Buy Nothing Day!!
The day after Thanksgiving (November 25) all coroporate busnisses take out their "sale" signs and prepare for a mob of compulsive shopers to come in and buy as much stuff as they can. But Adbusters wants to revolutionize that mentality and has institude an international hoiday, "Buy Nothing Day", it's self explanatory all you have to do to celebrate is not buy anything and if you are a real fanatic you can promote. Here are a few ideas, taken out of the adbusters webpage, I encorage you to try them. It is fun stuff. Or you can make your own.
The Credit Card Cut Up
This one's easy. You plant yourselves outside a local shopper's paradise with a full-service debt-help booth. A table, maybe a pamphlet and a solid pair of scissors is all you'll need. "Sir, excuse me, that's a lot of stuff you have there. Did you charge it? I used to charge lots of things, 'till I discovered the perfect way to break out of the debt trap. Can I offer you a snip?" It's amazing, lots of folks are actually game.
Note: helps if you have a couple of friends with fake cards break the ice. Or cut up your own if you've got them!
Zombie Walk
Theatrics your thing? Put together a team of zombies -- oatmeal masks, ragged clothes, deformities -- and head to the mall. There's nothing like lurching through throngs of consumers, glassy-eyed and mindless, screaming about the living dead all around you.
Whirl-Mart
Picture a team of jammers in lab coats, quietly pushing empty shopping carts up and down Wal-Mart aisles. Fun enough; definitely Zen. Or, take it to the next level. Fill the carts with junk and buy it all. "On buy nothing day?" you ask. Yes. Did you know that Wal-Mart has a guaranteed return policy? Get your refund and start again. And again. And again. The line-ups can get a bit long, but hey, it's a great opportunity to talk with shoppers.
Caution: Walmart Associates lose their smiles under stress.
My personal favorit is the Whirl-Mart.
The Credit Card Cut Up
This one's easy. You plant yourselves outside a local shopper's paradise with a full-service debt-help booth. A table, maybe a pamphlet and a solid pair of scissors is all you'll need. "Sir, excuse me, that's a lot of stuff you have there. Did you charge it? I used to charge lots of things, 'till I discovered the perfect way to break out of the debt trap. Can I offer you a snip?" It's amazing, lots of folks are actually game.
Note: helps if you have a couple of friends with fake cards break the ice. Or cut up your own if you've got them!
Zombie Walk
Theatrics your thing? Put together a team of zombies -- oatmeal masks, ragged clothes, deformities -- and head to the mall. There's nothing like lurching through throngs of consumers, glassy-eyed and mindless, screaming about the living dead all around you.
Whirl-Mart
Picture a team of jammers in lab coats, quietly pushing empty shopping carts up and down Wal-Mart aisles. Fun enough; definitely Zen. Or, take it to the next level. Fill the carts with junk and buy it all. "On buy nothing day?" you ask. Yes. Did you know that Wal-Mart has a guaranteed return policy? Get your refund and start again. And again. And again. The line-ups can get a bit long, but hey, it's a great opportunity to talk with shoppers.
Caution: Walmart Associates lose their smiles under stress.
My personal favorit is the Whirl-Mart.