Recently, I saw a commercial on TV where a mom and a kid were “baking” together for Christmas. Traditional Christmas music in the background, mother-daughter bonding, really playing at your heartstrings. What were they baking, you ask? They were removing pre-molded cookie dough rounds from the packaging and placing them on a baking sheet. As anyone who was born before 1980 knows, making cookies from scratch takes a half an hour, tops. I worry, is this kid going to grow up thinking this is what it means to bake?

The world is a fast place, filled with stuff and shortcuts. So I guess it makes sense that Christmas would reflect that. The trouble is, we’re all a little broke from living this way, and the planet is groaning from last year’s stocking stuffers. And we’re teaching our children that shortcuts are as good as the real thing. And that having cookies is the same as making them.  So what if this year, instead of spending time at the mall buying family and friends stuff they may not even like, I stay home and bake cookies with them instead?

And so it was that I embarked on my Slow Christmas journey. I am chronicling the annual rituals honestly, from Black Friday to the after Christmas sales. I’ll be taking a closer look at our motives, and the motives of the companies who are selling us stuff, and asking if there might be a better way to keep Christmas. The Christmas season means something different to each of us, but what it shouldn’t mean is endless errands and a second mortgage. We need to slow down Christmas, and start enjoying it.

I hope you’ll join me, dear Slow Planeteers, in pledging to give an experience, a donation, or something homemade for Christmas this year. Keep Christmas Slow.

Is it possible to have a Slow Christmas season in a busy urban place? As I write this, it is only 3 days until Christmas. The holidays have already begun.  People are busy – shopping for last-minute gifts, trying to find time to do the holiday baking and squeeze in the office parties and holiday concerts.  This season tends to become hectic no matter what.  Even if you are only an onlooker, it is difficult to not get caught up in the frenzy as you watch everyone else running between shops.  This morning, I sat in a downtown café and savoured a hot cup of strong tea.  But everyone was rushing around me – so much to do – so little time!
As I reflected on the busyness of it all, I realized that actually this holiday season could be what the Slow philosophy is all about.  Slow Food was created in reaction to Fast Food.  Slow Food was designed to be a proactive force in sustaining traditional foods, recipes, and most importantly, the culture that has been built around food and meals.  This culture is really about relationships.  A slow, lingering meal shared with family and friends is at the heart of the slow philosophy.  It is about taking the time to enjoy what is really important in our lives. 
Christmas holidays are filled with food – traditional recipes, hours spent baking and eating.  It has become a time to celebrate what is important in our lives – our relationships with family and friends.  This holiday should be about taking the time for quality – or, in this case, taking the time to increase the quality of our lives, spending time with family and friends and celebrating what is important to us.  This Christmas, even in the midst of a busy urban downtown, it is possible to celebrate a slow Christmas. It is about choices – how do we choose to spend our time? Slow Urbanism is about how we live within our urban setting. It is all too easy to get caught up in a “Fast Christmas.”  That’s why, this December, I’m wishing for a Slow Christmas.