2015年12月
文／Andy Lee
The Christmas season is fast approaching, there’s only seven Fridays left until Christmas day as I write this! In fact, you know it’s here when the new John Lewis TV advert comes out. By the time you read this, it will have been played dozens of times and everyone will be talking about it. The whole campaign in previous years has cost up to £7 million, which includes in-store advertising, prime time TV slots, billboards, and newspapers, whilst the advert itself has cost up to £1 million to produce. Such is the impact of the advert – and this will be the 9th year John Lewis has done this – that the YouTube video alone had 13 million views last year. Although arguably receiving the most hype and anticipation, they are not the only ones spending such huge amounts of money on advertising during the festive season. Debenhams, Marks & Spencer, and even supermarket chains such as Aldi and Lidl also get in on the act. These adverts are so good that they’re often better than the TV programmes themselves that they are scheduled within.
On one level it gets us into the Christmas spirit, engaging our fuzzy emotions and making us feel all warm and cuddly inside, thinking about time with close friends and family, winding down and celebrating. Yet on another, it’s an all out assault on our wallets. December is the time when many retailers generate most of their annual revenue and make the most profits. Why else would you be willing to stake £7 million on one 7-week advertising campaign unless you are going to get a substantial return on the investment?
In an earlier article I wrote about Christmas being all about presents when I was just a kid, though even as adults we can suddenly switch on auto-pilot Christmas mode. Just last week at my in-laws, we (as in everyone else but me) were talking about presents this year and perhaps doing a ‘Secret Santa’. This is where everyone involved is randomly assigned someone to buy a present for anonymously, so that nobody knows who their secret Santa is. We set a modest budget of £5- £10 and then we go looking for a thoughtful gift. We don’t stop to question that Christmas shouldn’t be about presents because it’s so ingrained into our culture that to not be involved is to be considered abnormal. I don’t think Christmas should be about presents. But I also don’t think Christmas shouldn’t be about presents. I think Christmas shouldn’t only be about presents. At least not when what we are really trying to do is show love. Here are some practical pointers to think about as you start thinking about buying and giving this Christmas:
Can You Afford It?
I have met people who really cannot afford to be buying presents and yet it’s a totally non-negotiable part of their budget. Even if it’s not out of a sense of duty (not a good reason), but out of a heart of generosity (a good reason), it is never a good idea to get into debt over it. There are people who are paying off their credit cards months into the new year because they’ve accumulated so much debt just buying presents they cannot afford.
Did You Put Thought Into It?
Assuming that we buy presents for people because we care about them, how much thought has gone into your choice of gift? It’s not the size of the price tag that determines its worth to the person you’re buying it for, it’s the size of the heart and the thoughtfulness behind the gift. But don’t mistake sound logic for thoughtfulness. It’s only after watching comedy videos where the husband buys the wife a much needed hairdryer, or vacuum cleaner, or slow cooker and then gets into trouble for it, that I learned not to do the same! Here’s a rule of thumb (mostly directed to the men out there), buy her what she wants, not what she needs.
Illogical I know, but trust me on this one. Blessed To Be A Blessing If you’re fortunate enough to be able to give generously this Christmas to those you love and care about, will you consider giving to a cause that expands your boundaries? Every year at my church, we collect a first fruits offering at the beginning of December. This fund is then used to set up new projects and initiatives that would make a difference to the wider community. The impact of this money is huge, with many people’s lives being affected as a result. However, another consequence of this offering is that it reminds me to be thankful for what I have, and releases me from the false security that money can give me. There are many options out there – homeless shelters, children’s charities, local churches and community centres etc. Do you feel blessed enough to be a special blessing to others?
《聖誕節的真正意義……》
原文：Andy Lee
翻譯：三一
聖誕節快要到了。執筆之際，還有七個星期五就到聖誕了！你知道嗎? 高級百貨公司John Lewis的聖誕廣告剛剛出爐。當你讀到這篇文章時，廣告想必已被播放超過幾十次了，相信也會成為城中熱話。去年John Lewis公司的聖誕商品廣告成本總支出為7百萬英鎊，當中包括了店內佈置宣傳、黃金時段的廣告播放、大型廣告版、報章……廣告本身的製作成本為一百萬左右，其帶來的迴響也是巨大的。這是John Lewis公司第九年以類似的廣告策略主攻聖誕銷售－－該公司單是去年的You Tube影片就獲得了1,300萬次的點擊收看。
雖然可以說，John Lewis公司的聖誕廣告是云云商店中，獲得最多炒作，也是人們最為期待的，但他們並不是唯一一家在節日期間投資如此巨額製作廣告的公司。 Debenhams、馬莎百貨，甚至連鎖超市如Aldi和Lidl也不甘落後。這些廣告都是精心製作的，吸引程度絕不遜於電視節目本身。
在某層面上，這些都為我們捲來了一股聖誕熱潮，讓我們陶醉其中，想像著與好朋友和家人共聚、休息與慶祝的美好，感受前所未有的暖流。然而，在另一方面，它們也全力以赴地向我們的錢包「襲擊」。許多零售商的大部分年收入都來自12月的進帳。要不是這樣豐厚的利潤，哪有公司願意投資7百萬英鎊來作一個維期七週的廣告攻勢？
在早前我寫了一篇文章，提到對小時候的我而言，聖誕節只是和禮物有關。但即使成年後，我們也常突然自動切換到「聖誕節模式」。就在上週，在我公婆的家中，大家（除了我以外）都在談論著今年的禮物，有人提出「秘密聖誕老人(Secret Santa)」的遊戲 ：每個人都參與隨機抽籤，決定要以匿名方式為哪一位送禮，也就是說，沒有人會知道自己的「秘密聖誕老人」是誰。我們還同意了禮物的價格在£ 5- £ 10之內，在有限的預算內，尋找一份貼心的禮物。
我們極少停下來，反思聖誕節是否不該只是和禮物有關，那是因為這種想法已經如此根深蒂固在我們的文化當中，不參與其中的人會被視為異常。我不認為聖誕節和禮物應該劃上等號，但我也並不認為聖誕節不該跟禮物沾邊。我相信，聖誕不僅是和禮物有關──至少重點應該是透過禮物來表達愛心。
今年的聖誕節，當你開始考慮買禮和送禮時，不妨參考以下一些實用指南：
你能負擔得起嗎？
我認識一些財政上實在不能負擔得起買禮物的人，然而他們卻把買禮看為自己的預算中完全無可讓步的一部分。即使不是出於責任感（不是一個很好的理由） ，而是出於慷慨的心臟（一個很好的理由），我們也不該為了買禮而負債。不少人為了聖誕禮物而超支，到了新年還在償還信用卡的債項，那是因為他們購買了難以負擔得起的禮物。
你有投放心思嗎？
假設我們買禮物送人，是因為我們關心他們。那在選擇禮物上，我們又花了多少心思在其中？禮物價格的高低並不能決定你對送禮對象的價值。真正反映的是你在買禮背後的心思和體貼。然而，不要誤以為合理的邏輯就等於體貼。不少喜劇中，丈夫送給妻子一些急需的東西，如吹風機、吸塵器或慢燉鍋等，然後陷入自找麻煩的困境中！我也是從看這些節目才學會不要這樣做！給大家一個經驗法則（主要針對男士們），給心愛的人買她想要的東西，而不是她需要的東西。我知道這聽起來有點不合邏輯，但你相信我就準沒錯！
祝福別人就是祝福自己
這個聖誕節，如果你有幸能夠慷慨地向那些你愛和關心的人送禮，你會否再進一步，考慮給有需要的人送禮，擴展自己的愛心邊界？在我的教會，每年都會在12月初收集感恩奉獻，收集得來的基金隨後用於建立新的項目和舉措，來祝福我們更廣泛的社區。這筆錢的影響力是巨大的，能叫許多人的生命備受祝福。然而，感恩奉獻還有另一個意義：它提醒我要為所擁有的而感恩，並將我從「金錢能帶來安穩」的虛假謊言中釋放出來。環顧身邊，有許多可以施予的選擇對象：無家可歸者收容所、兒童慈善團體、地方教會和社區中心等。你覺得自己是個蒙福的人嗎？如果是，那你又是否願意來成為別人特別的祝福？