The Holiday season is a time to spread good will and happiness. It is a time of togetherness and compassion and just being thankful for what you have, but there is a drawback to this wonderful time of the year – shopping.

With the constant holiday sales and people jumping at the opportunity to buy gifts for family and friends, there are many instances where the traditional sensation of generosity turns into a bargain free for all.

Shopping specific days, like Black Friday, turn regular shoppers into ferocious animals trying to get the best deal for items on the never ending gift list that has been accumulating

I don’t understand the absolute insanity that some people drastically take; from pepper spraying other shoppers to get an edge on the action to camping out days in advance to finally get what they want at a fraction of the price.

There are definitely much safer and easier ways to shop, like online shopping to name one, then trying to elbow your way through the crowds to get a new plasma screen television from Best Buy for two hundred dollars when Sears has a year round selection for almost the exact same price.

It definitely raises the question on the worth of all these things. It’s not worth getting a black eye and trampled on to get a microwave or a Nintendo Wii, especially if it’s 3 o’clock in the morning.

No sort of material good is worth getting beat up for because there is guarantee that it is not the last one on the planet. Is it really a good deal to save maybe thirty percent on an item that you had to literally fight for? In some ways yes, but it doesn’t make a good holiday story to your dentist after you get hit with a fishing pole knocking out some teeth in the process.

There are rewards to the holi-craze; you buy things that will make you happy and in doing so you fuel the economy, but before you pat yourselves on the back for helping the economy there is one thing that needs to be addressed.

The companies and retailers are competing for customers with all the door-buster deals, they aren’t trying to help the economy as a whole, they’re trying to produce more money than any other company and get a share of the profit. So in reality, the companies are using you during the holidays to help themselves.

This time of year is supposed to be simple.

It’s supposed to be about spending time with loved ones and making memories. All the things that you buy will soon become obsolete- buying the new iPhone 4s might seem great now, but when the iPhone 5 comes out with a sleeker design you’ll feel like you wasted your money.

So instead of buying into all the sales hype, you should just relax and spend time with the people who mean something to you.