Presents Mixed with Envy - a Christmas Thing?

Having typically prided upon my generous and gift-offering nature since I first handed out Bratz-themed sweet bags to my friends as a bright-eyed seven year old, Christmas usually signifies that the generosity season has well and truly arrived in silver tinsel-decorated style; without delving into the £5 or less section inside a booze-retailing shop to discover a marvellous gift for a particular somebody once a year, how would Christmas' original message still thrive in today's selfish-riddled culture?

How much I may have set my overwhelmed heart upon a stylishly designed tweed coat from the legendary designer label, the one and only Chanel, since I stumbled across my first high end glossy fashion magazines several years ago, my overly dramatic dreams must be shoved across to a lonely-looking side and instead I ought to focus my attention on finding the perfect present for a person highly deserving of being given a treat. Sure, a thrill of pride may warm my heart a little bit as I come across the most ideal gift - the ones which I'm always willing to search for my nearest and dearest family, all of whom spread heartfelt delight by blowing me away with a spectacular surprise on The Day - but my inner all-about-me persona threatens to take the throne, to which I'm sure that a large majority of teenagers will also admit whilst they are fighting a losing battle against surfing the 'net for a timeless little black dress in their even smaller hourglass waists (unsurprisingly, I was making a reference towards myself, which only exaggerates my point).

Before I leap onto an immensely clichéd bandwagon and lost as much sight as one would during a manic three day-only sale on the notoriously slow H&M website (which still doesn't offer free postage as often as onesie-loving New Look), there is a massive need to declare the fact that I am not selfish. Of course, many of you could be more tempted to roll your thickly eye-liner-penciled eyes towards the peeling ceiling than to jump to my defence in the manner of a like-minded, strongly admirable teenager would (where are they?), but I'm capable of defending myself by stating that my family and I chose to adopt two semi-feral kittens a mere fortnight ago, one of whom still has the painful tendency to hiss like an enraged Hollywood diva and unveil his sharper-than-you-would-believe claws upon our red-raw hands if he happens to feel threatened or sense a teenage-inspired tantrum overwhelming his tabby-and-tortoiseshell body.

Despite being entirely aware of their alarmingly sad background and fully prepared for any problems ahead of us, my family and I decided against looking elsewhere for kittens because we finally allowed ourselves to pour our hearts upon these two timid, yet utterly adorable kittens who deserved the right to belong in a safe and welcoming environment for the rest of their lives. Though the process has seemed to be a drag and extended beyond the two weeks since we brought them home, I wouldn't want to take care of another pair of brothers because I spend almost every waking moment thinking about what they are doing and steadily creating a rock-solid bond. So, in that sense, I wouldn't dare to place the subject of my thoughts upon anything or anybody else except my two squeak-tastic kittens, confirming my false status as a selfie-taking, self-obsessed teenager, but I can understand the allure of taking a heavy load of consideration about presents - particularly for your fastly expanding mind, as you experiment with various things and settle into what makes your heart soar higher than the moon - at this time of year as we are constantly bombarded with stereotype-fuelled presents, all of which sends us into an headache-inducing overdrive where we cannot think straight or fancy stealing another spicy mince pie from your mum's stashed-away collection.

As it is the case for various and the most bizarre things in the world - many of which I would rather not name because I simply don't know what they are - our minds are the key to sorting out our interests and dislikes into tidy boxes, forcibly steering clear of making an error which would provoke all hell to break loose. Taking into consideration that a generous number of slouching, bubble gum-chewing teenagers are unable to break their irritating habits of tossing their ketchup-stained clothes onto an even dirtier floor and are constantly nagged by their parents to clean themselves, an eye-popping amount of us are being brought up with the endless mantra of taking care of ourselves, which later leads to us mainly focusing on our emotions, likes and lifestyle, barely leaving any room for much else except relationships, free time and the scrunched piece of Maths homework which your mum somehow discovered in your chocolate Pop Tart box. Therefore, a near-catastrophe takes place almost every year at Christmas when the time comes for you to stand up straight, put on a passion fruit-scented pair of clean clothes and make your own decisions - all of which relates to buying gifts and cards for everybody else except you, which only makes the irresistible idea of flying into a My Sweet 16-influenced huff extremely alluring. And when you really ought to be spending your time on the internet more wisely than usual on the lookout for the most exciting gift to have ever existed in a land full of cheaply designed t-shirts and make-up sets containing more chemicals than a bleach would contain, you just can't - or will not - resist a tiny peek at the neon Beats headphones or latest remarkably fast smartphone which you've been dreaming of for months on end.

Come on, I have short-lived moments - do you honestly think that I have enough time to dedicate a thorough search in the cosmetics department on Amazon when there are two curiosity-seeking kittens awaiting a second bout of attention? - when I log onto a particular website, such a shopping channel of which my mum has been a loyal member, to coo and sigh over a collection of bright-coloured lip glosses from a certain mineral-based beauty brand, usually five minutes before lunchtime is over and the last half-empty bag of salted Doritos have been taken back to its permanent home inside the cupboard. Typically, I barely experience any pangs of yearning for the items which I look at because I otherwise wouldn't be making such a massive deal about it, but I guess that I wouldn't be a modern-day human if my watchful eyes failed to be captivated by the advertisement of a pair of glamorous earrings at a pocket-friendly price - for only a minute until my interest loses its spark and dies in the midst of the blinding sunshine peeking through the window.

Unlike budgeting adults and families whose main priorities lie towards making ends meet and basically surviving through the difficult recession, us teenagers are at an advantage to run wild with our money and have fun with it before the endless worries of paying off student loans and the consistent rise in basic living affects our enjoyment-seeking lives. Although I tend to keep my spending limits to an absolute minimum, it hasn't prevented some soon-regretted purchases of vivid lipsticks unsuited to my pale complexion, half-read boring books and baggy jumpers looking extremely unflattering on my petite frame taking place over the past few years, as I've assumed control of my buying habits and taken choices once decided by my wise parents into my own hands. So, if the troubling problems surrounding youth unemployment have yet to affect the most unfortunate of us for a few years left, why destroy the happiness which we yearn to hold onto during our often difficult 'wilderness' years when we could enjoy it for a while more, even if only a new CD enters the equation?

All in honesty, not only our age group but fellow adults ought to find the perfect balance to dedicating one's life to themselves and reaching out to others when they need it most. Who cares if we give a box containing an eye-catching pair of earrings to a relative or friend when you may experience a pang of envy for having it - we probably have one too many sets of jewellery which ought to be worn more often, anyway. Selfishness doesn't necessarily affect teenagers, but I guess that we are more vulnerable to remaining cooped up in a world entirely of our own as we search for the hidden key lying inside the core of our hearts. Christmas presents should not get in the way of spreading festive cheer to somebody worthy of being a receiver of our generosity, should it? If the moment of spending time on another person seems too much to handle, clearly remember that your moment will soon come, whether it is on your birthday or during the festivities which makes Christmas a season to unleash your inner jolliness.

And as I donate £10 of my hard-earned pocket money towards my younger, anger-inducing brother, I can only smile and await for the moment to arrive when his cash offers me the gift which I've been anticipating for a very long time...