Easter came and went on April 5th, and I’m certain I’m not the only person who felt vaguely underwhelmed by the entire proceeding. The stores had their displays, and the churches had their signs, but the actual day of Easter came and went without any particular fanfare, barely being noticed in the endless stream of one day into the next.

At first I just attributed this to the world’s general sense of existential dread, what with the President of the United States using Easter Morning to demand that Iran open the Strait of Hormuz or else they would be “living in hell.” However, it’s not just Easter that’s felt off lately; most holidays have lost their luster. It’s rare that I get excited for an actual holiday tradition at this point, whether it’s New Years’ Eve fireworks, birthday cards, or the Thanksgiving Day parade, and on further inspection, that lack of joy stems from the hyper-materialization of holidays.

Consider, for a moment, the following celebration. People spend money on gifts of some form or another; they spend money on special themed candy or snacks; they spend money on selecting a message from a generic pile of themed and printed cards; they spend money on overly specialized home decor which is only ever out for a couple weeks of the year; they spend, they spend, and they spend. I hope everyone agrees that this is less an authentic celebration and more an opportunity to push everyone to buy things they don’t need.

Why is it, then, that most holiday celebrations in the 21st century are increasingly resembling that description? Whether it be Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, Easter, July 4th, or even family milestones like birthdays, celebrations have become flat and vapid. We no longer emphasize the opportunity to be with rarely seen family and friends or have a unique celebration that makes each holiday meaningful. Instead, we gather in search of the greatest spending: The finest candies, nicest seasonal decor, and prettiest bits of cardstock filled with board-approved platitudes and one-liners. None of those things were made by us or have any clear value besides the money spent on them, and the holiday spirit gets diluted by every egg-shaped paper plate or inflatable yard Santa.

This rampant materialism in place of actual celebration is bad enough, but there’s a second problem that needs to be addressed: Advertising and brand exploitation. Nearly every major event in the world has wound up with a big old brand slapped across its face, from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to Coca-Cola’s AI Christmas ads to the tech companies sponsoring the White House Easter Egg Roll. It’s hard to feel genuine about a celebration or community event when the speakers are namedropping corporations and every celebratory item has paid-for logos plastered on.

Beyond the incessant advertising, companies also needlessly transform their purportedly universal products during the holiday season just so they can sell new and exclusive variants. This can come either through special holiday promotions, like the annual Happy Honda Days in November and December, or through unique product variants. Candy companies are by far the worst offenders in this latter category; just by way of example, PEEPS has over 40 different variants, most of which are themed around particular holidays (Pumpkins and ghosts for Halloween, trees for Christmas, rabbits for Easter, and more). When every holiday is an excuse for Hershey’s to generate a new shape of Reese’s Peanut Butter trees/hearts/eggs/pumpkins, it’s hard to get excited about any one of them.

Unfortunately, the cat is well and truly out of the bag when it comes to corporate involvement and materialism in holidays. The solution, then, is not to somehow ban corporations, but to instead de-monetize and re-personalize holidays. If global-scale traditions are no longer holding value, create new personal traditions. Rather than buying a pile of plastic decor or a pack of holiday cupcakes, consider learning to make a dessert that can become a new family favorite, or involving guests in custom-making decorations. Centering personal joy and connection over sponsored corporate slop will take more effort, but it might just restore a little of the luster that capitalism has drained away.

Less is more in decorating:
While some may deck the halls with an avalanche of decorations, I find that a minimalist approach brings out the true charm of the season. Quality over quantity, where every ornament tells a story.

Gift cards–
The thoughtful shortcut: Who says a thoughtful gift must be chosen painstakingly? Gift cards allow your loved ones the joy of selecting something they truly desire–the spirit of giving without the guesswork. Gift cards do not have to be just a convenient option; you can also support local businesses, ensuring that the spirit of giving extends to your community.

A ban on “Christmas Shoes” in public spaces:
The tear-jerking tale of “Christmas Shoes” has its time and place, but subjecting unsuspecting bystanders to emotional turbulence in public spaces is a Christmas tradition we can all do without.

All Christmas movies are a bust:
Now, I may be accused of stealing Christmas joy with this one, but let us face it—Christmas movies, as a genre, often miss the mark. They are full of predictable plots, cheesy dialogue and overused tropes. Maybe a cozy book by the fireplace is more my style.

Inflatable-free holidays:
Inflatable lawn (and roof) ornaments may be whimsical, but in my book, they veer into tacky territory. Opting for crazy Christmas lights keeps the fun, quirky holiday spirit without making your front yard look like a cheap North Pole bounce house.

Christmas Eve excitement takes the cake:
Forget the hype around Christmas morning. Christmas Eve, with its anticipatory hush and the promise of the festivities to come, is the true highlight of the season.

Santa’s surveillance is spooky:
The idea of Santa keeping a watchful eye all year? Creepy, to say the least. We should give kids the gift of good behavior without invoking holiday paranoia.

Yuletide tunes beyond Dec. 25:
Who says the music must stop once the clock strikes midnight on Christmas Day? If the festive melodies bring joy, why not extend the musical merriment into the New Year?

Embracing an imperfect Christmas:
We often put too much pressure on creating the perfect Christmas. The pursuit of flawless festivities, impeccable decorations and magazine-worthy meals can overshadow the genuine joy of the season.

Embracing the imperfections:
The slightly crooked ornaments and the mismatched dinnerware can bring a more authentic and relaxed charm to the holiday celebration. Sometimes it is the quirks and spontaneity that make Christmas truly magical.

In this journey of festive rebellion, whether you are a Grinch at heart or someone who marches to the beat of your own jingle bell, celebrate the season in our own unique ways. After all, the true magic of Christmas lies in the joy we share, regardless of whether we are following the traditional script.

Halloween has come and gone. The ghoulies and creepies can never last! The end of Halloween also signals the end of October generally, and as soon as November rolls around, many people take this as their cue to replace the pumpkins with wreaths to decorate their doorstep. But is this move too presumptuous? Are we moving too quickly from one holiday to the next and never truly enjoying the lingering spookiness of Halloween past? 

Certainly major department stores capitalize on Christmas a tad too early: from the beginning of October, there are already several Christmas decorations hidden in a back corner of the Halloween decor section. I’m of the opinion that this kind of behavior stems from a lack of appreciation of Halloween, which as everyone knows, actually spans the whole month of October. As soon as October ends, however, then it seems fair game to start playing Christmas carols. 

Why is that? Well, arguably major holidays like Halloween and Christmas last two months – Halloween is coextensive with the start of fall in September, as this is obviously ghosts’ favorite season. Therefore, it is appropriate to whip out the Halloween decor by Sept. 1 and remain in this mood until the end of October. Because November is coextensive with the start of winter, and winter is synonymous with Christmas, then it is appropriate to begin Christmas celebrations in November. Knowing how to decorate is a matter of paying close attention to the seasons, which isn’t difficult, as Mother Nature herself will tell you by either not snowing (probably fall through Halloween) or snowing (probably winter through Christmas).

What about Thanksgiving in November, you might ask? I consider this the American version of pre-Christmas – the food for Thanksgiving seems to me to be the same (or nearly the same) as that of the food served on Christmas. It seems appropriate to just lump Thanksgiving into a category of preparatory Christmas. For those who are keen on capitalizing on all decorative potentials, it is appropriate to buy little turkeys and little pilgrim boy and girl dolls to include amidst Christmas decorations. But because Thanksgiving is not as widely celebrated as Christmas, it seems fine to omit such Thanksgiving decorations.