Christmas 2011 — Birth of a New Tradition

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods — merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor. This year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that
is produced by American hands. Oh…. Yes there is!

It is time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper?

Everyone — yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut. How about gift certificates from your local American hair salon or barber?

Gym membership? It’s appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some health improvement.

Who wouldn’t appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American owned detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates.

Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plunking down the Benjamin’s on a Chinese-made flat-screen TV? Perhaps that grateful gift receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course.

There are a gazillion owner-run restaurants — all offering gift certificates.  And, if your intended isn’t the fancy eatery sort, what about a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint. Remember, folks this isn’t about big National chains — this is about supporting your home town Americans with their financial lives on the line to
keep their doors open.

How many people couldn’t use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom?  Mom would LOVE the services of a local cleaning lady for a day.

My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running.

OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local crafts people spin their own wool and knit them into scarves. They make jewelry, and pottery and beautiful wooden boxes.

Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theatre.

Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

Honestly people, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand Chinese lights for the house? When you buy a five dollar string of light, about fifty cents stays in the community. If you have those kinds of bucks to burn, leave the mailman, trash guy or babysitter a nice BIG tip.

You see, Christmas is no longer about draining American pockets so that China can build another glittering city. Christmas is now about caring about US (We the People), encouraging American small businesses to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. And, when we care about other Americans, we care about our communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we could not imagine.

THIS is the new American Christmas tradition!!

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Responses

  1. This is a really good information and yes we should all start buying things that are made here in the USA and not things made in other countries. Thanks for posting this .

  2. Absolutely the best thing…what a farce Christmas has become…we as a family try not to give in to it…we give gifts of course…but honestly speaking the whole concept of Christmas seems to have gone out of the door. Oxfam do these gifts..where you tell he or she that they have bought something of real worth for some one else who has virtually nothing. To me Christmas means a celebration of the birth of Christ and a thanksgiving for family and friends,,,but each to his own…live and let live…we are all different..it’s all about personal choice. xxxx M

  3. I have a huge family and last year I came up with an idea we all adopted and loved. Each family group, such as Josh and myself, went through their family photos and picked 10 photos that other family members did not have. We have 11 separate family groups so each one had 10 sets of their 10 photos duplicated at Walmart. On Christmas Eve, after our Christmas dinner, we all distributed our pictures to each other. We ended up with 100 new photos each. The cost was minimal and the memories will now last forever. After Christmas, I took my 100 photos, along with the 10 I had submitted, and burned CD’s for the family.