replacing overconsumption trends with the gift of music

By Jess Santacroce
Music Writer, Phoenix Radio 

Over the past week, social sharing sites have been flooded with content about how tired everyone is of excessive displays of consumption and wealth, particularly around the holidays. At the same time, those very displays have  become more and more prevalent in everyone’s online feeds and in the physical stores where we shop for those finishing touches on our holiday décor and gifts for our family and friends. It can feel like we have to buy these things, simply because that is all that’s there. But we don’t. For each over-hyped, overpriced, meaningless trend, there is a reasonable alternative with the added bonus of giving the gift of music. 

Trend: Ralph Lauren Christmas

In recent years, the “clean” aesthetic has brought with it a lot of silver and white, gold and white, even pure white or beige and white Christmases. This year, the trend has been to throw all of those decorations out and replace them with a “Ralph Lauren Christmas,” or Christmas decorations that make your house look like a Ralph Lauren store. At first, this didn’t seem like a bad idea, as Ralph Lauren stores’ Christmas décor is based around traditional red and green. Most people could simply go back to many of the decorations they used before the whole beige Christmas trend took hold. But like most fads, there was a catch, and a pricey one at that. Simply going back to red and green was not enough. To create an authentic “Ralph Lauren” look, you have to carefully cultivate certain sophisticated red and green items, and then mix them carefully with a variety of plaids and plain statues of deer. The overall look and mood is that of an expensive hunting lodge in a rich area of the country. 

Alternative: Music themed Christmas on a budget

Forget Ralph Lauren stores, and add a music theme to your Christmas décor instead. The easiest, and least expensive way to do this is to first gather up all of the plain decorations you already have, such as round ornaments for the tree and wreaths for the door. Go with whatever color scheme you already have the material to create, trendy or not. When you go to add something this year, choose decorations featuring bells, music notes, and instruments. Despite what the people advocating filling your entire house with deer and plaids may say, a little goes a long way when doing themed decorations. A tree filled with gold and silver balls with a few matching music notes scattered among them is going to be much more striking than every note and instrument ornament in three stores crammed onto the tree. 

Trend: Brrr Baskets

Gift baskets are nothing new, but the “brr basket” fad of the past few years takes making a gift basket to a whole new level of over-consumption. The idea behind a “Brr basket” is to put together a collection of items the recipient can use to beat the cold this winter. While a comforting basket for winter is a wonderful idea, the goal seems to be to see how much you can spend rather than how much comfort you can actually bring. Some “brr baskets” start out with pairs of $140 Ugg boots purchased just because their color matches the overall theme of the basket the person is building, along with a matching Stanley water cup for $45 and a selection of $30 items, typically including luxury hand sanitizers and lip balms, often total more than $500 for a single basket intended for one person. 

Alternative: Music comfort basket

Show the recipient of your gift how much you think of them rather than how much you can spend...or charge on a credit card. Instead of a pair of boots the person may or may not want, make the big ticket item in the basket a $25-$50 gift card to their go-to place for purchasing music. This should cover one or two digital or physical albums. Fill the rest of the basket with small comfort items the person can use while listening to their favorite music, such as their favorite snacks or drinks, a book or activity, or cosmetic items they might like. The key is to pack the basket with inexpensive, thoughtful things rather than everything trendy and pricey just because it fits a color and season theme. 

Anyone looking for some great music themed comfort items for a gift basket may want to check out our online store right here on 95 5 the heat dot com. Cozy sweatshirts, warm hoodies, and cups to hold favorite hot or cold beverages are available, all featuring the radio station’s logo.  (Note: These items may arrive after Christmas and need to be pre-ordered for the next gift giving occasion or next holiday season.) 

Trend: Starbucks limited edition cup craziness

In November, Bear-ista cups hit the shelves at Starbucks. The cups were cute, a teddy bear that looked like a larger version of the honey bear and a smaller version of the animal cracker bear wearing a little green winter hat and a Starbucks logo. A green striped straw was included, as the cups were glass and intended for iced coffee and tea. People began lining up at four in the morning to get these cups, which were almost never available. Determined to own one of these cups, or to give one for a gift, many who were not successful in getting a Bear-ista cup paid up to a thousand dollars to resellers. The original price of the cup was only thirty dollars. 

Alternative: Music experience

Simply buying someone a music themed cup would not give them the music equivalent of the Bear-ista cup craze, because people who do things like stand in line at four in the morning and pay hundreds of dollars for thirty dollar items want to be part of the trend, part of the experience of finding and obtaining the cup, more than they want the actual cup. If they just wanted the cup, they could have calmly purchased a similar cup from Amazon, or waited until the craze was over. 

Replace the rather bland experience of owning a fad item cup with a musical experience. Concert tickets to a local or regional band or artist you know the person wants to see and can fit into their schedule, music lessons for the person who always wanted to sing or play or a trip to an important place in music history. Music lectures, classes in music history or appreciation would also make great gifts for music fans or musicians on your gift list. 


Two years or two months or two weeks from now, people will forget that your house looked like an upscale clothing store this year, or that they have an iced coffee cup shaped like a bear or some $10.00 hand sanitizer and $140.00 boots given to them just because they were beige like the rest of a basket. They won’t forget the time that someone thought about them and what they really needed or wanted, and they certainly won’t forget the music.