Full honest confession: I LOVE Christmas. I love it all. The shopping for gifts, the wrapping of gifts, the watching the gifts get opened, I love the decorations, the tree, the music. I love the treats and the feasts and the family time.

But I also must confess that I see less joy and more tired faces. Over the last 2 weeks I have heard at least three times on CBC radio a credit counselor offering advice on not going into debt over the holidays. I was at the library yesterday and 4 of the magazines I picked up to read all had articles addressing the same thing. They say that the average Canadian spends $800 - $1000 on Christmas. That's a lotta loot.

BUT I should also make it clear I'm not anti-spending or gift-giving. My girls will be opening real gifts under our tree and not a card saying we bought them a goat in Africa- which is, by the way, a great idea in and of itself. I'd like that for Christmas. I'm not preaching against Christmas. Just maybe that we need to slow down and THINK a little bit more. Think about what we are doing and why. Just press the pause button. I found this website and I found it intriguing. A place where you just have time to stop and think.

Advent Conspiracy is an international movement restoring the scandal of Christmas by worshipping Jesus through compassion, not consumption.
http://www.adventconspiracy.org/