It is no surprise that the U.S. is a consumer-focused society. This is never more evident than during the holidays. Last year, shoppers spent $7.9 billion on Black Friday and $6.59 billion on Cyber Monday. Those sales are happening more and more online. Sixty percent of Black Friday purchases last year were made on Amazon alone.

While consumerism should never be the focus of the holiday season, there are some benefits to online shopping, namely that it gives us more time at home and less time at the mall, less time wrapping and mailing gifts, and less time trying to find a parking spot at Macy’s during December. Chances are if you think back to Christmas five years ago, you are spending less time in actual stores this season than you used to.

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What will you do with the extra time?

I encourage you to be intentional with it. This holiday shopping season, don’t use the time you used to spend in the mall planning an extra Christmas party or going overboard on the decorations. Instead, use this time to teach your kids some important lessons about the true spirit of Christmasime

Pray for the people you buy for.

Buying…