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On the programme tonight I advised One Show viewers to recognise what a bloated consumer nightmare Christmas has become.听
We all have to stop giving presents and start giving to charity instead, and here's why...
I've got a Christmas confession. My three daughters get so many presents at Christmas that, once the celebrations are over, my wife and I collect up the ones we don't like and give them to the local charity shop.
There you go, I've said it.听 We steal our own children's Christmas presents!
It sounds awful but I don't think it makes me Scrooge because - let's be honest here - most presents are rubbish.听
My kids just get loads more "stuff" than they've already got each year听 - from bears and dolls to necklace kits and fancy clothes and more.
What's more we live in a small house and if we didn't chuck out some of their gifts we would be engulfed in a tsunami of tat.
Now if you're still not persuaded I'm doing the right thing then here's what I hope will be the clincher - the kids don't even notice.听
That's right, they've got so much stuff already, they don't notice when we half inch their new toys.
So why this festive frankness, you are probably wondering?听
Well, my argument is this: if my children don't notice when we nick their presents then the chances are that you can probably do without most of yours too.听
A few decades ago you probably needed the socks that your mum gave you or the saucepan Auntie Alice popped under the tree.听 These days it is different.听 Consumer goods are so cheap and plentiful that all of us - children included - have tons of stuff.
So here's my Christmas message:听 just say no to this glut of giving.听
I'm not saying no presents at all. If you want to mark the season why not make a donation to charity on behalf of your friends and loved ones instead?听
Think about it.听 A good cause gets your cash AND both you and your loved ones get to feel good about it!听 It's the Christmas gift that just goes on giving.
You know it makes sense...don't you?
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