It’s that time of the year that I love! Christmas!
Christmas is without a doubt a magical, wonderful time, and if you have little ones that still believe in Father Christmas it makes it so special! Seeing their eyes light up on Christmas morning are what family memories are made of!
I particularly remember my oldest three and my four year old twins being totally memorised by Santa’s footprints and remnants of snow from the North Pole on the carpet. Their innocence is just to be treasured, not realising for a minute that mummy and daddy did it!
Unfortunately certain aspects of Christmas I loathe with a passion, but I endeavour every year not to allow the more commercial and marketing ploys that are designed to make you spend more money than you should, ruin my Christmas, but jeez! They really irritate me!
1. When you go into any supermarket you have to run the gauntlet of a corridor of stack them high toys! Trying to encourage you to spend money on toys that you may not have bought otherwise. Then as you walk around the supermarket, as you turn every corner there is another Christmas related toy or decoration being sold. It’s marketing gone mad! Shops desperate to shift their goods.
2. Christmas cards are another of my pet hates. We have now got to a point of personalised Christmas cards. I think nowadays you can get a personalised card for a third nephew twice removed! These personalised cards initially cost a lot more than just straight forward Christmas cards, and all this paper we are using is incredible! It’s a lot of trees and that is surely not good for the environment. Granted I know some companies use recycled paper, but there are numerous ones that dont.
3. Finally the one marketing strategy of relatively recent years that is something that irritates me beyond belief is the present and card for teachers. Teaching must be the only profession in the world where parents are bullied into buying presents at Christmas and summer time to say thank you for doing their job, and they actually get paid for it really well, plus as it happens they also get very good holiday entitlement!
What is this all about? Your children come home from school saying that they have to buy their teacher a Christmas present and if you don’t agree then your child will look stupid because they will be the only child in the class that hasn’t brought anything.
Or one parent decides to do a collection for the teacher. Unfortunately I don’t have the courage to say no in case in some way it’s held against my child and of course she or he isn’t allowed to sign the card, possibly making your child feel excluded.
Based upon this tradition I thought maybe I would buy my GP a Christmas present this year. I have had 6/7 visits and it would be nice to show my appreciation.
Teachers are paid to educate our children. It’s their job! It’s not a hobby requiring a gift to congratulate them.
Christmas traditions are usually developed over possibly a very long time and these I believe are relativity new traditions created by the marketing departments of large companies which have become a part of all our Christmas celebrations
I believe we’re teaching our children that they can have any and all toys. We must buy cards for everybody and not looking after our environment. We need to praise and reward teachers for doing something they get paid for.
Would love to know your thoughts on what you think are Christmas traditions today or are we simply being manipulated?
5 Comments
Helena
December 5, 2016 at 7:49 am
As an A Level teacher, I don’t receive gifts from my students as a rule (although the occasional, thoughtful card really is very much appreciated and I am always touched to have been thought of). However, I am staunchly in favour of giving presents to my children’s teachers. I an hugely appreciative of the significant efforts and I am well aware that teachers at all levels go over and above their ‘paid for hours’. It may be a ‘job not a hobby’, but like nursing and other vocational professions, it is the love of teaching, the passion ro inspire, and a significant amount of dedication well above pay related expectations, that keeps good people in a very challenging profession and I don’t see why I wouldn’t want to show appreciation for that.
That said you are, of course, entitled not to do so and I don’t feel there is any expectation to give: some do and some don’t and either is fine.
Alan herbert
December 5, 2016 at 9:02 am
Great post Nigel.
We’re the same. Only buy a present for the teacher as they would be one of the only ones that didn’t.
As for Christmas cards I only send them to family abroad.
Al
December 6, 2016 at 4:14 pm
Jen is absurd with Christmas presents for the teachers. Even gives them to old teachers that no longer teach her son!
David
December 7, 2016 at 1:54 pm
Thought provoking post, Nige. I work with lots of teachers (I’m not a teacher), and I can understand children wanting to buy presents for a teacher they have bonded with and trust. But it shouldn’t be an expectation. Many families can’t afford to buy too many presents for those outside the family, but still do because they don’t want their child to be ostracized. I’m sure most teachers would understand this. It’s definitely a difficult one.
Emma T
December 31, 2016 at 10:13 pm
I didn’t send N in with a present for his teacher this year. Last year I did because I felt bad if we didn’t. But as we don’t even get a thanks I don’t think it really sends a good impression to N who is expected to say thank you. I think maybe if teachers have gone over and above specifically for your child, then maybe, but I’d rather it was given as the child moved on to the next class as a thank you/appreciation rather than a christmas present.
As for cards – I think this year has been the turning point for a lot of people. I think it’s sad because I love to receive them, it’s so much more personal than a text or facebook general message. But it’s an extra thing to do especially if they’re people you see all the time. I will likely continue to give them though.