I had nothing to do with this, and I don’t know who put this together, but here’s a photograph of a christmas tree that someone has built. That’s pretty festive, you might say, and it is the season after all! But this Christmas tree is built from shopping trolleys, the carts we use to carry our purchases around the store. Clearly it’s a funny prank, but isn’t this really a sign of the times? Christmas has become an exercise in spending money, whether we need to or not. It’s become routine to buy presents for people who don’t need them. It’s commonplace, now, to worry not about how much we’re spending, but rather what we could possibly buy someone who seems to have everything already.

This Christmas I’m going to think of something else to do. Maybe write someone a song. Or a letter telling them how much I value their friendship. Or draw them a picture. Or take a photograph of someone they love.