Five-Hour Phone Conversations

Friday, December 23, 2005

Christmas Greed v. Christmas Need

So this year, Chris (my boyfriend) and I wrote out lists of gifts we wanted from the other or just in general. But I started to feel extremely guilty for wanting it all. At one point I thought of telling him to not get me anything beyond what he already had. Or to make a donation somewhere of the remaining balance of what he planned to spend. Surely a shelter or charity could use the money for meals or coats for the homeless (BTW, New York Cares is collecting coats until Dec. 31). The worst part was occassionally thinking, "Crap, I forgot to ask for the 'Felicity' DVD or gift certificate to Scoop." So one night I brought this up, and Chris said, "Don't feel guilty. That's just how the cards were dealt." I wouldn't wish to be homeless on anyone, even my worst enemy. If I'm the least bit cold at night, I crawl under my down comforter, thanking God I have a warm bed. But there are so many who don't even have that. And that is what I feel bad for. Because here I'm asking for all of this stuff I want but don't really need when so many don't have as much.

So here's my question to all of you, should we feel guilty for asking for gifts at Christmas?