Customer Reviews

Hundred Dollar Holiday: The Case For A More Joyful Christmas

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There's a lot in this little book. Christmas is a time of celebration. It is a time of giving. We must steal it back and "selfishly" give. Mr. McKibben just asks one thing. Try to only spend approximately $100 on gifts. There is nothing "cheap" about this. It's a simple monetary limit on tension, selfishness & joylessness. It proposes that we give of our most valuable commodity--time. Make things, take kids to a museum or on a nature walk and give that extra cash you have to charity or church as a gift. Food and time are two of the greatest and most appreciated gifts. A great quote: "Market capitalism, if it is as rational as its proponents always insist, cannot actually depend for its strength on the absurdly lavish celebration of the birth of a man who told us to give away everything that we have." How true. Thanks Bill. You speak for many who want a true Christmas of family love, joyfulness and spirit back.

p.s. He doesn't step on any toes--shop locally for presents if they are to be purchased he suggests. It keeps the local economy healthy and supports friends and family businesses that depend on Christmas for their income. Especially small bookstores where they know your face and maybe your name. Go pick up a copy now and make contact with a living human being. A true Christmas takes time--not money.

Gift-giving is a good thing, but our gifts can be less about monetary value and more about reaching out to one another. The idea is to give more of our time and care and less of extra stuff that most of us don't need. I gave the book four stars instead of five because it is too short! I would have liked to read more about alternative ideas for celebrating and making gifts. The description of how Christmas has evolved, while pertinent, was my least favorite part of the book. I truly enjoyed reading about how the author's family and friends celebrate Christmas with a minimum of materialism. This is a great book to start of the holidays by remembering what really matters.

This book is a call to reconsider our Christmas traditions, where they came from, and what we want from them. The book is extremely short, and can be read in only an hour or two, but the ideas in it are profound. McKibben begins by describing some of the details of how the American commercialization of Christmas came about in the early 1800s. At that time, wassailing was getting a bit out of hand, so some upper-class New Yorkers decided to reinvent the holiday around some more wholesome traditions of family celebrations and gift giving. As part of this movement, in 1818 Clement Moore brought St. Nicholas into the picture complete with reindeer on the roof with his famous "Twas the Night before Christmas". From there, the idea of centering the holiday on gift-giving grew and grew, much to the delight of department store owners, who were eager to add their own contributions to the holiday pantheon (such as Rudolph, courtesy Montgomery Wards).

McKibben asks us "Are you having fun? Are you enjoying your family's holiday traditions?" Or do you find yourself stressed out with all the competitive shopping and endless wrapping? Do the holidays leave your credit cards maxed out? He reminds us that the tradition of massive gift-giving at Christmas time is only a very recent one in this country. If it's not fun, if it doesn't fill your life with wonder and holiday spirit, why continue with it all?

Instead, McKibben suggests examining your own family traditions. Stop and think- -do you even remember what gifts you received for Christmas last year, or the Christmas before that? On the other hand, what elements of the Christmas celebrations of years past stand out most clearly in your memory? For most, it is the fellowship of friends and family, the wonderful foods, and the music. The exchange of gifts is certainly prominent, but it's often not the actual gifts that are important, but the anticipation, the surprise, the humor, and the unveiling of the gift in the loving presence of all one's family members. McKibben points out that we don't need to spend a lot of money and buy a lot of gifts to enjoy a memorable Christmas. Homemade gifts, gifts to charities, coupons for future services or shared meals together will serve the purpose of gift exchange just as well. It's the love that will make the holiday, not the price tag. As for those who feel that Christmas should be about fulfilling all of our children's material dreams, McKibben reminds us "...if we make that the center of the holiday, we help school [the children] in the notion that transcendent joy comes from things."

The title of the book "Hundred Dollar Holiday" refers to the fact that $100 is the upper limit of what McKibben and his entire family spend on celebrating Christmas. He argues that by setting such a limit, it forces everyone in the family to be creative with their contributions to the holiday. The end result is a holiday season that doesn't feel rushed, but is filled with the warmth of family making gifts for each other, cooking and eating together, and most important, sharing time together.

Beyond suggesting setting a monetary limit, McKibben doesn't provide a lot of specific suggestions for how to re-make the holiday in this book. He includes some general ideas of alternatives to commercial gifts for family and friends, but there are no simple lists of things you can do to save money or cut corners. This is because each family is different, and they need to decide together how they can best enjoy the mystic spirit of the season.

i pray that this book is not overlooked in the mad holiday shopping rush. that's exactly what it struggles against. to read mckibben's plan for a more peaceful and joyful holiday is like taking a warm bath--suddenly it all seems manageable again. my family and i will try to implement a variation of his plan (hundred dollar chanuka). i especially like the practical ideas, the how-to tips he gives for pulling it off.

For any spiritual person looking to simplify life and get back to God, this is worth a read. It is only a start, however. I would recommend reading it along with Unplug the Christmas Machine for a more thorough overview of how to simplify Christmas.

I liked this book. I really enjoyed reading about the history of Christmas, especially in the United States. Though I knew some hazy details, like the invention of Santa Claus as roly-poly from "The Night Before Christmas," I did not know that so many of our traditions are fairly recent. Since I already like Bill McKibben's book, THE COMFORTING WHIRLWIND: GOD, JOB, AND THE SCALE OF CREATION, I was well disposed for another book by him. Here, at the end of November, I am glad to have a renewed focus on Christmas in our cultural setting, so that I will choose how to participate, instead of merely falling into it and being carried along with the season.

From the title, you might guess this book is about saving money or Christmas on a budget. But mainly this book is about making Christmas matter more, and enjoying it more. The way McKibben suggests doing that is by focusing on things that you can't buy. The end result turns out to be not only a happier and more fulfilling Christmas, but also a cheaper, more environmentally-friendly, more community-oriented holiday.

The one area I disagree with him on, and this is just a question of what works for you, is that he emphasizes the old idea of giving coupons for backrubs, yard work, etc. In theory that's a good thought. In practice, the coupons are often not redeemed. And if they are redeemed, there's no guarantee it will come at a good time for you. Better would be another suggestion of his, which is to do something nice for someone right away.

This is a short, easy read, and suitable for buying and lending around to family and friends.

This is not a 'how-to' book per se. I'd heard of this book years ago on a radio program during the Christmas season. I meant to check it out a few Christmas' (and thousands of dollars)ago and finally got around to it this year. The 'hundred dollar' figure is not meant to be a hard and fast 'goal' because obviously circles of family and friends vary from person to person. What IS the goal is restoring a sense of Christmas spirit and wonder in the face of the commercial juggernaut urging you to 'say it with a new diamond...Lexus...etc'

This year I managed to incur a much smaller amount of damage to my bank account, and while I wrestled with the guilt of wanting to do more, there was a sense that I was setting a good example for my young adult children, exercising restraint, and most importantly, enjoying the quiet and small wonders the season can deliver once the din of cash registers and mall crowds have subsided.

I DID go to the mall the day before Christmas, but it was to experience the crush of humanity and enjoy the season. I felt like I had something over on most of the people there because my shopping was done and I wasn't going to be paying it off until next Christmas.
The book wasn't a guide so much as it was a touchstone of my resolve.
It's approaching mid-January, I'm starting to round up the decorations for another 10 months in the attic, and this book is still on my coffee table as a reminder that 'It's not a day, it's a season' and also that it's about family, friends and faith and not about rescuing retailers and acquiring more stuff.

I have had this book for a couple of years - I bet it will be an even more popular choice given the current state of the economy. It is a nice reminder of how to maintain a more peaceful mind-set and attitude during the Christmas season - keep spending money to a minimum and spend time/make memories with those you love.

Hundred Dollar Holiday is a very good answer to folks who dread spending tons of money on Christmas gifts that often become dusty clutter in the recipient's house, or receive these gifts themselves. If you feel like this, you may not know exactly why you become a grinch at Christmas, but Bill McKibben elucidates it pretty well. He describes the history of Christmas and how it evolved to what it is now, and takes several approaches (practical, religious, environmental, economical) to describe what's wrong now and what could be changed to enjoy Christmas again. And he does it not aggressively or accusatory, but unassumingly and conversationally. If you find that your new (INSERT TECHNOLOGICAL ENTERTAINMENT DEVICE HERE) doesn't really add real happiness to your life, you may want to read this. The hard part is getting your traditional family to read it.