Handmade Holiday

I am a self professed Gen-X'er. I grew up watching personal computers go from science fiction to a nearly disposable object. I grew along side the video game industry as it changed the face of entertainment. I saw the witnessed the war between beta and VHS long before they changed their names to Blu-ray and Hd-dvd. I watched as vinyl all but died and my walkman became a discman and then an ipod. The point I'm trying to make here is I cannot live without tech and neither can any member of my family. I mention all this because I have begun my holiday shopping and I feel so much pressure to have a handmade holiday and I don't think it is possible for me to comply.

I know I can't be the only one trying to work out this dilemma. I want to support my fellow artisans, I want to be socially responsible and I of course want others to buy handmade to support myself. My family, however, would not be pleased with a holiday that did not include the newest video game release or some piece of fantastic technology. Since making ones family happy should be the focus of the holiday, not some social agenda, I simply can't justify forcing unwanted gifts on them.

I think that I found found a nice middle ground already though, that is a little handmade for everyone this holiday. I've decided that I would get at least one present for everyone at etsy and then the rest of their gifts can be whatever they really want. I also think the key to getting people to accept their handmade gifts is to make sure it is really something they would like, even if it had been bought at the mall. I've forced vegan body lotion and lip balm on my family in the past and I think I might have just wasted my money. I'm going to get it right this time.

I wish I could show you all the amazing things that I have already picked up, but I'm afraid the family would pick now to visit the blog and ruin the surprises. Perhaps after the holidays, I'll have a giant gift feature to show them all off. I'm also encouraging my four year old to make gifts for her cousins, with my help of course, but I think this might start her out with a better appreciation of handmade goodness and as soon as I'm sure the one year old won't try to eat the hot glue, she can help too. We may not have a completely handmade holiday, but perhaps we can have the best of both worlds.

I Demand Instant Gratification

My children are a product of the Internet age. They will grow up never needing to wait 6-8 weeks for delivery. They will not need to take a trip to the library to find a book to read. They will never have to take me at my word when they ask a question, they will just Google the right answer. It is a brave new world in which they live.

While I'm a good old Gen-X'er, I'm what is referred to by marketing folks as an Early Adopter. When I see something new and interesting the single factor keeping me from owning it is money. I will buy most anything I can afford, I will try every new technology offered to me. I may not have been born in the Internet age, but I sure feel at home here.

The byproduct of all this wonderful technology and all these convenient gadgets I own, is a complete lack of patience. I just don't need to be patient very much anymore. All the information I need is a click away and when I order something, I can have it in a couple of days. Thanks to my computer guy husband I have the fastest access we can afford and more computers in my home than any family should really be allowed to have. Like Veruca Salt, I want it now!

So now that I'm sitting comfortably in a womb of instant gratification, I can't help but wonder why it is that everyone else hasn't joined me here. When I send a message to someone online, I really do expect to hear back right away. I keep forgetting that there are really people out there without constant Internet access. There are people who are actually not plugged in every waking moment of their lives.

I mention all of this as a reminder to everyone who needs one. My husband had to remind me yesterday as I agonized over the lack of response to a convo I had just sent. This is not Ghost In The Shell, we are not all connected all the time, even though it may truly feel that way sometimes. Give people a moment to respond, give yourself a moment to relax. You don't really need to know everything right this instant. Try to think back to a simpler time, when you did have patience, when no one expected you to ship something out the second they ordered it. Dwell in that moment, get off the computer, live your life, if just for a couple of hours. All the people in your life that love you will thank you for it!