How "Green" Will Christmas Be?

(The Hometown View resumes Monday with blogs from the WOBM Christmas Classic)

The holiday season is when many retailers ring up enough sales to make their year a good one or at worst at least salvage an average year. However 2008 is very different and those who depend on strong sales this time of year are just hoping to do enough business to be able to open the doors in 2009. All you have to do is look closely while driving around at the number of stores with signs that say “Going out of Business” to know we are in shaky times. Probably the biggest concern is nobody knows what to expect after the holiday season when consumers are likely to tighten their belts more than any other time in recent history.

There is no doubt the financial crisis is having a major impact on Christmas and you can see it in so many ways. It seems like many have decided not to decorate their homes like in the past and Christmas card sending has to be at an all-time low. Businesses have cut out everything from holiday parties to gifts and forget about bonuses…although most agree that just having a job is a bonus. Companies large and small are trying to keep their people working
and to do so will consider just about everything from slashing hours and some benefits to even asking workers to take unpaid vacation time.

Clearly the good times for many are over and we are now in a survival mode which is completely unfamiliar to those who have grown up only to know what it’s like to pretty much have whatever they want. Some insist that what we are experiencing is necessary to change the mindsets of Americans, who will learn the harsh lesson of living with less which will make us all appreciate things that we’ve taken for granted.

Maybe the end result will be that Christmas and the holiday season will be more about what it’s supposed to be then gifts themselves. That’s a nice thought but it would be somewhat devastating to an economy that dependson us displaying our feelings by pulling out a credit card.