By Simone Stephens

The holiday season is here! As it arrives, stores begin shelving their latest and greatest holiday decorations. From awesome snowmen blow ups, prancing reindeer statues, or even the beautiful lights enticing American homes, holiday shoppers have their pick from just about anything. But do shoppers spend way too much on these “magnificent” decorations?

In 2012, shoppers spent $7 billion on Christmas decorations alone.  If you think that’s crazy, consider that Americans now spend over $7 billion on Halloween says business.time.com. So what will shoppers will spend this year on Christmas. Maybe $7.5 billion? Or maybe even $8 billion?

As each holiday season passes, decorations get bigger and brighter, tempting customers to buy it all. Most Americans strive for the best holiday decorated house, from the inflatable lawn pieces to the house decked full of LED Christmas lights. But is all this really necessary for just the hype of one day?

Evermore, the holiday season should not be about showboating and trying to out do the neighbor next door for who has the best decorations, but rather about family and spending time and loving one another. Along with the usual exchanging of gifts!

At the end of the day, family is all you have in this life. So why let the material things get in the way. Spending time with the whole family is rare nowadays. Due to people’s jobs and busy lives, the holidays is about the only time of the year that the whole family can spend together. So enjoy it and forget the material things that can always be replaced.