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#GivingTuesday: Do we need another holiday this season?

Another holiday concocted to get us to buy more gifts? On the contrary, this special day is a simple idea that can become one of your most important traditions of the holiday season.

November 25, 2014 by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

In the U.S., everyone is busy preparing for Thanksgiving. It is the one American holiday where family and friends make the time to gather and simply enjoy time together. Yet, Thanksgiving has also been transformed to become the crossroads of retail shopping. Thanksgiving week headlines and ads are all about Black Friday and Cyber Monday. And now, Cyber Monday is followed by #GivingTuesday. What? Another holiday concocted to get us to buy more gifts? On the contrary, this special day is a simple idea that can become one of your most important traditions of the holiday season.

In the U.S., Thanksgiving has become intimately associated with retail and the holiday shopping season. Retail stores and businesses were traditionally closed on the fourth Thursday of November, Thanksgiving Day. So, "Black Friday" became the legendary shopping day when stores reopened, kicking off serious holiday shopping, and the time when retailers became profitable. With the advent of the Internet, "Black Friday" is no longer just a day. Black Friday deals have been popping up on Amazon and other e-tailers for weeks. And, it seems that "Black Friday" promotions and deals are literally spreading on e-commerce worldwide.

Cyber Monday: A sign of the times

With the advent of internet retailing, it was only natural that online retailers wanted in on the shopping frenzy. Rather than try to compete with stores on Black Friday, web retailers promoted the concept of shopping online the following Monday. After shoppers beat their brains out trying to find stuff in store, online retailers figured that consumers would gladly go online on Cyber Monday to finish their shopping.

Online retailers were right. Increasingly shoppers are finding the selection and convenience of online shopping very compelling. Cyber Monday sales are expected to grow another 15% this year, reaching $2.6 billion in sales, the biggest single day of online retailing in the U.S. So, it is no wonder that retailers are not waiting for the Monday following Thanksgiving. Cyber Monday is now being launched on Black Friday, with online deals extending well beyond a week. Cyber Monday deals are also popping up around the world. It is almost as if Thanksgiving has been hijacked as the ultimate retail promotional selling season.

#GivingTuesday

#GivingTuesday almost sounds like yet another holiday or promotion designed to entice holiday gift shopping. For those not familiar with this emerging trend, #GivingTuesday is the Twitter hashtag for a national day dedicated to kick off the philanthropic "giving season." #GivingTuesday falls on the Tuesday after U.S. Thanksgiving Day, which is December 2, 2014.

What is interesting about #GivingTuesday is that it is a very recent "holiday." It grew out of a grass-roots movement in 2012 started by 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation as a response to the commercialization of the Thanksgiving season. Its sole purpose is to channel and inspire action around charitable giving during the holiday season. As you can tell by the hashtag, #GivingTuesday has deep roots in social media, especially Twitter. As a result, it has now spread virally across many countries and organizations in just two years.

The power of traditions and focus

I was doing a little pre-Thanksgiving celebrating this week with a very good friend. Both of us have children and grandchildren, so it is almost impossible to get together at Thanksgiving. We have a tradition of finding a time near Thanksgiving when we can just get together and "eat about it." Last evening's dinner fare was shrimp scampi, not a traditional turkey dinner.

As is typical, we were talking about how hectic life has become and the importance of family traditions. My friend shared a story that I had never heard. During Thanksgiving week, he makes a list of 50 things he is most thankful for in the last year. He actually starts with last year's list and the pleasure of reviewing it. He then revises it based on life events in the past year. He and his wife share lists. And through this experience, he rediscovers that we are all more blessed than we ever know. What a great exercise and tradition that I plan to adopt! Something that can literally be shared on Thanksgiving Day instead of shopping and football.

The joy of living is in giving

I think that #GivingTuesday is another great tradition worth adopting. As you are counting your blessings, what a great time to think about giving something back. My hat goes off to the founders! What a great name and perfect timing of picking a specific day to get people to think and focus on how they can make a difference in others' lives.

You don't have to be on Twitter to follow #GivingTuesday. You can simply type it into your search engine to see all of the activities and organizations participating. Or, simply go to www.GivingTuesday.org. You will quickly find many organizations where you can make a contribution, or better yet, give of yourself and talents.

Nothing against retailing at all, because I am part of it. But it is easy to get overwhelmed and caught up in the frenzy of the holiday shopping season. If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed, take a moment to reflect on giving back. #GivingTuesday is next week on December 2, 2014. You don't have to be in the U.S. or online to start making this a tradition of putting it on your calendar and holiday list every year.

I particularly like the #GivingTuesday icon to the right symbolizing the philanthropic movement of coming together to give from your heart to your charities and organizations of choice. The calendar date will change, but it is easy to remember – the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." — Winston Churchill

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