The things we say vs. what we do

The closer the technical holiday season gets the more the grand debate over the consumerization (is that even a word?) of the holiday becomes more and more heated. The Pope has chimed in to say that the 'real meaning of Christmas' is being shrouded in consumerism. I don't want to offend his holiness but -- no shit, Sherlock. Wow, I'm so going to hell on the fast elevator for that one.
Every year we all say that it's not the gifts that matter to us during the holidays, but we all buy gifts, we all receive gifts and heck, we all like it. As much as we'd all hate to admit it, holidays=presents. It shouldn't be that way but somewhere along the way some person (who probably worked for Hallmark) decided to expand the traditional gold, frankincense and myrrh to include socks, electronics, toys, books, cards and cash. We all say that gifts aren't what matter, because they aren't, but we all spend crazy amounts of cash on gifts and we all smile when we receive a gift or two. Every year this argument seems to get more intense, yet I don't think consumerism is getting any worse. Really, could it get any worse?
Why don't we tweak the modern meaning of Christmas? We know it's not about the birth of Christ for many who celebrate the holiday, so why not just accept the giving of gifts as a part of it and stop fighting it. I'm tired of having the argument about how Christmas should be about time with friends and family with someone who just dropped thousands of dollars of gifts. (Well, I kind of enjoy any argument, but I'm tired of that one and would prefer to move on to the slightly less tiresome holiday tree argument. ) I'm tired of hearing people with kids bitch about how their kids want so many toys for Christmas, when they're the ones who bought gifts for their kids for Christmas since they were born, and have thus been encouraging the habit. Is holiday spending out of control? Yes. Has it been that way for many years? Yes, so this is nothing new.
Let's stop fighting it. Let's accept it and move on. If the people really bitching about it want to do something they can stop buying gifts. So this holiday season, sit around your holiday/Christmas tree (whichever you choose to have) with some friends and family. If you want to exchange gifts do so without guilt. Then eat and drink too much, because that is one holiday tradition I can't do without.