Christmas Decorations and Iraq
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Keywords: none
A government official recently claimed that the cost of the war in Iraq is comparable to the amount that Americans spend on Christmas ornaments, or in the ballpark of $450 billion.
Top-of-the-head math: that's roughly $1.5 thousand for every man, woman, and child. While I'm sure that there are some wealthy families who would spend that much, I seriously doubt that most families spend that much, especially considering that this figure is per person and not per family.
Of course, since my family and I have never bothered to celebrate any holiday--much less decorate for any holiday--I really should not sit in judgment over whether $1.5K for decorations is reasonable. For those who do, is it?
Posted by Carl
Hell no. Usually my family buys all our Christmas decorations two days after Christmas when they're 75% off at Walmart or some other retail store. Heck, we got our artificial Christmas tree a few years back at a yard sale for ten bucks. However, I would say that the average American probably spends about $200 per person per year on decorations and things, and I'm including non-present things like "crafts" in the home, outdoor lights and the electricity to power such monstrosities.