Creating Over Consuming: Finding Simplicity and Joy during a Black Friday Free of Shopping

On Friday, I spent much of the day at home baking gluten-free cinnamon rolls. Black Friday came and went, and I didn’t notice its existence (much). I found bounty in a quiet moment at home, elbows deep in flour instead of elbowing my way through crowded stores. Staying home was a deliberate choice: to create instead of consume. To seek the quiet instead of the noise. To find simplicity and more joy. 

Create More, Consume Less: Finding True Fulfillment

I’m not Ebenezer Scrooge or The Grinch. There will be presents under our tree this year, albeit less than in many homes. 

Truthfully, I begin Christmas shopping in October to lessen the pressure I feel in December. But I have a problem with Black Friday; I don’t like the frenzy it creates. With Cyber Monday and deals all during November, the physical frenzies have subsided from the catastrophic years where people have died from Black Friday mobs. Still, Christmas has a long history, and much of it involves frenzied mobs– here we go wassailing (and mumming). To me, rioting and death do not seem to align with the Christmas story much, so abstaining most years has been an easy choice. 

For me, creating fulfills me much more than consuming ever has. It also moves my mind and body toward better outcomes. Creating produces flow, engagement, and, for me, better mental health. Consuming often puts me in a headspace of the belief that this new “thing” will improve my life in ways it simply can’t–I can improve, but a new necklace cannot improve much, and the pleasure (dopamine hit) it creates is fleeting.  

So today, I sifted, stirred, and waited for my dough to rise–like this season pregnant with anticipation–watching and waiting. 

Breaking Free from the Holiday Hustle: A Better Way to Celebrate

The consumer-driven Christmas is loud. It sneaks in during August back-to-school sales and practically starts screaming by Halloween. November’s path to Black Friday is obnoxious. Attention is scarce, and corporations must be the loudest voices heard during the holiday season. The bombardment of Black Friday ads is almost as ridiculous as the recent election’s barrage. Exhausting.

So, in an act of disobedience in our capitalistic society, I turned and tuned it all out. The TV and my phone stayed silent. I printed off the recipe beforehand and enjoyed the quiet. It was a deliberate choice to avoid the noise and rescue my soul from messages that do not serve it. 

Friend, I invite you to take a minute during the season to find the silence. Let your soul catch up and notice the beauty in the quiet. 

Rediscovering Joy This Holiday Season 

When I think about what I gained, it was more than warm, gooey cinnamon rolls (those were definitely a highlight). I gained peace, time, and satisfaction. Those gifts would have eluded me if I spent hours in the stores or took a virtual shopping trip online. Home can feel mundane in a FOMO world, but staying home can also be a place of respite. Being home was intentional and, ultimately, the simpler choice. 

Black Friday is an over-hyped, deafening drum telling us to buy more. But this morning, I celebrated the abundance that life has offered me by using ingredients I already had and finding joy in the process. 

Next time the world insists you consume, I encourage you to pause and ask yourself what you truly desire. Maybe it’s not cinnamon rolls. Perhaps it’s art, writing, gardening, refinishing a furniture piece, or even building one. Or it’s just finding time to be quiet. Whatever it is–let yourself choose it. The joy it brings may surprise you.