By the time you will be reading this, your bruises and aching bones from Black Friday shopping should be healed and you’ll be making plans on heading back out to the mall. Christmas is in the air … that or it’s another gas leak in the city?

Christmas is only about two weeks away. Hard to believe, considering major retailers start their Christmas’ the Tuesday after Labor Day. This holiday season we have once again punched, pummeled and fought our neighbors for $200 off of a 60” LED television, braved the parking lot at the Berkshire Mall, given the Internet our credit card numbers; and we did so all in the name of stuff. Stuff we got with our blood, sweat, tears and cash advances on our credit cards.

But when does the giving become too much (hint: if you have to clean blood off of the X-Box Kinect box you fought for, it’s too much). Most of us, including yours truly, have fallen for the hype from corporate retailers. I thought Christmas meant having to wade through a river of presents. The more the better.