Today's Life

If shopping for Christmas gifts makes you feel happy and in the spirit of the holiday, why, when you come home

Today’s Life edited the following
Question: If shopping for Christmas gifts makes you feel happy and in the spirit of the holiday, why, when you come home

do you feel down?
I just want to understand why shopping is supposed to make you happy.
Let me clarify, I used cash to buy all my gifts. I am finished and do not use credit.

The following is the answer:

Answer by kingsgirl
Good question.

Answer by JH
Because then you realize how much money you’ve just spent! Too much!

Answer by Joe C
Because most people deceive themselves, burn themselves out and spend money they can’t afford, for an obligated form of gift buying, in my opinion. I don’t celebrate the holiday at all, and I assure you that I’m happier than most (and if I did celebrate it, it wouldn’t be the Santa Claus version).

Answer by ~Pleasure N Pain~
CAUSE SHOPPING IS LIKE A DRUG WHEN YOU GET HOME YOU COME DOWN FROM YOU HIGH AND RELIZE YOUR BROKE

Answer by Bo-Dean
Actually, I feel great when I get home because I’m finally all done.

Answer by dorman143
Like many financially clueless Americans, you’re experiencing the typical exhilaration / depression cycle of spending money you don’t really have. The savings rate amongst our population is negative for the first time since the Great Depression.

Whoever taught you that spending money will result in your feeling the “Christmas Spirit” didn’t get you to pay enough attention to all of those holiday specials that they show every year — in late November, no less.

Well, good luck to you.

Answer by KayGeeTX
When you get home and the excitement is over, you begin to worry about all the money you are spending. Or if you are like me once you get home you start to have second thoughts about your purchase.(are they going to like it, is it the right size, etc.)

Answer by emmapeel66
I think the shopping makes you happy if you are buying something for someone you really care about. I had to do a bit of shopping this evening. I was grabbing some little gifts for colleagues I don’t necessarily consider friends, but they work for me and I want to show my appreciation for what they do. That kind of shopping can be a pain because I don’t really know them well enough to know exactly what they might like. Also, consider the fact that this time of year there is a load of stress on everyone so that just about anything you do this time of year can be tiring and make you feel down.

Answer by daddysgirl92280
I like to call it shop therapy because I feel so good when I am shopping. I get such a euphoric feeling but when I come home I realize how much money I have spent and then I start worry about bills etc and I start getting more depressed than when i first decided to go. Some people like to shop for themselves but I like to shop for my kids and others. I like the feeling of giving to others. I can’t explain why this process continues in people even when they know what the results are going to be.

Answer by Jody B
The answer to this is…..because at home, you don’t have the ambience of the store; ie…the music, colors, the holiday decorations and the crowds of jolly holiday shoppers. No, at home you have the “to do” list and the “pay this” list and the “need to get these done by…yesterday” lists.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!