It’s The Most (Stressful And Over-Consuming) Wonderful Time Of The Year

Christmas is such a bloody great time of year. Michael Buble’ starts defrosting, the shy guy at work gets too drunk at the Christmas party, YOU get too drunk at the Christmas party, Santa makes 90% of children cry because he’s low-key terrifying, there’s heaps of booze, many awkward conversations with weird extended family members (hence, the booze), tears shed over the 12^th viewing of Love Actually for the month and a few “Ahhh, that’s great! I’ll use that!” reactions to shitty presents you can’t wait to re-gift. It’s the best! But it also sucks a bit. You can’t go to the shops without getting a trolley up your heels, people are stressed out of their brains, money is pouring out of your account like somebody poked holes in it, there’s less jolly-ness and more asshole-ness (because as I mentioned- everybody is stressed as heck) and there’s so much STUFF being bought. 

Why do we do this to ourselves? And where the eff does all the stuff go? Presents are great, they really are. And I’m a parent now so I’m VERY involved in Christmas (I’m Santa, so that’s a huge deal). BUT I’ve really struggled to understand the obsession with over-consumption. Sometimes I look at us (us, being humans) and I actually can’t help but compare us all to The Capitol in The Hunger Games trilogy. Think about it, we consume for the sake of consuming, we buy for the sake of buying and we over-eat because we can (and because Christmas food is delicious). All the while there are people with absolutely nothing. Maybe you’ll gift a charity goat to your Grandfather and pat yourself on the back for doing your part. But generally speaking, most of us will continue to over-consume, over-buy and do everything we can to Keep Up With The Jones’ (the Kardashians are a bit out of reach. The Jones’ are more realistic).

And the worst part is, that most people are stressed out of their bloody brains. Christmas is no longer about kindness, magic, giving and spending time with the people you love. Instead it’s about how much money you spend and who you can tag in your Instagram photo of your kids presents. Yuck. Why the hell do we care about this? When you look back on Christmases as a child do you remember the presents you received? Or do you remember the sentimental traditions your family shared or even just the time that you spent with your family and loved ones? I know for me, I remember waking my Mum up at 4am so we could see what Santa put in our stockings, my Nanna’s cooking, my Uncle spending hours with us in the pool and all the adults being boring and having a nap during the day (this is now my FAVOURITE part of Christmas Day). It was magic. It was love. And it was shared.

I wanted to talk to somebody about over-consumption, how it is affecting our environment and what we can do to help. Jessica Abraham has a head on her shoulders that is beyond her years. Jess is the owner and founder of Australian fashion label Tasi Travels. Once Jess learnt of the impact fashion and over-consumption has on our environment she knew she had to do her part in educating people and offering them clothing that does no harm to the environment or the people involved. I thought this was a perfect time of year to be discussing the impact our over-consumption will have on our environment.

Have a listen to my latest podcast now to hear my chat with Jess! This conversation is for everybody. As consumers we have the ability to make a difference. It’s less about what we do and more about our intentions and our mindset. We have the chance to not only educate ourselves but also our next generation! Plus learn how to make this Christmas (and every Christmas from now on) less about over-consumption and more about quality time with those you love. LISTEN NOW AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO OUR WORLD! And don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review my podcast so I can tell my Grandfather that I’m topping the charts (and he can continue to nod and smile and have no idea what I do for a living).

Tasi Travels are doing amazing things (and make bloody beautiful clothing)! Check them out at www.tasitravels.com or on Instagram at @tasitravels.