There was a time when I was among the millions who rushed to the stores for the biggest shopping day of the year. I was drawn to the post-Thanksgiving sales and found comfort in knowing I was finishing my Christmas shopping early. But the day never turned out well. I dodged frantic shoppers who all but knocked me over to get to the stuff they wanted. I waited in long lines time and time again, my patience wearing thin, my stress level rising. I pushed through masses of people and tried to block out the commotion created by a mix of noisy chatter, Christmas tunes and sales announcements. Ultimately, I realized that I wasn't really making many successful purchases and became fed-up with the whole affair. I decided I wouldn't be a puppet who dutifully risked life and limb to spend money just because a glut of clever marketing told me it was the thing to do. And anyway, who wants to torture themselves by going out on the busiest shopping day of the year?This week's freebie is devoted to a 13-year-old unofficial worldwide holiday that occurs the day after Thanksgiving: Buy Nothing Day. You probably won't see much about it on the networks; last year, ABC, CBS and NBC all refused to sell airtime to Buy Nothing Day ads. At the time, a spokesperson for NBC told The Wall Street Journal that the ads were "inimical to our legitimate business interests." The CBS spokesperson explained that the network censored the ads because they were "in opposition to the current economic policy in the United States."
So, here's the challenge: don't spend any money on Friday, Nov. 26. Live simple for the day — spend time with family and friends rather than spending money on them. Turn off your phone and chill out with yourself. Pack a picnic lunch and enjoy it while appreciating nature (Ft. DeSoto Park is especially pleasant). Catch up on that housework or gardening you've been neglecting. Surf the Net, read a book or begin that memoir you've been thinking about writing. Learn how to count to 10 in every language. Sort through your stuff and take it to Goodwill, or set out all your unwanted stuff and invite people to come and swap their useless things with yours. Sit on a bench in downtown St. Petersburg and make up stories about the people you see. Go to the library. Listen to some music and burn a CD for someone you care about. Bring your empty glass bottles to the nearest recycling place. Rearrange your space. Breathe more than your fair share of the air. Or, don't do anything and spend the day in bed — the possibilities are endless.
But whatever you do, make sure that it doesn't involve a mall — strip or otherwise.
—Leilani Polk
This article appears in Nov 24-30, 2004.