MERRY GIFTMAS! The season is finally here, aren't you excited? Did you catch the Corporate Santa Claus parade? I particularly liked the Home Depot and the 1-800-Got-Junk dumpster floats myself. Although the trashy trailer with blinking lights on it was a cool addition from the RV dealer. I really wish I didn't miss the McDonalds float that distributed disposable plastic air-filled ‘McDonalds' baseball bats, because I need one of those.

But all the corporate adver-floats in the world couldn't have prepared me to see Santa arrive in military fatigues, in a tank made in London by General Dynamics Land Systems, tossing the latest Department of Defense-funded war simulation video games out to kids in the crowd. OK, I made that one up, but you get the point. With the direction the parade is taking, that could very well be the case when Santa comes back to London next year.

The point is that the magic of the parade is gone, as it has become merely a vehicle that corporations use to engrain consumer-driven messages deeper into the peoples' psyche through the use of banners, sample ‘gifts,' strategic product placement, and direct to consumer advertising. The parade is now a dirty whore being pimped-out and abused by the business community as a publicity tool.

I left the parade laughing at the total joke that it was. The funny thing wasn't only how ridiculous the parade was, the funnier (and really ridiculous) thing is that thousands of Londoners took time out of their busy schedules, drove their global warmers all the way downtown from their McMansions in the suburbs, and stood out in the cold for hours, just to watch it. It's bad enough that we don't mind always being sold something everywhere we go, but now we actually show up in mass numbers specifically to watch advertisements live!

Don't we have better things to do? There are people to fall in love with, journeys to take, debates to engage in, art to create, ideas to explore, and experiences to gain. There are projects to accomplish, dreams to fulfill and challenges to rise up to.

There are injustices to resolve, such as the fact that Santa gives more to rich kids than poor kids and that Santa's usually giving rich kids presents that were made by the poorest of the world's children in sweatshops. There's a planet to save, which we would have completely destroyed by now if we consumed the way we do during the holidays throughout the year. There are wars to stop, which we perpetuate by consuming so much of the world's resources so selfishly. There is life to live.

The season is treason against the people. It has become increasingly oppressive and invasive and now only functions to drive sales at retail outlets. It's what has forced us to spend all of our money, and even go into debt, to keep the machine running. Don't we deserve some real holidays? Wouldn't it be nice if we could enjoy the holiday season in a community instead of a mall? Wouldn't it be sweet to share meals in friendly homes, rather than fast-food joints? Wouldn't it be cool to simply BE the gift that everyone wants to see and not worry about what to give or what you'll get?

Time is the only thing of value in life, and we are being fooled into wasting it looking for material goods rather than sharing what really matters. What we need more of is love, not things. We need peace of mind not a piece of paper (gift certificates, mass-produced Hallmark cards).

It's time to take back our holiday season from the greedy corporations who've high jacked it and transformed it into a monster of gluttony, stress and hyper-consumption. Now we waste more resources and generate more garbage in this one season than in the rest of the year combined. Do we really need to destroy the planet while putting ourselves in debt buying non-essentials for each other at crowded malls to enjoy some ‘holiday spirit'?

Share more good times and buy nothing this holiday. Buying nothing doesn't mean giving nothing. Spend some time crafting and creating your own gifts to give; people love the personal touch considering we're so deprived of it on a daily basis. Give things you already have to people you know would appreciate them more than you do. Give your time, give a hand, give a skill, give yourself. If you can't do a “buy nothing holiday,” buy a lot less and buy fair trade and environmentally friendly gifts.

Wrap your gifts in materials that you find around the house like old newspapers and junk mail. Don't stuff your face with factory-farmed turkey; instead prepare healthy and balanced meals to share. Don't waste electricity on lights.

Don't pay for a ‘farmed tree,' instead decorate a living tree outside, or a plant in your home. Instead of paying for a tree to be cut down, pay for one to be planted! Have a snowball fight, make a snow-angel or a snow-man or a snow-fort, go tobogganing, go skating, make some apple cider and sip it with friends around a fire. The world is your playground.

Have a happy and stress-free buy-nothing-holiday!

Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.