My family will not be buying anything on Black Friday. In fact, as last year, we will not be exchanging gifts at Christmas. Without any little ones — indeed, this branch of the family tree appears to stop at me and my sister — it had slowly become obvious there was little sense in swapping things of equal value when none of us really wanted anything anyway.
Let me tell you, it’s much less stressful to just spend time together, sharing conversation, games (billiards with my stepdad, cards and dice with all), good food, and spirits! As it was, in years past, I’d taken to doing my shopping entirely on-line in order to avoid the crowds.
While we’re on the topic, when it came out in 2007, I immediately added What Would Jesus Buy? to my Netflix queue. Well, I finally got around to watching it via their instant streaming option. Quite a funny movie with, of course, a good message against wanton consumerism. It was interesting to see what happens behind-the-scenes of such a large-scale, cross-country protest. (It looked exhausting!)
Want more information on Buy Nothing Day? Check out the Adbusters site. Lots of articles and videos, including this one, which I thought you might enjoy. It’s hard to make out the stats being presented though. Maybe someone could reply with what they caught?
Quoting co-founder of Adbusters Media Foundation, Kalle Lasn,
“A simpler, pared-down lifestyle — one in which we’re not drowning in debt — may well be the answer to this crisis we’re in. Living within our means will also make us happier and healthier than we’ve been in years.”
I say, three cheers for the internet; there is so much it has enabled us to read, view, and do, all without wasteful packaging <Ahem> OK, notwithstanding the massive amounts of technological junk overflowing landfills through a combination of planned obsolescence and Moore’s Law. 
