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Thread: Article: How to Stick With Minimalism During the Holiday Shopping Season

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    Senior Member Ultralight's Avatar
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    Article: How to Stick With Minimalism During the Holiday Shopping Season


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    Senior Member kib's Avatar
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    I'm going out on a curmudgeonly limb here to say that I'm tired of these articles that promote togetherness for the holidays, conveniently overlooking the fact that soooo many people have family halfway across the country, and traveling to them for Christmas would be the ultimate nightmare. Of Course I'd be together with family if that were the easy solution to a frugal and stuff-reduced Christmas!

    At least in this family of two, the big issue is the distance. We can't be there, so we send stuff. If we were there, we'd have other options that might still meet expectations for celebrating, but like hundreds of millions of other people, we aren't. We do our best to give experiences and keep the spending down, but enough already with the Kumbaya Solution.

    ... climbs off soap box, scratches behind, wanders offstage.

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    Senior Member Ultralight's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kib View Post
    I'm going out on a curmudgeonly limb here to say that I'm tired of these articles that promote togetherness for the holidays, conveniently overlooking the fact that soooo many people have family halfway across the country, and traveling to them for Christmas would be the ultimate nightmare. Of Course I'd be together with family if that were the easy solution to a frugal and stuff-reduced Christmas!

    At least in this family of two, the big issue is the distance. We can't be there, so we send stuff. If we were there, we'd have other options that might still meet expectations for celebrating, but like hundreds of millions of other people, we aren't. We do our best to give experiences and keep the spending down, but enough already with the Kumbaya Solution.

    ... climbs off soap box, scratches behind, wanders offstage.
    This made me lol. I am sorry though, to hear you are so far from your loved ones.

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    Quote Originally Posted by kib View Post
    At least in this family of two, the big issue is the distance. We can't be there, so we send stuff. If we were there, we'd have other options that might still meet expectations for celebrating, but like hundreds of millions of other people, we aren't. We do our best to give experiences and keep the spending down, but enough already with the Kumbaya Solution.

    ... climbs off soap box, scratches behind, wanders offstage.
    Haha, yeah. If I was closer to my family it might not be too Kumbaya ya know. I send things and they send things and it is lovely, and there is very little chance we will get into the murky waters that are family political and personal differences.

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    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    I like to buy myself something I actually want, buy friends things that I hope they want, and enjoy good food and companionship this time of year. I doubt anyone I know would want a hypothetical goat or a zip-lining "adventure."

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    Senior Member kib's Avatar
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    If it's a choice between a Fitbit and a hypothetical goat, I'll take the goat, thanks. I enjoy the in-person celebrating, but it's not possible with distant family (truth be told, as Zoe points out it might not be possible if they lived next door, there's more than one kind of "distance" going on with this issue, but it's even less likely with them 3000 miles away). My grouse came about because this is the third or fourth article I've read that seems to have a smug attitude promoting a simplistic solution to a multifacted issue.
    Last edited by kib; 11-23-15 at 2:43pm.

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    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kib View Post
    If it's a choice between a Fitbit and a hypothetical goat, I'll take the goat, thanks. I enjoy the in-person celebrating, but it's not possible with distant family (truth be told, as Zoe points out it might not be possible if they lived next door, but it's even less likely with them 3000 miles away). My grouse came about because this is the third or fourth article I've read that seems to have a smug attitude promoting a simplistic solution to a multifacted issue.
    A smug attitude seems to come with the territory of simple living (and most other elitist lifestyle choices). I tend to avoid these kinds of patronizing articles as a matter of course and just soldier on with my life.

    "Philanthropic gifting can serve as a gateway to help family and friends understand minimalism..." Oh, please.

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    Senior Member Ultralight's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JaneV2.0 View Post
    A smug attitude seems to come with the territory of simple living (and most other elitist lifestyle choices). I tend to avoid these kinds of patronizing articles as a matter of course and just soldier on with my life.

    "Philanthropic gifting can serve as a gateway to help family and friends understand minimalism..." Oh, please.
    Can you expand?

    I don't think simple living is elitist at all. Simple living is a "meta-lifestyle."

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    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by UltraliteAngler View Post
    Can you expand?

    I don't think simple living is elitist at all. Simple living is a "meta-lifestyle."
    Simple living, in itself, is not elitist. Poor people practice it all the time without making a fetish of it. It's the middle class version of it that rankles, complete with the usual judging and finding fault with people who aren't sufficiently on board.

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    Senior Member Ultralight's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JaneV2.0 View Post
    Simple living, in itself, is not elitist. Poor people practice it all the time without making a fetish of it. It's the middle class version of it that rankles, complete with the usual judging and finding fault with people who aren't sufficiently on board.
    Make a fetish of it how?

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