« The Best Christmas Ever | Home
The Economic Pinch That Stole Christmas
By Christina Quick | November 24, 2008
If you’re like most Americans, your mailbox is probably brimming with holiday ads this time of year.
But as Black Friday approaches, there are indications shoppers won’t be spending as much this Christmas.
According to a survey from the American Research Group, shoppers plan to slash their usual Christmas budgets in half in 2008. That’s unsettling news for merchants. But it may not be as bad as it sounds for the rest of us.
Maybe it means we’ll spend less time in crowded malls with strangers and more time at home with loved ones. Perhaps we’ll rely less on credit cards and put more thought into the gifts we can afford. If we’re all cutting back together, maybe there will be less pressure to buy kids the latest high-priced toy or electronic device simply because “everyone else is getting one.”
And somewhere along the way, we might even start to think like the Grinch, who had a profound revelation about Christmas: “Maybe Christmas … doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more!”
How is the economy affecting your holiday plans?
Topics: In the news |
