DREAMING OF A GREEN CHRISTMAS - Traffic & Tantrums

In the bleak midwinter
Fractious children moan,
Roads stand full of iron,
Traffic turned to stone

I am sure you have all been there. Bumper to bumper traffic, kids who are rapidly passing the boredom threshold, no parking spaces, Christmas crowds, jostling, enormous queues. Not a particularly pleasant shopping experience. So, how do you avoid it:

1. Online shopping can take all the hassle out of Christmas, provided you do it early enough to chase up if things do go wrong.
   
2. Shopping early for Christmas will mean that you do not have to put up with the traffic, crowds, jossling and the mad scramble for the last of the popular toys. Try to shop in September if at all possible.
   
3. Sitting in a traffic jam is one of the most environmentally unsound things you can do. If you have to shop just prior to Christmas, try to go by train. It will be far more relaxing in the long run.

My THIRD Rule of Christmas is:

Avoid last minute Christmas shopping by car, it's a nightmare

We won't go until we've got some
We won't go until we've got some
We won't go until we've got some
So get some this year

Advertisers deliberately target children at this time of the year. Unfortunately, most TV stations are now sponsored by adverts so this is often hard to avoid. If you don't want to get caught up in the traditional Christmas battle over presents take some precautionary measures:

1. Try making a point of muting the TV during adverts and talking to the kids. You would be amazed how much adverts lose their impact when the audience cannot either hear the jingles or the repeated incentives to buy.
2. Look out for non-commercial TV. In the UK we have the BBC channels. If the kids are looking at these, then they will not be bombarded by adverts.
3. Teenagers are extremely label conscious, particularly where it comes to clothes. Here some sensible rules are in order. Set cost limits on presents and point out that if they want designer labels they may have to wait until these items are on sale.
4. Talk to your children. Ask why they want something as a gift. If a child genuinely wants an item, they will be able to tell you why. If they cannot, or simply spout the advertising about the item, then be very wary of buying it.

My FOURTH Rule of Christmas is:

Let your children choose their presents, not the advertisers.