Every year from October to December seems to go by in a blink. It seems like people are busier than ever trying to find their Halloween costume to finding time to cook everything for Thanksgiving to finding those perfect gifts to put under the Christmas tree. I literally feel like “HALLOTHANKSMAS” because all three holidays seem to be wrapped into one. Even retailers know that these three months run almost consecutively together so they have everything out so they can promote all three holidays as time flies by day after day and month after month.

Though we should see that these three holidays should be about more fun and family, most retailers have their strategies down pat with their products, placement and promotions. Their focus is definitely to engage all of us as customers as we go through this crazy 3-month holiday and spend on average a lot more than we should and try to be HALLOTHANKSMAS!

Christmas is a major expenditure for many consumers as we buy clothing, toys and way too many gadgets and gizmos. In fact, the average American spends about $1,000 dollars (a week’s salary for most) on Christmas gifts annually. A 2025 forecast for gift spending may even go up to $1,107. Of course around 70 percent of that goes to gifts for family members and friends while the rest goes towards food, decorations, parties and travel expenses.

Year after year for over a decade U.S. holiday sales have grown with 96 percent of Americans buying gifts for their families and 48 percent of Americans begin their Christmas shopping before the end of October. Sound familiar? HALLOTHANKSMAS even?

While many Americans now shop online for holiday purchases, local businesses push to get your business too. Personally I think we should try to keep our business local if we want to promote and ensure our own small towns economy. Big retailers get a huge chunk already of our money so any time we can keep it local it helps our local retailers thus helping us as well in the long run.

However, what if you chose not to have such a chaotic HALLOTHANKSMAS this year, because is there really such a thing as the “perfect gift” anyways? What if Christmas was less about the gifts and more about the gatherings? What if we let go of the HALLOTHANKSMAS this Christmas and decided to celebrate what Christmas is really about – the Christ Child sent to save the world. What if we could stop with the hustle and bustle during a chaotic time of taxing, and somehow see that the most priceless gift we can obtain is the gift of salvation. Then we would know that the real gift is accepting Christ as our Savior and passing down that gift of faith to our family is more important than any gift we could ever purchase in a store.

I understand that most people love to give and receive gifts and of course it’s okay to give gifts to your loved ones. Even our Heavenly Father likes to shower us with His blessings. The Bible even states “that every perfect gift is from above.” So slow down this HALLOTHANKSMAS and enjoy a different kind of present – the gift of salvation and the gift of each other’s presence.

Take in the beauty of all the festive lights in town and in your home on your own Christmas tree.

However most of all stop to appreciate who you still have in your life and around your table this holiday season. Even the holiday parties but cherish getting to watch your own children and grandchildren as they open their presents under the tree. Tell them there’s a lot of HALLOTHANKSMAS in the world but there is also the Savior of the World and you want to make sure that they know that precious and priceless gift too. Choose to celebrate Christ this Christmas instead of just participating in the chaos this season. Then my friend, you and your family will experience a little “Peace on Earth” and can be HALLTHANKSMAS as well.