How to Black Friday Your Holidays Without Becoming a Capitalist Pig
How to Black Friday Your Holidays Without Becoming a Capitalist Pig
Deck the halls with lots of holiday crap.
We’d do better to deck the halls with gasoline, strike a match and watch it gleam, as that classic grade school ditty straight from the Anarchist Cookbook goes.
The average American racks up over $1,000 in credit card debt every Christmas, to the tune of over $1 trillion plastic IOU’s strapping us down to the waterboards of capitalism like Guantanamo mistletoe.
At Bear Blend, we’re decidedly anti-capitalist. Back in the day, we participated in Buy Nothing Day, an anti-capitalist day of protest against consumerism. People held credit card cutting parties, dressed as zombies and strutted the local mall, wandered Walmart with empty shopping carts in an event Adbusters appropriately coined “Whirly-Mart”.
Adbusters even released a Buy Nothing TV ad featuring a belching pig to symbolize American over-consumption, comparing America’s buying habits to Mexico, China, and India. Even MTV refused to air it. Looking back, it now seems obvious how Kennedy succumbed to become a Fox News stoogie.
But now that we’ve got families, children with cute beady eyes expecting something fun under that Charlie Brown Christmas tree, we admit going all out Buy Nothing this holiday season is a bit unrealistic. Push that bare-bones hippie crap too far and it could decidedly backfire – your kid grows up to be a Fox News correspondent with its own haircare salon in the Pentagon.
The truth is you can play Santa Claus without selling out to the capitalist game – buy from artists, shop local, patronize your small family business. Here are a few tips on how to Black Friday your holiday without becoming a capitalist pig.
Buy from Artists
The fortune of the digital age means that buying from artists has never been easier. We’ve gotten so used to buying anything everything under the sun like farm animals from Jeff Bezos that art is a natural step. The internet empowers local artists to sell their wares, and you can buy them from anywhere.
Lindy Kehoe is one of our favorite artists. She features whimsical nature inspired fairie art that brings a dash of the imagination. Her art includes paintings, books, and mugs, with a wide variety of gift choices.
Make Your Own
Making your own Christmas gifts is a great way to put the love and creativity back into the holiday. Whether it’s a homemade scrub, a patchwork tote, or a perfectly curated playlist, handmade gifts carry quirks, personality, and that unmistakable “I actually made this” energy you can’t buy in a store.
They’re also a gentle rebellion against holiday chaos. Crafting something by hand bottles up your spirit and hands it to someone you care about. Imperfect edges, bold colors, funky materials — bring them on. The best gifts aren’t polished; they’re personal, warm, and a little wild in the best way.
Hit the Thrift
Thrift stores turn Christmas shopping into a Goonie’s style treasure hunt, where every shelf hides the possibility of a one-of-a-kind gift. Instead of grabbing the same mass-produced items everyone else is buying, you can find vintage gems (think Barry Manilow 8-tracks), 90s punk rock flannel cheaper than gum, Curtis Mayfield vinyl that smells like a basement. Shopping secondhand gives your gifts personality — and it lets you craft a holiday that feels more thoughtful and less predictable.
There’s also a real practical and ethical magic to thrifting during the holidays. You save money without sacrificing quality, stretch your budget further, and keep perfectly good items out of landfills. It’s sustainable, affordable, and surprisingly fun.
Focus on Experiences
The happiness from all that crap you buy is short-lived. According to science, experiences bring far greater joy than ugly Christmas sweaters, kitschy leg lamps, and Tickle-Me Elmos combined.
Invest in a cooking class, a pottery workshop, concert tickets – even a home-cooked gourmet meal you make yourself. Through experiences, you’re creating moments to remember, an opportunity to share life and the thrill of being human.
And unlike material gifts, experiences don’t collect dust; they collect meaning. In a season already overflowing with things, giving time, fun, and memory-making feels refreshing — like offering someone the chance to live a little more fully.
Buy from Smaller Vendors
You can also beat the Capitalist game by buying from smaller, family vendors – not the Jeff Bezos’ bozos of the world.
The beauty of the internet is you have choice – you don’t always have to go with Amazon. Support smaller mom and pop shops that support local artists, small family farms, sustainable heirlooms.
Just to toot our own tuba for a moment, Bear Blend is a true family business — rooted in real people and real livelihoods. When you support us, you’re not padding the pockets of some faceless corporation. You’re helping small family farmers whose hard-earned paychecks go straight to their own kitchen tables. You’re supporting folks who feed their kids, nurture their land, and build a meaningful living through the work they love. Your choice keeps their craft alive, and we’re deeply grateful for it.
Mathew Gallagher
Wordsmith Specialist
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