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The Grinch is stealing my Christmas.
I can be a “Debbie Downer” at times (or so my husband says). But as we celebrate the season, I posit that much has changed in the holiday zeitgeist, and not for the better.
This year, my dreams of a white Christmas will surely be dashed, so say the weather gods. Meteorologists are predicting that any sign of snow is highly unlikely. In fact, Todd Kluber, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Romeoville, told the Chicago Tribune last week that this Dec. 25 may “make the list for the top 10 warmest.”
Kluber predicted that it would be “wet and mild for late December. We usually see cold and snowy, but we’re definitely not seeing that this time around.” We expect snow in December, but by February, we despise it. Still, I want to see the snowflakes fall and icicles cling from the boughs on Christmas Day.
This year, there will be no snow drifts for Santa to conquer on his way to your chimney; no powdery blanket to try out that shiny new sled; no after-dinner snowball fights to work off the turkey and ham. No Frosty the Snowman gliding through the square. Climate change is robbing us of the precious white stuff.
Another thing. Have you noticed the Christmas card deficit? For years, I have written, addressed and mailed 125-plus glittering holiday greeting cards to my sprawling network of family and friends.
I dispatch them early, then wait with anticipation at the mailbox for the returns. The cards have been declining over the years but are especially paltry in 2023. So far, I have received a couple dozen cards.
My 30-something niece reached out to thank me the other day (via a text, of course). “Hi Aunt Laura, thank you for the Christmas card,” she wrote. “I always like getting real mail.”
At least she liked it. Years ago, I sent a gift check to a 30-something nephew. It took him weeks to dig it out of his mailbox.
There are theories about this trend. The costs, especially in this inflationary era, are a disincentive. Young people are not adopting the parents’ traditions of sending cards. They push back because all that paper in the post is environmentally unfriendly.
In the digital age, we are forgetting how to take old-fashioned pen to old-fashioned paper. If the sentiment is not in a digital form, it’s not happening. Paperless Post and Hallmark e-cards, begone!
I am an avid shopper who eagerly awaits the giving season. But it kicked off ridiculously early this year. In early October, Target and Walmart were offering holiday “deals,” according to an Oct. 4 report by WMAQ-TV. Amazon was pitching holiday-focused Prime Big Deal Days on Oct. 10 and 11.
The Grinch may have tried to steal Christmas, but he never tried to move it up. Pre-Black Friday and pre-pre-Black Friday sales abounded. Weeks later, major retailers were still hustling the same old stuff.
And we fall for it. “One in two (50%) holiday shoppers plan to begin or have already begun making purchases before Halloween,” according to a survey taken in August by Bankrate.com, an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service.
“Some holiday shoppers aren’t deterred by sweltering heat when they look for gifts — 12% have or plan to start shopping before the end of August, while 12% plan to start in September,” Bankrate.com reported. “Another 26% of holiday shoppers plan to begin shopping in October.”
Chicago Tribune Opinion
Bah, humbug!
Meanwhile, the massive move to digital commerce has sapped the joy out of in-person shopping. I savor my jaunts to the Loop and Michigan Avenue, to traverse the retail outlets, strolling for gift ideas and soaking up the bargains. The Christmas windows at the old Marshall Field’s downtown (I refuse to call it Macy’s) are pale replicas of the ones of old.
A few days before Christmas, I stopped in the jewelry department of the State Street store. I spied only one salesperson on duty. One. And I was the sole shopper.
This holiday is not the same, but I must soldier on.
Laura Washington is a political commentator and longtime Chicago journalist. Her columns appear in the Tribune each Monday. Write to her at LauraLauraWashington@gmail.com.
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