December is a time of family, friends, love, and joy. It’s about celebrating traditions and coming together to enjoy each other’s presence. And presents. Now more than ever, the holidays revolve around the gifts we give and receive, and we have reached a point where something needs to change before more damage is done to our planet, our bank accounts, and the idea of the holidays itself.
Consumerism is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as an ‘(Excessive) emphasis on or preoccupation with the acquisition of consumer goods.’ Now, in today’s world we cannot avoid buying goods and services. Capitalism rules and, at least for now, we cannot change that on a global scale. But we can do our best on a personal level this holiday season. 29% of Christmas purchases come from Amazon alone, and we cannot allow one company to have such a hold over our consumer tendancies. A total of £27.6 billion was spent on christmas presents in 2023, and in 2024, £1.27 billion was spent on unwanted gifts. These are crazy numbers that prove how far we have strayed from the traditional values of the holiday season, and when we consider all of the avenues this money could go we should feel ashamed and guilty. When your mum asks what gifts you want this year, be considerate in your requests. If nothing changes these statistics will just continue to rise, and the blame cannot only be placed on the companies selling to us. We must take accountability as consumers.
On top of the gifts we receive, there has also been a growing expectation around the gifts we give others. Culture has shifted and expectations are higher than they have ever been. The pressure is on to buy those close to us the best gifts they have ever received that somehow encompass all aspects of their personality and interests whilst being something they will use often. Even with those not as close to us: coworkers, distant relatives, the person you pulled in the dreaded secret santa, we still feel this pressure to buy them something brilliant, that they didn’t know they were missing, that will fill that void that nothing else seems to. This ideology is what drives capitalism and keeps big brands in power, but as consumers it is within our power to stand against this and prove that we are more than our purchases, and that the holidays are about more than our material desires.
We all know and love the classic Christmas adverts such as the annual John Lewis one, it’s almost a British event each year where we wait to see what it is and then come together to discuss the ad. That sense of togetherness is so necessary in today’s continually disconnected society, however we have to be critical of ourselves and consider the implications of having such a large regard for what is only an advert at the end of the day. The primary purpose of an advert is to convince the audience to buy a product or shop in a store, to sell, and when we ignore that aspect we allow ourselves to be easily influenced by these brands, just as they intended, and as consumers we may not even be cognisant of how we are being influenced. Brands and their marketing departments are very clever and they know how to appeal to their audience, so it’s our job as the consumer to be proactive in our choices and not let the cute little fox with the Lily Allen cover of Keane nudge us (and that’s proof of how well these adverts work because that’s a reference to their 2013 ad that has stuck with me since I was nine years old).
So this holiday season, we must take accountability and unlearn the fake societal rules surrounding gifting and take a stand against consumerism and commercialism. We cannot escape capitalism as it exists in our world today, but we can be reactive to imposed expectations and proactive when it comes to our own shopping. Search charity and vintage shops, create and craft your gifts for a more personal, embodied experience, or move away from materialism altogether and find ways to provide for others outside of consuming. This may be through offering a service or your time: something that provides experience not goods. It is our duty as inhabitors of this planet to take into consideration the footprint we leave, and changing our ideals surrounding shopping and gift-giving is one way to make that necessary change.
Statistics from the GWP Group.
Dobson, M. (2025b) Christmas packaging facts and waste statistics (2025 update), GWP Group. Available at: https://www.gwp.co.uk/guides/christmas-packaging-facts/ (Accessed: 02 December 2025).
Oxford English Dictionary, “consumerism (n.),” June 2025, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/2625587880.