Summary
I’ll be the first to admit it: I’m a bit of a Grinch. Not in the sense that I’m spiteful or that people being nice to each other annoys me, but in the sense that I kind of hate Christmas. The joy that people express has always felt somewhat artificial to me, though I do get that there’s cause for celebration – everybody’s off work, you get to spend time with your loved ones, and people might get you thoughtful presents.
But I hate the consumerism of the holiday, the waste of it and the feeling of ‘having’ to do Christmas stuff. No, I don’t want to be invited out of politeness to your Christmas party, no, I don’t want to be expected to bring a present to swap, and no, I don’t want to hang out with my parents’ drunk friends out of obligation. Christmas carols grate on my ears, I consider Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas an ill omen, and I really don’t want to go to midnight mass. I’ll give my friends gifts when I want to! I’ll be nice year round! I don’t need a capitalism-sanctioned reason to buy stuff!
This can all be true, and I can still love some of the things that come with Christmas. For one, I love sales – yes, I’m anti-consumerism and hate waste, but it’s also a really good time to get things you’ve been wanting but usually cost way too much. Also, while I don’t particularly enjoy the religious doctrine that gets brought up around Christmas, I love that the religious association makes people more likely to give to the needy. People are just more generous around the holidays, which rules. I wish people cared this much about giving to charity all year round.
Now, a harsh segue. It’s Christmastime, so you have to be nice about it.
Obviously, I have to own multiple gaming consoles for my job. Weeks ago, while I was dipping into every BIC Camera in Tokyo in an attempt to find a discounted, duty-free PS5 in Japan right before the launch of the PS5 Slim, I asked in the group chat if anybody wanted to take my PS4 for free once I’d upgraded. One of my friends said yes. My plans fell through, though, so I held onto my PS4 – I still needed a Playstation, even if it was on its last legs and screamed every time I booted up anything at all.
However, I recently managed to get hold of a PS5, which means I don’t need my PS4 anymore. Just a few days from Christmas, I have the chance to give a loved one a game console – albeit an older one – at absolutely no cost to me. Not only will I not have to throw it out and create unnecessary waste, but I won’t have to hunt for a place that recycles electronics either. That’s my friend’s problem now. I guess he had to pay some kind of price for it, in the end.
I am not a good person for doing this. All it took was for me to put my old console in its original box, toss the controller in alongside it, and tell him to take it home when we have our belated Christmas party next week. But it made me think about how we can all be a little kinder to the environment and the people around us. If you choose to upgrade your gaming console this Christmas, ask around and see if anybody – or anybody’s kid – wants your old console. They’re not out of date yet, and the fans might be a little loud, but maybe your niece or nephew won’t mind that while they’re playing Call of Duty. My adult friend, and the recipient of my PS4, certainly doesn’t.
