New Haven Independent

Alien 1: “What are they doing?”

Alien 2: “Many of them are celebrating their belief in a higher being than themselves.”

Alien 1: “And how are they doing this?”

Alien 2: “They appear to go into their large square houses of worship empty-handed and come out with many small boxes which they take to their homes. It would seem as though each box represents an acknowledgement of their faith.. .and some of these humans clearly have more faith than others. “

Now I’m the last one to try and tell people how to practice their religion. My visits to the synagogue since my bar mitzvah over 40 years ago number in the high double digits.

But all of this has nothing to do with religion. For many, Christmas and Hanukkah have been reduced to a shopping holiday. Malls are filled with people buying “stuff” for friends and family, fearful that they need to buy as much “stuff” as they did last year or run the risk of appearing cheap.

Many years ago a girlfriend mentioned that her father was visiting Harry Winston in New York City to pick up “a little Christmas trinket” for her Mom. In case you have never been there, it appears to be a place where “money is no object.” Fifteen thousand dollars for earrings? That is at the low end of the catalogue. My “money-honey” was dismayed that I would not be joining “Daddy” for his little shopping spree. I am sure I was busy that day.

But however expensive, at least the earrings were a personal gift. These days advertisers claim everything from a tractor to a 50-inch flat screen TV is “personal.”

In a recent Gallup Poll, Americans estimate they will spend $616 per person on holiday gifts this year, much less than the $866 per person spent last year. The previous low point of the last 10 years came in November 2002, when the estimate was $690. It was one of the worst holiday retail seasons in over a decade.

Now what would happen if we took some of the money spent on all those presents and actually did something for which there was some sort of lasting effect? Suppose you gave 20 percent of your Christmas or Hanukkah “gift budget” to your local church or synagogue.

And acknowledging that America’s savings rate (and probably your own) has declined from 5.7 percent in 1995 to near zero today, suppose you took the next 20 percent of your “gift budget” and put it into savings. Just didn’t spend it.

And suppose you gave another 20 percent to one or two select organizations that do work in which you believe. The Salvation Army, The Connecticut Humane Society, The Connecticut Food Bank are just three, but you get the idea.

The remaining 40 percent? Go out and buy a “personal” gift or two. You wouldn’t be able to fulfill your kid’s pages-long “list” to Santa, but I’m not sure that’s possible anyway.

In the end you would be financing your own “rainy day” fund (or just not going deeper into debt) buying things for people you care about and giving to those less fortunate than yourself.

I’d argue that is a pretty good way of celebrating the holidays, whichever one is yours.