfox]

Zoebird: I live in your bubble.

They DO try to push all my buttons, but I will resist. I will make Christmas a time of ..... I don't know, but it won't be consumerism.

How about joy, connection with loved ones, and yummy baked goods? We take our young adult children to dinner & the theatre. It's really fun.

[Fawn]

Well...I do not have a TV, I do not read the newspaper....who is this that is trying to get me to buy useless materials?????

Ooooh...the teenagers have lists of needed items that can only be purchased at the mall.

Books, clothes, food treats....I can buy these things.

Other strategies I employ:
1) Do not involve yourself in the Secret Santa game.
2) Set a budget limit for the entire holiday. Do not deviate.
3) Ask yourself what your favorite thing about the holiday is--meal w/ family, home made gifts for everyone, handwritten card to far away friends, light displays, being out in the stores while everyone shops...and just do that one thing. Let someone else do the rest.
4) Work the holiday...this gets you out of all sorts of expenses
5) Arrange w/ your friends for no-cost or little cost gift exchanges, i.e. for my BFF we have an evening with adult beverages and a fire in the fireplace. I provide the wood and fireplace and cheese and crackers. She provides the alcohol. Perfect evening.