Dressing for the Holidays

I spent an autumn day with the lovely Madelyn Simone this week, and her four-year-old presence gives me tremendous joy as well as continued inspiration for my writing. Our agenda took us to Tiny Tikes Nursery School and then to Price Park in North Canton, with its rather raucous duck and geese population that was quite attracted to Madelyn’s four small crackers. To say that I feared for our lives is no exaggeration, for there was to be no miraculous feeding of the five thousand feathered friends that day.

Next on our agenda: lunch. Where should we go? One of our favorite haunts is Sam’s Club, where we can snack on a variety of free samples and, if we’re still hungry, purchase a hotdog and drink for under two dollars. There’s always a lot to see at Sams Club, so we checked out the decorated cakes, watched a few minutes of a movie playing simultaneously on twenty television sets, and searched for those hoped-for free goodies. Monday must be a slow day on the free sample circuit, however, as we only located one complimentary food item.

Because we are girls, we also checked to see if they had any dresses or fancy clothing that Madelyn so enjoys. Although I’ve put myself on restriction, vowing to stop spending money on my favorite (and only) grandchild, I’m an easy target for adorable outfits to make this lovely child even lovelier. And, besides, there’s nothing wrong with looking, right? Isn’t that what’s called window shopping?

They had some really cute ensembles with brightly colored tops and leggings, and I will admit I was sorely tempted to indulge in a purchase, but when we looked at the other side of the rack we noticed that many of these outfits were themed for the holidays. Some were orange-and black striped, some sported the colors of autumn leaves, and others shouted out to us in the reds and greens of Christmas. Yes, we’d discovered an assortment of holiday clothing. I could have purchased outfits for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and I’m guessing that if we come back in a few months, we’ll find some options for Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day as well.

I was nearly convinced to make a spur-of-the-moment purchase, as the Thanksgiving outfit, complete with a multi-colored gobbler, was really cute, but I held myself back. It became one of those, “what was I thinking of” moments. Why would I even consider spending twenty dollars on clothing for a child that she would probably only wear once in her life? After all, this is far from a wedding gown or bridesmaid’s dress. Madelyn does not need a pumpkin dress or a turkey top and pants.

Please don’t think that I’m condemning my grandmother friends who’ve gotten tugged into the revolving door of holiday clothing for the little ones. After all, they really are cute, and Madelyn does have Christmas pajamas that say, “Grandma knows Santa.” Instead, I am making an observation about how our culture has changed from the day when a little girl would have one party dress that would be worn for church, Christmas, and school pictures.  

What do we really need? I read of a woman in Brooklyn who lived a minimalist lifestyle. She was determined to own only eighty possessions at one time, including her toothbrush, frying pan, and jeans. If she brought something new into her home, she gave away something she already had so as to keep under her chosen number of possessions. My husband can only wish that I’d limit myself to eighty books!

Mokokoma Mokhonoana, a South African philosopher, provides us with a helpful perspective on needs and wants. “Generally, people need less than a quarter of what they want,” he says, while “Needs are imposed by nature. Wants are sold by society.”

I’m glad for the reminder that values run deeper than turkey dresses. But I’m not relinquishing my grandparent’s “spoiler” prerogative completely, because Kidz Closet, the new children’s resale shop in downtown Ashland, is opening soon! I wonder if they have any Christmas dresses, preferably a red and green plaid with a Peter Pan collar.