Now, only a week away from Christmas, I’d like to talk about the concept of buying Christmas presents.

With only five days left before Christmas, I have nothing to give my three sons, 23, 20 and 16. Clothes don’t interest them, or perhaps I should say, they don’t seem to appreciate clothes the way most women would.Whenever, I ask, “What would you like for Christmas?” they say, “Nothing.”

A few weeks ago, my oldest son mentioned a Kindle. He then ended up using his birthday money from Grandma, and bought his own.

My middle son ordered his own present on e-bay with money he’s been saving since Kindergarten, (yes, he’s great at saving money from Grandpa and Grandma since birth.)

My youngest son says he wants nothing more than for us to allow him to enlist in the Army and attend West Point.  (I’m not going to touch this subject right now.)

I know I should be grateful they don’t ask for presents, and part of me likes to believe that our year of frugal living in Belize shifted their attitudes towards acquiring less, however, this does bring out the “guilt factor” of having a tree with nothing underneath it.

Mega-blogger, in terms of having 200,000 subscribers, Leo Babauta has a blog post on, “The Case Against Buying Christmas Presents,”

When I read Leo’s comment, “I don’t love Christmas shopping, or the over consumption, frenzied malls, consumer debt, environmental waste, wasted time wrapping, and over-accumulation of needless stuff that goes with it,” I could relate. As Leo says, “Giving is great, but buying is not the solution.”

I sense a shift in the overall tone and message of the world economy. With a 14 trillion dollar debt in the U.S., people will have to keep working until they’re 69, before social security kicks in. I wonder how long before the population realizes we cannot keep living a “pretend” life of over-consumerism, and recognize the need to live more frugally, the way Leo Babauta, advocates.

So this Christmas I shall bake, cook, have parties, listen to my boys, give them hugs when they want them, and perhaps, if they’re lucky, knit a scarf they can use in the cold weather of Michigan, and New Mexico. I shall also buy a black T-shirt from a blogger I admire: Annabel Candy, “GetintheHotspot,” and some beautiful postcards based on the nature photography of my blogger friend LadyFi in Sweden. Finally I shall give a gift of sight to a child through the Fred Hollows Foundation.