Happy New Year!
Today I read a news story on social media about people returning Christmas trees to stores after the holiday. The comments were harsh. Many accused these customers of abusing generous return policies, arguing that if they couldn’t afford a tree, they should simply go without.
The story brought back a memory from my own life.
When my son was little, his daycare and elementary school required children to wear costumes for Halloween. A costume would be worn for a single evening, yet the next year he would want a new one. At the time, we were graduate students living in a small college town in Ohio. One costume cost roughly the same as a week’s groceries for our family.
So I did something similar to what those customers are now being criticized for—I returned the costume after Halloween.
As I read the comments condemning people for returning a fully used Christmas tree, I understand why the practice feels wrong to many.
Still, I don’t condemn people for returning Christmas trees after the holiday, just as I wish I could be excused for returning that costume years ago. For some families, this is not entitlement but calculation—a decision made under financial constraint. Moral judgment is easy when one has never had to weigh groceries against a costume.
Back then, I wished there were a way to rent a costume for one night, much like people rent tuxedos for job interviews. Today, I think rental services should exist for anything designed to be used only once—for interviews, ceremonies, holidays, or school events.
This isn’t only about helping low-income families. It is also about reducing waste and questioning our reflexive attachment to ownership. Not everything needs to be bought, stored, and eventually discarded. Sometimes, the more responsible choice—for families and for society—is temporary use rather than permanent possession.
Perhaps what unsettles people most is not the return itself, but what it reveals. When someone returns a Christmas tree or a costume, it shows that for some families, joy and celebration must be carefully budgeted.
Finally, this suggests a responsibility on the part of retailers. When an item is expensive, seasonal, and meant to be used for only a few days—like a Christmas tree—it makes sense to rethink the model altogether. Offering rental or buy-back options would acknowledge how people actually use these products, reduce waste, and remove the moral ambiguity that return policies now create.